The Validity of Subjective Wellbeing Measurement for Children: Evidence Using the Personal Wellbeing Index—School Children

Research is scarce concerning the validity of subjective wellbeing measures for children aged 12 years and less. There are even fewer subjective wellbeing data for children with complex backgrounds and personal circumstances and those experiencing socio-demographic disadvantage. This study compares the psychometric properties of the child and adult versions of the Personal Wellbeing Index. Participants were 1761 ‘at-risk’ children aged 10–12 years, and 2000 geographically representative Australian adults. While there was sufficient fit with a one-factor structure, the reliability estimates were lower in the child sample and the incidence of response bias was significantly higher. Collectively, these findings suggest caution in the use of subjective wellbeing measures with children.     

A Cross-Cultural Evaluation of the Personal Wellbeing Index – School Children in Samples of Australian and Portuguese Adolescents

The practice of comparing nations on subjective wellbeing (SWB) is becoming commonplace, with many countries ranked by economists and social scientists alike according to average levels of SWB based on survey responses. Such large, multi-national population surveys have the potential to generate insights into the causes and correlates of SWB within different cultural groups, as well as inform policy regarding how to improve the wellbeing of citizens. At the heart of these large-scale research endeavors are SWB measures that function equivalently between the various participating cultural groups. For this reason, it is concerning that their remains a paucity of research that supports measurement equivalence for many SWB instruments commonly employed. Thus, it remains unclear whether variations in SWB across cultures reflect true differences, or whether these differences reflect measurement biases (e.g., response bias inherent within a particular cultural group). The aim of this study was to examine the psychometric equivalence of the Personal Wellbeing Index–School Children (PWI-SC) in convenience samples of Australian and Portuguese adolescents using multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis. Participants comprising the Australian sample were 1104 Victorian high-school students aged between 12 and 19 years (M?=?14.42, SD?=?1.63). Participants comprising the Portuguese sample were 573 high-school students living in Portugal aged between 12 and 18 years (M?=?14.32, SD?=?1.72). The results demonstrated strict factorial invariance between both versions of the PWI-SC, suggesting that this scale measures the same underlying construct in both samples. Moreover, these findings provide preliminary support for quantitative comparisons between Australian and Portuguese adolescents on the SWB variable as valid.     

The College Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire: A Brief,Multidimensional Measure of Undergraduate’s Covitality

This study reports on the preliminary development and validation of the College Student Subjective Wellbeing Questionnaire (CSSWQ) with two subsamples of undergraduates. The CSSWQ is a brief, multidimensional, domain-specific measure of college students’ covitality—operationalized by a measurement model comprised of four first-order latent constructs (i.e., academic efficacy, college gratitude, school connectedness, and academic satisfaction) and one second-order latent construct (i.e., college student covitality). Results from exploratory factor analyses, conducted with the first subsample (n = 387), were used to refine a 15-item, four-subscale version of the CSSWQ, which demonstrated strong internal consistency and concurrent validity with several global indicators of subjective wellbeing. Results from confirmatory factor analyses, conducted with the second subsample (n = 584), corroborated the CSSWQ’s four-factor structure and supported the second-order latent construct of college-student covitality. Further concurrent validity analyses conducted with the second subsample, using latent-variable path analysis, indicated that the college-student covitality variable was a strong predictor of both psychological distress and psychological wellness. Analysis of variance also indicated that, when compared with global covitality status (i.e., below average, low average, high average, or above average), college-student covitality status had a stronger effect and thus incremental validity in relation to academic achievement. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

Subjective Wellbeing Among Adults with Diabetes: Results from Diabetes MILES—Australia

This study examines the subjective wellbeing of Australian adults with diabetes who completed the Diabetes MILES—Australia survey, investigating by diabetes type and treatment, and by comparing with the subjective wellbeing of the general Australian adult population. In addition, the extent to which depression and socio-demographic factors account for subjective wellbeing is investigated. People with type 1 or type 2 diabetes have significantly lower subjective wellbeing compared to the general population, even after controlling for covariates (demographic and socio-economic status, diabetes duration, body mass index, number of diabetes-related complications, and depression). Furthermore, adults with type 2 diabetes using insulin to manage their condition report the lowest levels of subjective wellbeing, and are also most likely to report dissatisfaction with their current health. These findings suggest that living with diabetes, and in particular, living with type 2 diabetes and using insulin, strongly challenges the maintenance of subjective wellbeing.     

