A Multiple Component Positive Psychology Intervention to Reduce Anxiety and Increase Happiness in Adolescents: The Mediating Roles of Gratitude and Emotional Intelligence
AbstractThe study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a multicomponent positive psychology program for adolescents with moderate levels of anxiety symptoms in Hong Kong, China. The program combined elements and techniques of gratitude and emotional intelligence intervention delivered in the group format. Adopting a two-armed randomized controlled trial research design, a total of 92 secondary school students who scored 9 –11 in the Chinese Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale, were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. After the seven-session program, participants of the intervention groups showed ...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - January 11, 2022 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Curtailment of Civil Liberties and Subjective Life Satisfaction
AbstractThis analysis focuses on the lockdown measures in the context of the Covid-19 crisis in Spring 2020 in Germany. In a randomized survey experiment, respondents were asked to evaluate their current life satisfaction after being provided with varying degrees of information about the lethality of Covid-19. We use reactance as a measure of the intensity of a preference for freedom to explain the variation in the observed subjective life satisfaction loss. Our results suggest that it is not high reactance alone that is associated with large losses of life satisfaction due to the curtailment of liberties. The satisfaction...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - December 22, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Changes in Subjective Well-Being Over Time: Economic and Social Resources do Matter
This article analyzes the main determinants of changes in subjective well-being over time in Germany distinguishing between long-term and short-term changes. Our findings for the long term indicate that social capital and values and cultural dimensions have the greatest capacity to predict changes in subjective well-being. Likewise, the correlation between economic resources and subjective well-being is weaker due to the small increase registered in household income and because people compare their income with those who are better off and feel envy. In the short term, economic resources have the highest capacity to predict...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - December 4, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Daily Memory Lapses and Affect: Mediation Effects on Life Satisfaction
This study provides support for the role of daily challenges, specifically memory lapses, influencing broader constructs such as psychological well-being by identifying the key factor of affective responses. Future work should identify other salient daily challenges, as well as explore if reducing the affective response to challenges through targeted interventions would mitigate impacts on distal functioning. (Source: Journal of Happiness Studies)
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - December 2, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Kindness as an Intervention for Student Social Interaction Anxiety, Resilience, Affect, and Mood: The KISS of Kindness Study II
AbstractThe purpose of this study was to assess the impact of deliberate acts of kindness (DAKs) plus access to a stress management booklet (intervention), compared to the booklet alone (control) on the stress-related outcomes of resilience, social interaction anxiety, affect, and mood of undergraduate and graduate students. Participants ’ study-related experiences were also explored, as were the types of DAKs. This repeated-measures, randomized controlled trial included 112 students (80 undergraduate and 32 graduate) with 56 in each condition. Four previously validated scales were implemented at baseline, immediate post...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - November 4, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Trajectories of Posttraumatic Growth Following HIV Infection: Does One PTG Pattern Exist?
AbstractThe aim of this study was to examine the heterogeneity of change of posttraumatic growth (PTG) among people living with HIV (PLWH) in a 1-year prospective study. The goal was also to identify sociodemographic and clinical covariates and differences in baseline coping strategies. Particularly, time since diagnosis and positive reframing coping were of special interest. The sample consisted of 115 people with medically confirmed diagnosis of HIV infection. The participants filled out paper-and-pencil questionnaires three times with an interval of 6 months, including also sociodemographic and clinical data. Four traje...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - November 3, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Exploring the Heterogeneity and Trajectories of Positive Functioning Variables, Emotional Distress, and Post-traumatic Growth During Strict Confinement Due to COVID-19
This study aimed to analyze the evolution of different psychological variables during the first coronavirus wave to identify the different psychological response clusters, as well as to keep a follow-up on the changes among these clusters. The sample included 459 Spanish residents (77.8% female, Mage = 35.21 years, SDage = 13.00). Participants completed several online self-reported questionnaires to assess positive functioning variables (MLQ, Steger et al. in J Loss Trauma 13(6):511–527, 2006. 10.1080/15325020802173660; GQ-6, McCullough et al. in J Person Soc Psychol 82:112–127, 2002. 10.1037/0022-3514.82.1 .1...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - November 2, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Mediators of Differences Between Employed and Unemployed in Life Satisfaction and Emotional Well-being
