The salutogenic basis of an individual’s mental health and psychological well-being

Introduction. The stressfulness of modern society necessitates studying the factors in human positive functioning. As the practice of such research shows, the leading role in advancing toward an individual’s high-quality life belongs actually to his/her psychological resources, in particular his/her salutogenic orientation as a resource helping a personality remain stable in various circumstances of life. Aim. To identify salutogenic factors in an individual’s psychological well-being. Methods. J. Crumbaugh, L. Maholic’s Purpose-in-Life-Test; Maddi`s Hardiness Survey; the test-questionnaire of self-attitude proposed by V. Stolin, S. Pantileev; C. Riff’s model of psychological well-being; Wiesbaden Inventory (WIPPF) developed by N. Peseschkian and X. Deidenbach; R. Lazarus and S. Folkman method examining coping strategies of (the General Causality Orientation Scale of E. Deci, R. Ryan; A. Antonovsky’s Sense of Coherence scales. Results. Psychological resources maintaining and strengthening health and tolerance to stress, maintaining and developing personal opportunities are associated with the presence and awareness of life goals, positive self-acceptance, positive relationships with others and the ability to influence life events. An individual’s salutogenic orientation is based on a humanistic worldview, which is a sign of personal maturity, and such personal abilities as hope, love, trust, justice, politeness and others that are behavioural norms and ensure personal freedom and responsibility. Conclusions. From the standpoint of the salutogenic approach, human psychological health is considered as a state characterized by a certain position in the continuum between mental disorder and psychological well-being. An individual’s salutogenic orientation is the psychological basis for achieving the positive functioning states – psychological hardiness, life satisfaction and psychological well-being.

Purpose in Life: A Reconceptualization for Very Late Life

Across disciplines, we have long sought to understand the factors that contribute to purpose in life. Theorists have posited that having life goals, feeling productive, and remaining active are essential contributing elements to purpose in life (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1969; Rowe & Kahn, 1997; Ryff, 1989). While these factors can undoubtedly contribute to purpose in life, they may not fully explain purpose in life for older adults in very late life (85 years old and older) who have long past and short future time horizons. In this presentation, we explore the concept of purpose in life for older adults in very late life and how current measures may not fully or accurately apply to this group. We examine the two most commonly used measures of purpose in life, the Purpose in Life Test (Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1964, 1969) and the Ryff Purpose Subscale (Ryff, 1989; Ryff & Keyes, 1995), and identify specific items that should be reconsidered for use with older adults in very late life. We then reconceptualize purpose in life for the oldest old based on several foundational theories, including Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, the Theory of Gerotranscendence, and Terror Management Theory. Stemming from this analysis, we posit that purpose in life in very life consists of three domains – the very long past, the very near future, and the transcendental post-mortem. Based upon this reconceptualization, we recommend the development of new measures of purpose of life in very late life that capture these three domains.

Do Involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous and Religiousness Both Directly and Indirectly through Meaning in Life Lead to Spiritual Experiences?

Spirituality is a key element of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) recovery. However, little is known about the potential religious and secular sources of spiritual experiences in AA fellowship. The aim of the study was to verify if in a sample of AA participants, meaning in life mediates the relationship between their religiousness and spiritual experiences, as well as between their involvement in AA and spiritual experiences. The study sample consisted of 70 Polish AA participants, and the following tools were used: the Alcoholics Anonymous Involvement Scale (AAIS); Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire (SCSORFQ); Purpose in Life Test (PIL); two one-item measures regarding frequency of prayer and Mass attendance; and the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) duration of AA participation, which was positively related to involvement in addiction self-help groups and religiousness. Involvement in AA and religiousness were positively related to meaning in life, which in turn positively correlated with spiritual experiences. This research indicated that in a sample of AA participants, finding meaning in life partially mediates the relationship between religiousness and spiritual experiences, as well as fully mediating the relationship between involvement in AA and spiritual experiences. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Purpose in Life During COVID-19 Confinement: Effect of Physical Activity and Meditation

Introduction The pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus has led states to issue orders for confinement and suspension of activities such as education. The purpose of this study is to interpret the Purpose in Life Test (PIL) and its relationship to physical activity and mental relaxation/meditation in confinement. Material and methods A survey was conducted in an online form on 533 individuals (39 ± 11 years) using the Purpose in Life Test (PIL) and an ad-hoc questionnaire regarding physical activity time (PA), mental relaxation/meditation time (RM), hours of sleep (HS), number of people in confinement (NPC) and concerns and satisfaction during confinement. Results The overall mean of the PIL test was 114 ± 16, indicating a strong life purpose, and there were no differences by sex or by levels of physical activity, but for RM and age levels. The scores of the PIL test were positively correlated with the age, PA and time of RM. On the other hand, the main concern is the economy (50%) and health or getting sick by COVID-19 (37%), and what gives the greatest satisfaction is the family (40%) and sharing and spending time with the family (33%). People who perform RM activities at least 30 min/week have significantly higher PIL test scores. Conclusions Despite the drastic changes caused by confinement, individuals have a strong life purpose. Family companionship, home PA and RM act as a protective factor during confinement and in maintaining physical and mental health.