‘Peace in a Thatched Hut—that is Happiness’: Subjective Wellbeing Among Peasants in Rural China

Existing research about subjective wellbeing (SWB) in China is confined to student and urban samples, even though 60% of the population reside in rural areas. It is reasonable to predict that there could be a rural-urban difference in SWB as there is a marked difference in objective (socio-economic) measures of wellbeing. The present study measured SWB within a sample of Chinese peasants living in a remote farming village. The results show that despite their relatively low socioeconomic conditions, the rural residents’ satisfaction levels were within the normative range for the Chinese population, and generally did not differ significantly from a previously published study in an affluent Chinese region (Hong Kong). In-depth interviews with participants revealed that the lower living conditions in the rural area are not adverse to drive SWB below the normative range.

The Problem of a Subjective Authenticity and the Articulation of Belonging among the Irish in England—A Psychosocial Approach

This article presents the question of identity and authenticity as a problematic one, capable of investigation through a psychosocial lens. “Authenticity,” as explored by Erickson (1995) and Weigert (2009), may be understood as a commitment to self-values, meaning and motivation. Feeling “true to oneself” thus becomes an intensely personal affective project, which remains theoretically the preserve of the individual subject, and thus incapable of challenge by others. However, as identity is inherently social, there is a need to interrogate the affective nature of belonging to a collective identity. In particular, I consider how this personalised sense of authenticity may come into conflict with the need to have one’s personal identity recognised as authentic within the wider set of meaning-makings around the collectivity. I argue that this problem of authenticity and belonging may arise in the interplay between the personal and the collective in three ways: reflection, recognition and ownership. Any articulation of belonging to a collective identity whilst maintaining a personally “felt” authenticity must negotiate these three aspects. In this article, I develop these ideas through my own recent research on discourses of authenticity among the Irish in England. Drawing on Wetherell’s (2012) recent articulation of the affective-discursive, I explore how one second-generation Irish woman articulates her experiences of “belonging” and personal “authenticity” in interview talk. I argue that the resolution of dilemmas around the affective and collective nature of authenticity can be usefully investigated by attending to the co-construction of the interview between participant and interviewer. The positioning of the interviewer and the power dynamics of the interview thus become key modes of enquiry in the psychosocial analysis of authenticity.     

Are the Monday Blues Ail in the Mind? The Role of Expectancy in the Subjective Experience of Mood1

The role of expectations based on the Monday‐blues stereotype was explored in self‐reports of mood throughout the week. Participants (N= 66) were allocated to 3 matched groups. Expectations were manipulated in 2 experimental groups: 1 in support of Monday blues and 1 against them. All participants completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) daily for 2 weeks, and ranked the days of the week in terms of mood after completion. While there were no effects on negative affect, the pro‐blues group reported lower positive affect on Monday. All 3 groups recalled Monday as the worst day in terms of mood. This suggests that expectations have subtle effects on the experience of Monday blues, and highlights the discrepancies between prospective and retrospective self‐reports.     

The Effects of Childhood Maltreatment on Adult Religiosity and Spirituality: Rejecting God the Father Because of Abusive Fathers?

Current theories can support conflicting accounts of the effects of childhood maltreatment on adult religiosity. However, in the relevant empirical research there are few examples of probability sampling or a focus on nonsexual forms of abuse. It is also uncommon to control for risk factors for abuse, which may themselves also affect adult religiosity. This study attempts to overcome some of these limitations by examining the effects of physical and emotional abuse on adult religiosity and spirituality in a U.S. probability sample of adults at midlife. Neither maltreatment from mothers nor from outside the family has an effect on religiosity, but abuse committed by fathers is related to decreases in religiosity, and abuse from outside the immediate family is related to increases in self-ratings of spirituality. Possible explanation for these results may be related to the image of God as father, which leads victims of abusive fathers to distance themselves from religion.     