AbstractPrevious research has shown that the unemployed has lower life satisfaction than the employed but that their emotional well-being may not differ. The aim is to investigate the role of mediators with bearings on these differences between the employed and unemployed in emotional well-being compared to life satisfaction. Participants were 3,463 employed and 452 unemployed living in five Western countries. They answered questions in an online survey. The results showed that the employed had both higher life satisfaction and emotional well-being. Mediation analysis replicated previous results in that the relationship be...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 28, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
On the Development of Meaning in Life Among College Freshmen: Social Relationship Antecedents and Adjustment Consequences
AbstractEntering tertiary education is a critical developmental task during emerging adulthood when exploration of life meaning becomes salient. A strong sense of meaning in life (MIL) plays a key role in smooth transition to college. However, little is known about how MIL develops in the first year of college, and even less is studied about the extent to which such development is a function of social relationships and predicts subsequent adjustment outcomes in college freshmen. This three-wave longitudinal research aims to address these underexplored questions, collecting data from Chinese college freshmen regarding their...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 25, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Urban Risks and Their Influence on Subjective Well-being Around the World
AbstractThe present research aims to provide evidence that the risks to which individuals are exposed when living in a given city are negatively associated with subjective well-being. The literature is systematically reviewed to highlight factors that affect both positively and negatively subjective well-being. It is noted that there are no studies that address how the risks of living in a city influence the happiness of its inhabitants. Several ordinary least squares models were carried out looking for the best fit that fulfilled the assumptions of normality, correct specification, homoscedasticity and non-multicollineari...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 20, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Explaining Prosocial Behavior from the Inter-and Within-Individual Perspectives: A Role of Positive Orientation and Positive Affect
AbstractProsocial behavior is undertaken voluntarily to benefit others and includes a range of actions, such as helping, sharing, caring, and comforting. Our study concerned psychological mechanisms stimulating prosocial behavior explaining it from both the within-individual (daily fluctuations) and inter-individual (individual differences) perspectives. We tested a model in which positive orientation and positive affect directly predict within-individual variability in prosocial behavior and in which positive affect mediates the relationship between positive orientation and daily prosocial behavior. These two-level mediat...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 19, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Correction to: Does Education Make People Happy? Spotlighting the Overlooked Societal Condition
(Source: Journal of Happiness Studies)
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 16, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Parental Happiness Associates With the Co-occurrence of Preschool-Aged Children ’s Healthy Energy Balance-Related Behaviors
We examined whether parental happiness associate with preschoolers ’ healthy energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs) and with the co-occurrence of multiple healthy EBRBs. This cross-sectional study included 647 pairs of parents (88% mothers) and children (mean age 4.7, SD 0.9 years). Parents completed the Subjective Happiness Scale. In addition, ActiGraph accel erometers measured children’s physical activity, and parents reported screen time and food consumption on behalf of their children. We defined four healthy EBRBs: meeting physical activity guidelines; meeting screen time guidelines; a higher consumption of veg...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 13, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Regret, Self-regulatory Abilities, and Well-Being: Their Intricate Relationships
AbstractEmotions, like regret, have been heralded as instruments of self-regulation, by instigating reflection, learning and feedback for betterment and thus increasing well-being. Yet, this view neglects taking the frequency of regret into consideration. Frequently experiencing regret may instead be a sign of repeatedly failing to achieve betterment. Previous work has shown that people who experience regret often have lower life satisfaction. We suggest that, by itself, the reflective function of regret is not enough to lead to betterment. Rather, in addition to regret, self-regulatory abilities are needed. In the absence...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 12, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
Evidence on the Bidirectional Relationship Between Health and Life Satisfaction in Older Adults
AbstractPrevious research on health and life satisfaction in older adults has suggested a bidirectional relationship. However, most evidence either is based on cross-sectional data, being unsuitable for inferring any directionality on the results, or disregards the within-person stability of both variables over time, thus providing potentially biased results. We analysed data from 11,667 older adults interviewed between 2008 and 2016 within the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. A health measure including self-reported and measured tests on cognitive and physical performance was computed using a Bayesian multilevel item...
Source: Journal of Happiness Studies - October 12, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research
