Overall Congregational Vitality in the United Church of Christ: Predictors and Implications

This article examines the predictors of overall congregational vitality in the United Church of Christ (UCC), a US mainline Protestant denomination of approximately 5,000 churches and 800,000 members. This analysis is based on data from the UCC version of the Faith Communities Today survey, which surveyed all UCC congregations in early 2020. An overall congregational vitality scale was created from survey questions; factors associated with congregational vitality were tested to see which ones had a statistically significant relationship with a congregation's level of overall vitality. Aspects of congregations that were significantly associated with overall congregational vitality included the fit between the pastor and congregation, innovative worship, racial diversity, and total number of participants, while the percentage of young adults, contemporary worship, founding year of congregation, percentage change in worship attendance over the past five years, current financial health of congregation, and percentage of female participants did not influence overall congregational vitality. This research may be useful for congregations seeking to maintain or increase their vitality and for researchers interested in identifying the components and predictors of congregational vitality.

Flourishing: Role of Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals in Relation to Subjective Vitality

Several psychosocial factors contribute to flourishing which is a state of optimal human functioning. The objectives of this study were to explore the relationship between grit, vitality and flourishing; and to assess the impact of grit and vitality on flourishing. A correlational design was used to collect data from 449 participants (211 women and 238 men) aged between 18-57 years. The Flourishing Scale, the Grit Scale and the Subjective Vitality Scale were administered. The obtained data were scored and analyzed suitably. Results revealed positive relationships between all the variables. Further, hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that grit and vitality significantly predicted flourishing. Results from this study indicate the need to further investigate the impact of grit and vitality on an important positive psychological construct like flourishing. Key words: flourishing, grit, vitality, regression, correlation, well-being.

Self-Worth and Self-Knowledge in Iranian Patients Seeking Cosmetic Surgery: A Comparative Study

Prior research has reported a psychological impairment in patients seeking cosmetic surgery. However, the role of other variables such as contingencies of self-worth and self-knowledge has been ignored. Hence, the aim of this study was to examine new psychological structures, contingencies of self-worth, and self-knowledge among patients seeking cosmetic surgery. Eighty patients (47 female and 33 male; mean age = 28.98, SD = 8.32; 40 seeking cosmetic surgery and 40 seeking surgical treatment) were randomly recruited from the Shahid Motahhari clinic in Shiraz, Iran. The patients completed the Contingencies of Self-Worth Scale, Integrative Self-Knowledge Scale, Subjective Vitality Scale, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21. The results showed that, compared to the surgical treatment group, self-worth in patients seeking cosmetic surgery was found to depend on their appearance and the approval of others. Further, the self-knowledge in patients seeking cosmetic surgery was lower than that of patients seeking surgical treatment. In addition, there were no significant differences between the two groups in vitality, depression, anxiety, and stress. It can be concluded that patients seeking cosmetic surgery have lower self-knowledge and their self-esteem depends on their appearance and the approval of others.

Cognitive flexibility as a predictor of subjective vitality among university students

This study aimed to identify the differences between cognitive flexibility and subjective vitality according to specialisation background (scientific and literary), gender (male and female) and the ability of cognitive flexibility as a predictor of subjective vitality. The cognitive flexibility inventory and subjective vitality scale were applied to 189 undergraduate students in Jordan. The results showed that the highest mean of cognitive flexibility dimensions belonged to alternative flexibility, whereas control flexibility came in the second rank. The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences in alternative flexibility according to specialisation background in favour of literary background students, but no significant differences were found in control flexibility, total cognitive flexibility and total score of subjective vitality. The results also indicated that there were significant differences in alternative flexibility and the total score of cognitive flexibility according to gender for males’ benefit, but no significant differences in control flexibility and the total score of subjective vitality according to gender were found. Furthermore, the subjective vitality could be predicted by cognitive flexibility. Keywords: Cognitive flexibility, subjective vitality, undergraduate students, AL-Balqa Applied University, educational psychology.

Prospective Associations of the Short Form Health Survey Vitality Scale and Changes in Body Mass Index and Obesity Status

Objectives. The objectives of the current study were to prospectively investigate the predictive value of the vitality scale of the Short Form Health Survey for changes in body mass index and development of obesity. Methods. The study population comprised 2864 (81.5%) men and 648 (18.5%) women from the Metropolit Project and the Danish Longitudinal Study on Work, Unemployment and Health, who participated in a follow-up examination in 2009–2011 corresponding to a follow-up period of 3–7 years. Associations of vitality with body mass index and obesity were investigated separately for men and women in linear and logistic regression models adjusting for age, baseline body mass index, education, physical activity, smoking, and obesity-related diseases. Results. Vitality was significantly associated with change in body mass index among men (p<0.001) and women (p<0.05) gaining weight after adjusting for age, baseline body mass index, education, physical activity, smoking, and obesity-related diseases. No significant associations of vitality with BMI change were observed among individuals maintaining or losing weight during the follow-up period. Furthermore, vitality significantly predicted development of obesity among women. Conclusion. The study indicates that vitality is of predictive value for increases in BMI over time among individuals gaining weight and may further predict the development of obesity among women. This identification of poor vitality as a potential risk indicator for weight gain and development of obesity may be beneficial in clinical practice.

Validação da Subjective Vitality Scale e estudo da vitalidade nos idosos em função da sua atividade física

The main aim of the study was to validate the Portuguese version of the Subjective Vitality Scale - SVS for the Portuguese elderly population through of confirmatory factorial analysis. The existence of differences in the perception of subjective vitality among sufficiently active and insufficiently active older adults was also analyzed. A total of 309 Portuguese elderly (242 females, 67 males) aged 60-90 years (M = 68.59, SD = 6.60) participated in this study. Of the total sample, 256 are sufficiently active, while 53 are insufficiently active. The results show that the model was adjusted to data in a satisfactory way (χ² = 28.95; df = 9; CFI = .97; TLI = .94; SRMR = .04; RMSEA = .08; RMSEA 90% CI = .05 - .12), and show a concurrent validity with the Portuguese version of the Satisfaction with Life Scale. The data obtained allow us concluding that the Portuguese version of the Subjective Vitality Scale can be used as a measure of subjective vitality in the Portuguese elderly population. It was also verified that the subjective perception of vitality is greater among individuals sufficiently active compared with their peers that do not reach the amount of practice of recommended physical activity.

The Relationships between Big Five Personality Traits and Subjective Vitality

<p>The current study examined the relationship between big five personality traits and subjective vitality. Participant were 307 university students [180 _(59%) female, 127 _(41%)male, <em>M</em>_age = 21.24 years, SD = 1.21] who completed questionnaires package the Adjective Based Personality Scale and the Subjective Vitality Scale. A hierarchical regression analyses was used with big five personality traits to explain variance in subjective vitality. The results showed that extraversion, agreeableness, and openness were significant positive predictors and neuroticism was significant negative predictor of subjective vitality which accounted for 31% of the total variance. Consciousness did not significant predictor of subjective vitality. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.</p>