Income and Wellbeing in a Society on the Verge to Market Integration: The Case of the Tsimane’ in the Bolivian Amazon

Based on findings from prior research on the relation between monetary income and subjective wellbeing, researchers have argued that income might relate to subjective wellbeing only until reaching a consumption satiation point where all basic needs are met; beyond this threshold income would not increase wellbeing. We explore this idea by analyzing a panel data set (2002–2010) collected among 982 Tsimane’, a society of largely self-sufficient foragers and farmers in the Bolivian Amazon. Subjective wellbeing is measured through four self-reported emotions: happiness, anger, fear, and sadness. As Tsimane’ mostly satisfy their basic needs through subsistence activities, if the argument above holds true, then we should not find any association between income and subjective wellbeing. Results from ordered logistic regressions suggest, however, that—even in this relatively autarkic society—income bears a positive relation with happiness and fear, although it does not seem to be associated with sadness and anger. The magnitude of the income coefficients is small compared to the variables that proxy success in subsistence activities and frequency of social interactions. In the studied society, the relation between income and happiness is likely caused by socio-psychological effects, like status gains, and not by the acquisition of material goods. In a context where wellbeing is mostly derived from success in subsistence activities and social relations, if the pursuit of income generating activities deprives individuals from devoting time to these, then income might, in fact come at a cost in terms of subjective wellbeing.     

Wellbeing at Work and the Great Recession: The Effect of Others’ Unemployment

The recent recession has generated a tremendous increase in unemployment rates in Spain. In this paper we use a very rich repeated cross-section dataset on workers’ job conditions, together with regional unemployment rates, to investigate whether peers’ unemployment affects individuals’ job satisfaction. We find that, once perceived job stability is controlled for, peers’ unemployment shows a positive effect on individuals’ wellbeing at work, greater and more precisely estimated for men and private-sector workers. The impact is highly non-linear and the greatest effect is found for unemployment rates exceeding 10 %. Interestingly, the results are robust to controlling for workforce selection.     

Repetition Priming Across the Adult Lifespan—The Long and Short of It

ABSTRACT

Previous reports suggest that repetition priming (i.e., enhanced processing of a stimulus after experience with that stimulus) is long lasting and impervious to the effects of age, in contrast to the pattern found with explicit memory. However, the nature of repetition priming in aged individuals remains unclear, as conflicting findings have also been reported. We used a longitudinal design to examine how repetition priming is affected by multiple stimulus repetitions (three presentations) and different delay intervals (no delay, 1 day, 1 week, and 1 month) in young adults, as well as in two groups of aging adults (young-elderly and old-elderly). Our findings extend previous reports that priming is long lasting, even when 1 month intervenes between the initial experience with an item and the subsequent priming test of that item (Cave, 1997 Cave, C. B. 1997. Very long-lasting priming in picture naming. Psychological Science, 8: 322–325. [CSA][CROSSREF][Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and is relatively impervious to the effects of age (Mitchell, et al., 1990 Mitchell, D. B., Brown, A. S. and Murphy, D. R. 1990. Dissociations between procedural and episodic memory: effects of time and aging. Psychology and Aging, 5: 264–276. [INFOTRIEVE][CSA][CROSSREF] [Google Scholar]). In addition, a more detailed characterization of priming and the effects of aging was revealed. Although priming is long lasting, remaining significant even at the month delay for all groups, it did decline over time and the rate of that decline differed with age. Both young-elderly and old-elderly groups showed a marked drop-off at 1 day, whereas young adults did not show a decline until 1 week. All groups benefited from multiple repetitions; however, this benefit disappeared at the month delay (in contrast to recognition memory, where the benefit remained significant). These findings support the assertion that repetition priming and explicit memory reflect the operation of distinct systems, and that these systems may undergo different rates of change in aging.     

The Assessment of Adult Health Care Orientations: Development and Preliminary Validation of the Multidimensional Health Profile–Health Functioning Index (MHP-H) in a National Sample

This paper describes the development and preliminary validation of the Multidimensional Health Profile–Health Functioning Index (MHP-H), a 69-item self-report instrument designed to assess a variety of behaviors, perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs presumed to influence health status and the pursuit of lay and professional health care. The MHP-H briefly measures adult health history, health habits, health care utilization, health beliefs and attitudes, and response to illness (help-seeking behaviors). A national sample of adults (N = 673) was assessed, comprising 3 age groupings (18–32, 33–50, and 51–89) crossed with gender and then further subdivided into several subsamples for purposes of reliability and validity assessment. In addition, a group of spouse key informants was also recruited. Preliminary validation of single-item indicators as well as confirmatory factor analyses of multi-item scales was achieved. The present findings support the psychometric and practical utility of the MHP-H and warrant its use by health psychologists in a variety of research and applied settings.     

