From Emotion Beliefs to Regulatory Behavior: Gratitude Journaling Initiation and Outcomes
AbstractWriting a gratitude journal is an effective way to boost positive affect. However, little is known about what factors drive people to engage in this activity and whether such factors are related to the outcomes of the activity. This investigation attempted to answer these two questions. We proposed that two beliefs about emotion —desirability of happiness and uncontrollability of negative emotion—motivate people’s engagement in a gratitude journal. We recruited 311 participants online and examined whether and via what paths people’s beliefs about emotion translated to their voluntary initiation of a gratitu...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 26, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
How the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Consequences Affect the Presence of and Search for Meaning of Life: A Longitudinal Study
This study examined the trajectories of both PML and SML during the COVID-19 lockdown period in Spain. In total, 220 adults fulfilled an online survey during two periods: a strict and a relaxed lockdown period. Latent growth models showed that both PML and SML declined slightly during the strict lockdown, but they reached a plateau during the relaxed lockdown. Results also showed that age and having a partner predicted higher PML and lower SML at baseline, whereas being male predicted higher scores on PML. PML and SML were negatively associated at baseline, higher SML at baseline was related to a steeper decreasing PML slo...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 25, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Gratitude Reduces Regret: The Mediating Role of Temporal Focus
AbstractAlthough gratitude has received increasing attention from positive psychology researchers in recent years, few studies have examined the benefits of gratitude in decision making. In the present research we explored the effect of gratitude on regret, a decision-making-specific negative emotion. Across five studies (N = 738), the results revealed that gratitude reduced regret in decision-making, and past-focus was the underlying mechanism. The results of Studies 1, 2 and 3 consistently showed that gratitude reduced regret in decision-making. Studies 4 and 5 provided a potential explanation, demonstrating tha t te...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 20, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
A Proof of Concept Pilot Examining Feasibility and Acceptability of the Positively Healthy Just-in-Time Adaptive, Ecological Momentary, Intervention Among a Sample of Sexual Minority Men Living with HIV
AbstractStudies show positive affect buffers against stress for people living with HIV, however, limited research has examined its potential health benefits for sexual minority men living with HIV (SMM-LHIV). In our proof-of-concept pilot, we adapted a Positive Affect intervention for mobile app delivery. The Positively Healthy app was designed as an ecological momentary intervention using a just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI) delivery format. Participants were 22 SMM-LHIV (Mage = 37.82;SD = 10.52), who completed a 90-day ecological momentary assessment (EMA). JITAI activities were triggered based on reporte...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 17, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Eudaimonic and Uncertainty Metaphors About Life are Associated with Meaningfulness, Experiential Avoidance, Mental Health and Happiness
AbstractMetaphors are frequently used in psychological interventions, as they are assumed to have effects on cognition and behavior. However, empirical research on this subject is still scarce. This research aims to identify possible types of metaphors that people use to understand life and to analyze the relationships between life metaphors, meaningfulness, experiential avoidance, happiness and mental health. A total of 1536 individuals from Spain and Latin America responded to a survey on the use of life metaphors, which also collected data on their feelings of meaning in life as well as levels of experiential avoidance,...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 17, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
The Implicit Affiliation Motive, Evaluations of Social Life Events, and Life Satisfaction: Findings from a Cross-Cultural Study with German and Zambian Adolescents
AbstractPositively and negatively evaluated life events are associated with individuals ’ life satisfaction. In the present study, we tested whether the link between individuals’ evaluations of life events in the social domain and their satisfaction with life is moderated by their implicit affiliation motive. Adolescent participants were recruited in Germany and Zambia. First, data on the implicit affiliation motive and life satisfaction were gathered. Approximately six to eight months later, adolescents reported on their life satisfaction again and indicated the recent occurrence of life events in the social domain. M...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 15, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Employment Versus Home-Stay and the Happiness of Women in the South Caucasus
AbstractModern women often face an uneasy choice: dedicating their time to reproductive household work or joining the workforce and spending time away from home and household duties. Both choices are associated with benefits, as well as non-trivial costs, and necessarily involve some trade-offs, influencing the general feeling of happiness women experience given their decision. The trade-offs are especially pronounced in traditional developing countries, where both the pressure for women to stay at home and the need to earn additional income are strong, making the choice even more controversial. To understand the implicati...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 13, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Appreciating the Good Things in Life During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial and Evaluation of a Gratitude App