Sentido de vida: una herramienta en la formación de estudiantes universitarios en el sureste de México

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo diagnosticar el sentido de vida de estudiantes de nuevo ingreso a un campus de ciencias sociales, económico-administrativas y humanidades de una universidad pública en el sureste de México, a fin de desarrollar estrategias que promuevan la atención del sentido de vida: una herramienta útil en la formación de los alumnos, puesto que favorece el desarrollo de las potencialidades, el establecimiento de metas, la satisfacción en las actividades académicas, profesionales y personales, al mismo tiempo que apoya la adaptación y trayectoria escolar de los educandos. Este estudio se desarrolló desde un enfoque metodológico cuantitativo, de tipo descriptivo y diseño no experimental. Se utilizó un muestreo no probabilístico por conveniencia de sujetos voluntarios, por lo que la muestra estuvo conformada de 551 educandos, a quienes se les administró el Purpose in Life Test (PIL) en su versión en español. Los resultados mostraron que 51.5 % (284) presentaba incertidumbre y vacío existencial y solo 48.5 % (267) sentido de vida. Por otro lado, no se encontraron diferencias significativas por programa educativo, por sexo y por edad, lo que indicaba que dichas variables resultaron no ser predictoras de la presencia de sentido de vida en los estudiantes. A partir de los resultados fue posible diseñar una intervención educativa como estrategia enfocada en la promoción de la búsqueda y fortalecimiento del sentido de vida de los universitarios, con el objetivo de favorecer su adaptación al contexto universitario, contribuir en su formación y apoyarlos en el establecimiento de metas académicas y personales.

Representaciones Sociales en Organizaciones de Seguridad. Rol e Influencia en el Sentido de Vida

La investigación indagó las representaciones sociales y aspiraciones personales de personas que forman parte de organizaciones de seguridad y su repercusión en el sentido de vida, empleando una orientación metodológica mixta con una muestra de 93 miembros de fuerzas de seguridad. El tipo de diseño utilizado fue no experimental de alcance fenomenológico descriptivo, administrando en el marco de entrevistas los instrumentos de Cuestionario de Apreciación sobre Rol y Aspiraciones Personales (CARAP) y la Adaptación Argentina de Andrés Gottfried del Purpose in Life Test (PIL TEST) de Crumbaugh y Maholick a fin de conocer la medida del sentido de vida y las representaciones sociales. Los hallazgos demuestran que el 80% de los entrevistados, manifestaron tener su propia idea de rol: el 17,20% desconocían las tareas y actividades relacionadas con el rol a desempeñar y el 2, 15% restante dio respuestas que no respondían a la pregunta realizada.Los resultados que corresponden al cuestionario CARAP y parte B del PIL Test permiten afirmar que fue posible conocer las aspiraciones de los participantes que forman parte de organizaciones de seguridad. Asimismo, se evidenció que para lograr sus aspiraciones en un porcentaje significativo del 46,49% reconocen la necesidad de esforzarse, dar de sí mismo y tener que trabajar para alcanzar lo que anhelan. Por último, se detalló una propuesta para enriquecer los procesos de formación de futuros aspirantes al recibir orientación con dinámicas grupales e iniciarse en la reflexión sobre el rol que desempeñaran y la influencia que tendrá en su sentido de vida.

Relationship between Volitional Regulation and Academic Achievements in University Students

The paper presents results of a study on the relationship between the features of volitional regulation and academic performance in university students of different years and areas of training.The study compared students (year 1 to 4) of ‘Psychology’ (n=133) and ‘State and Municipal Administration’ (n=201) programmes.The following methods were used: the Action Control Scale by J.Kuhl; the questionnaire for revealing the expression of self-control in the emotional sphere, activity and behavior (developed by G.S.Nikiforov, V.K.Vasilyev and S.V.Virsov); the Dembo-Rubinstein self-esteem scale (modified by V.A.Ivannikov and E.V. Eidman, 1990); the Purpose in Life Test (by D.A.Leontiev).The arithmetic mean of all examination marks received by the student during the current academic year was used as an indicator of academic performance.It is shown that in junior students of the management programme the indicator of academic performance positively correlates with the indicators of the Action Control Scale (p <0.01), the Purpose in Life Test (p <0.01) and behavioral self-control (p <0.01), whereas in students of the psychology programme it positively correlates with indicators of the Purpose in Life Test (p <0.01) and social self-control (p <0.01).No significant correlations were found in senior students.The results obtained in the study allow us to draw some conclusions about the contribution of volitional regulation to the level of academic achievements in students.

A Sapientia EMTE marosvásárhelyi kar hallgatóinak egészségmagatartása és mentális állapota

A kutatás célja: Vizsgálatunk célpontjában a Sapientia Erdélyi Magyar Tudományegyetem Marosvásárhelyi Kar hallgatóinak jólléte, pszicho-szociális jellemzői, mentális állapota és egészségmagatartása áll. Módszerek: Vizsgálatunk eszköze egy standardizált kérdőív, melyet a 2018-2019-es tanév őszi félévében alkalmaztunk. A kérdőív az következő standardizált kérdőíveket is magába foglalta: Önértékelési Kérdőív (RSESH), Életcél Kérdőív (Purpose in Life Test – PIL), Észlelt stressz-kérdőív (Perceived Stress Scale – PSS4), Lelki egészség (General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-12). A vizsgálatban 206 hallgató vett részt a Sapientia EMTE Marosvásárhelyi Karáról. Eredmények: Az alacsony önértékelésű hallgatók gyakrabban fogyasztanak alkoholt, mint az egészséges önértékeléssel rendelkező társaik. Azok a hallgatók fogyasztanak több alkoholt, akik több pszichés problémával rendelkeznek, mint a társaik. Az alacsonyabb önértékelésű hallgatók gyakrabban fogyasztanak alkoholt a lerészegedésig, mint a normális önértékelést mutató társaik. A testedzés védő faktornak bizonyult az egészségmagatartás tekintetében, így akik aktívan sportolnak, jobb mentális állapotnak és alacsonyabb stressz-szintnek örvendenek, mint a keveset sportoló társaik. A pszichés állapot társadalmi meghatározottságát adataink is alátámasztják.