Mood—Creativity Relationship in Groups: The Role of Equality in Idea Contribution in Temporal Mood Effects

As people working in groups might fare better in solving complex problems than those working alone (e.g., Laughlin, Hatch, Silver, & Boh, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90 , 2006 and 644), organizations have increasingly assigned creative projects to groups. Group members contribute their collective efforts over time until the creative project has come to fruition. Although mood is identified as an important antecedent to creativity, little is known about the temporal pattern of how group mood enhances or inhibits group creativity, as well as the underpinning group process that explains the mood—creativity link in groups. We set out to address these questions by taking a within-group approach to study the temporal trends of how group mood precedes group creativity and to examine idea contribution equality (ICE) as a mediating group process. We conducted a three-wave longitudinal study among student workgroups tasked to complete a creativity project over a 1-month span. Evidence showed that positive mood is positively associated with concurrent ICE and negative mood is negatively associated with lagged ICE. Furthermore, a mediation model showed that negative mood eventually hampered expert-rated group creative performance by reducing ICE over time. These findings add new knowledge to the temporal mood—creativity relation within the group context.     

Freirean Philosophy and Pedagogy in the Adult Education Context: The Case of Older Adults’ Learning

Central tenets of Freirean philosophy and pedagogy are explored and applied to the emerging field of older adults’ learning (educational gerontology), a sub-field of adult education. I argue that many of Freire’s concepts and principles have direct applicability to the tasks of adult educators working alongside marginalized older adults. In particular, Freire’s ideas fit comfortably within a critical educational gerontology approach as they challenge prevailing orthodoxies and provide a robust analytical framework from which radical adult educators can work effectively in promoting social transformation.

The Cost of Caring? Emotional Labour,Wellbeing and the Clergy

Although members of the clergy experience working conditions that have been associated with “emotional labour”, little is known about the impact of this aspect of the job role on wellbeing. This study examined relationships between emotional labour and psychological distress and intrinsic job satisfaction in 188 UK-based clergy. Also investigated were the potential moderating effects of social support and training in counselling skills. Findings revealed significant associations between emotional labour and both psychological distress and job satisfaction. Evidence was found that counselling training and a wider social network may protect clergy from the negative impact of emotional labour, but social network size may also be a risk factor for wellbeing. Further research should examine the impact of emotional labour on clergy, and the factors that might help them manage this more effectively.     

Bridging Service Employees’ Perceptions of CSR and Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Moderated Mediation Effects of Personal Traits

This study aims to examine how service employees’ perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) affect their organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) at work and its mediated link through organizational identification. Another important purpose of this study is to see whether personal traits such as gender, age, and work experience moderate the relationship between the CSR perceptions of service employees and organizational identification. Using a sample of 250 frontline service employees at four five-star hotels in South Korea and employing a mediation model by way of structural equation modeling, we estimated the moderating effect of three personal traits - gender, age, and work experience - on the relationship between CSR perceptions of service employees and organizational identification. The CSR perceptions of service employees increase their organizational identification, which ultimately increases OCB. Moreover, organizational identification partially mediates the relationship between the CSR perceptions of service employees and OCB. Furthermore, the results of our study show that the positive relationship between the CSR perceptions of service employees and organizational identification are moderated by gender, age and work experience. Our study extends research in both the CSR and the OCB literature since we attempt to bridge the macro concept of CSR with the micro concept of OCB.     

The renewal of dewey — trends in the nineties

This article proposes that the ‘renewal’ of Dewey might contribute to filling the gap between the pedagogical commitment to contingency and plurality and the fact that the pedagogical tradition, until now, has neutralized contingency and denied its systematic meaning for education. Therefore, the main traits of the ‘renewal of Dewey’ are shown in the work of some Dewey scholars who, critically and creatively, reconstruct Dewey in the mirror of poststructural, communicational and constructive theory developments. Following Dewey, these researches balance the objective evaluation of Dewey’s work by a deliberate and overt pursuit of their own intentions and (pre-)selections by the scholars. Intersubjectivity and communication are key concepts in this renewal of pragmatism rejecting the subject-centered philosophy of consciousness, the traditional western epistemology and metaphysics. The turn to the philosophical priority of the unforeseeable also leads to an understanding of action as an essential focus. In this context Dewey’s pragmatistic view of radical democracy is received as a non-foundational theory and the concept of consensus is criticized. The scholars clarify that the boundaries of the subject are broadened by communicative destabilization. At the end of the article it is asked what the renewal-dimensions mean for education located in the public sphere.