AbstractThe Covid-19 pandemic has had many negative consequences on the general public mental health. The aim of this study was to test the effectiveness of and satisfaction with an app with gratitude exercises to improve the mental health of people with reduced mental well-being due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as potential mechanisms of well-being change and dose–response relationships. A two-armed randomized controlled trial design was used, with two groups receiving the 6-week gratitude intervention app eith er immediately (intervention group,n = 424) or after 6 weeks (waiting list control group,n = 4...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 6, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Pursuing Pleasure or Meaning: A Cross-Lagged Analysis of Happiness Motives and Well-being in Adolescents
AbstractHedonic and eudaimonic motives have been shown to have different effects on well-being, but most prior studies concentrated on hedonic well-being. To further verify the predictive associations between happiness motives (i.e., hedonic and eudaimonic motives) and well-being, especially eudaimonic well-being, we used a two-wave cross-lagged longitudinal design in a sample of 419 teenagers (mean age = 15.17 years, SD = 0.43 years) with an interval of eight months. The results showed that eudaimonic motives significantly predicted later hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, while only eudaimonic well-being, in turn, predic...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 5, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Affective Profiles and Psychosocial Adjustment among Chinese Adolescents and Adults with Adverse Childhood Experiences: A Person-Centered Approach
ConclusionIndividual differences and cultural variations should be considered when exploring affective profiles. Future interventions aimed at promoting affective well-being should accommodate dialecticism and individual differences in the target population. (Source: Journal of Happiness Studies)
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 5, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Energy Loss After Daily Role Stress and Work Incivility: Caring for Oneself with Emotional Wellness
AbstractThe present study seeks to build on burnout research by examining daily fluctuations of role stress and work incivility, and their impact on employees ’ energy loss. Optimism and recovery (i.e., psychological detachment and relaxation), two mechanisms that allow workers’ self-care and self-defence from these toxic conditions when faced by these job stressors, were included. In a daily study, 117 service sector workers completed surveys three t imes a day, over a period of one working week. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed work incivility as predictor of daily emotional exhaustion. Optimism and recovery pla...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 5, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
How Can We Cope with Self-Control Demands and Enhance Proactive Vitality Management? The Role of Leisure Crafting and Supervisor Recreational Sports Support
AbstractStudies have reported negative effects of self-control demands on the service-oriented physical and mental well-being of employees. Based on the stressor-detachment model and conservation of resources theory, the present study examined how and when the interplay between leisure crafting and perceived supervisor recreational sports support can lead self-control demands employees to exhibit proactive vitality management. A total of 212 employees completed surveys at three time points over six months. The results indicated that leisure crafting mediated the relationship between employees ’ self-control demands and p...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 5, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Acting on Values: A Novel Intervention Enhancing Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-Being
AbstractIndividuals increase well-being by acting on their values rather than merely endorsing them. We developed a novel intervention ( “Acting on Values,” AoV), motivating individuals to initiate values-related behavior over four weeks. Building upon the theory of Basic Human Values, we expected that intervention recipients would increase their hedonic and eudaimonic well-being relative to a control group. We also expected the AoV interventions to cause similar effects as a mindfulness group. 783 volunteers (N = 268 completers) were assigned into three groups: AoV intervention, mindfulness, and a waiting list. In...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 4, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Development of a Three-Stage Strength-Based Meaning Intervention to Promote Mental Health Among Individuals with Physical Disabilities in Disadvantaged Communities: A Randomized Controlled Trial
AbstractA three-stage strength-based meaning intervention (SMI) was developed in the present study, and its utility in facilitating the mental health of individuals with physical disabilities in low-income communities was tested. A randomized controlled and single-blind trial was adopted. A total of 50 qualified participants (mean age = 42.12, standard deviation = 8.68; 48% males; 26 for the intervention group, 24 for the control group) completed the pre-intervention test, post-intervention test, and three-month follow-up test. No significant difference was observed between the two groups at pre-intervention asses...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 4, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
A Meta-Analysis of Religion/Spirituality and Life Satisfaction
AbstractHuman engagement with religion and spirituality is pervasive across the world, yet the extent to which religious and/or spiritual involvement promotes well-being is controversial theoretically and empirically. In the largest meta-analysis of religion/spirituality and life satisfaction to date (k = 256,N = 666,085), an overall effect size was computed (r = .18; 95% CI .16–.19;p < .01). Five dimensions of religion/spirituality were then examined separately to gauge their relationships with life satisfaction. Each dimension of religion/spirituality was significantly and positively associated wi...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 1, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
