Social anxiety and posttraumatic stress in combat veterans: relations to well-being and character strengths

There are few studies examining the relationship between psychopathology and positive experiences and traits. Although initial studies suggest persons with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are at increased risk for excessive social anxiety, there have been no studies to date evaluating how these conditions might interact to affect positive experiences and traits. Using self-report scales, informant ratings, and experience-sampling methodologies, we examined the association of social anxiety with well-being and character strengths in veterans with and without PTSD. Controlling for PTSD and trait negative affect, social anxiety was negatively related to global ratings of well-being and character strengths. Social anxiety also accounted for incremental variance in day-to-day well-being (i.e., daily affect balance, percentage of pleasant days, positive social activity, self-esteem, gratitude) over a 14-day assessment period. Although veterans with PTSD reported lower levels of global and daily well-being and character strengths than veterans without PTSD, a diagnosis of PTSD failed to exhibit unique relationships with these constructs. Building on a growing body of work, these data suggest that social anxiety is uniquely associated with disturbances in positive experiences, events, and traits. Our findings support the value of directly addressing social anxiety in the study and treatment of PTSD.     

Social anxiety disorder in veterans affairs primary care clinics

To examine the prevalence and correlates of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in veterans, 733 veterans from four VA primary care clinics were evaluated using self-report questionnaires, telephone interviews, and a 12-month retrospective review of primary care charts. We also tested the concordance between primary care providers’ detection of anxiety problems and diagnoses of SAD from psychiatric interviews. For the multi-site sample, 3.6% met criteria for SAD. A greater rate of SAD was found in veterans with than without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (22.0% vs. 1.1%), and primary care providers detected anxiety problems in only 58% of veterans with SAD. The elevated rate of comorbid psychiatric diagnoses and suicidal risk associated with SAD was not attributable to PTSD symptom severity. Moreover, even after controlling for the presence of major depressive disorder, SAD retained unique, adverse effects on PTSD diagnoses and severity, the presence of other psychiatric conditions, and suicidal risk. These results attest to strong relations between SAD and PTSD, the inadequate recognition of SAD in primary care settings, and the significant distress and impairment associated with SAD in veterans.     

Framing gratitude journaling as prayer amplifies its hedonic and eudaimonic well-being,but not health,benefits

Abstract

Gratitude is commonly practiced as prayer, but experimental studies testing the ability of gratitude journaling interventions to increase well-being have only examined secular forms of thanksgiving. We hypothesized that framing gratitude journaling as prayer would amplify its well-being effects. Undergraduate participants (N = 196) were instructed to write 10 things for which they were grateful once a week for five weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to read their thanks aloud to themselves, read their thanks to another person, or pray their thanks aloud to God. Participants in the prayer condition experienced a decrease in negative affect, and participants in the prayer condition who also exerted high effort demonstrated gains in gratitude, positive affect, and hope. Results indicate that the prayer condition may have led to increased health symptoms. Non-significant effects for the social condition suggest that the mechanisms explaining the effects of prayer are related to the theistic and sacred elements of prayer rather than its social features.     

Self-esteem mediates the relationship between dispositional gratitude and well-being

Gratitude is a positive disposition that is connected to well-being. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of self-esteem in the association between gratitude and well-being among undergraduate students. Two hundred and thirty-five participants completed measures of dispositional gratitude, self-esteem, and several indices of well-being. The results indicated that higher levels of dispositional gratitude were associated with greater self-esteem and indices of well-being. Moreover, higher levels of self-esteem were also associated with indices of well-being. Path analyses showed that self-esteem acted as a partial mediator of the association between gratitude and well-being. These results provide information regarding a possible process through which dispositional gratitude has beneficial effects.     

Religiousness,spirituality, and eudaimonic and hedonic well-being

This study tested a conceptual model of religiousness/spirituality (R/S) and hedonic well-being (HWB; measured by life satisfaction and positive affect) by including eudaimonic well-being (EWB; measured by meaning in life) as a mediator. Given the multidimensionality of R/S, we examined whether and how the magnitudes of direct and indirect relationships varied for various aspects of R/S: organizational religious practices, private religious practices, daily religious/spiritual experiences, and subjective spirituality. Web survey data of 450 US American adults were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that EWB partially mediated the relation of daily religious/spiritual experiences and HWB; however, the other three aspects of R/S had no indirect relationships with HWB. Additionally, private religious practices and subjective spirituality indicated negative direct relationships with HWB. Approximately 68% of the variance in HWB was accounted for by the variables included in this model. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Dispositional gratitude mediates the relationship between a past-positive temporal frame and well-being

Both past-positive temporal frame, which involves dwelling on positive memories of the past, and dispositional gratitude are associated with positive life outcomes, including greater life satisfaction. A past-positive temporal frame may provide a foundation for the development of dispositional gratitude. The present study examined a model positing that gratitude mediates the relationship between past-positive temporal frame and well-being. Two hundred and thirty-three participants (mean age = 34.10 years; SD = 14.21) completed measures of characteristic past-positive temporal frame, dispositional gratitude, and several indices of well-being. Higher levels of a past positive temporal frame were associated with greater gratitude and indices of well-being. Higher levels of gratitude were associated with indices of well-being. Gratitude mediated the relationship between past-positive temporal frame and well-being. These results provide information regarding a possible process through which past-positive temporal frames have beneficial effects.     

Beyond self-report in the study of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being: Correlations with acquaintance reports, clinician judgments and directly observed social behavior

Surprisingly little is known about how well-being is related to social reputation, clinician judgments, and directly observed social behaviors. This study presents data that bear directly on these issues, along with comparing the personality and behavioral correlates of subjective happiness, a measurement based on a hedonic conceptualization of well-being, with psychological well-being, a eudaimonic conceptualization. The findings demonstrate remarkable consistency in the pattern of correlates of the two measures across acquaintance ratings, clinician judgments, and directly observed social behaviors. By either conceptualization, people high in well-being enjoy positive social reputations (e.g., cheerful, sociable, satisfied with life), are rated as well-adjusted by clinicians (e.g., consistent, resilient), and can be observed to exhibit adaptive social behaviors (e.g., social skill, expressiveness).     

An exploration of the well-being benefits of hedonic and eudaimonic behaviour

Hedonia and eudaimonia have both been proposed as pathways to well-being. Past research in this area has predominantly focused on global cognitive evaluations of how one typically lives. Findings from such research lack practical relevance, and hence, this study aimed to investigate how actual hedonic and eudaimonic behaviour related to well-being and psychopathology. Participants (N?=?105) completed an array of well-being outcomes prior to completing an online diary, reporting actual instances of hedonic and eudaimonic behaviour. Participants spent more time engaged in hedonic activity than eudaimonic activity. Hedonic activity served an emotion regulation function, predicting positive affect, carefreeness, vitality, and life satisfaction. Hedonic behaviour also predicted reduced negative affect, depression, and stress. Eudaimonic behaviour predicted meaning in life and elevating experience. Both hedonic and eudaimonic behaviours predicted flourishing. These findings suggest that increasing hedonic and eudaimonic behaviours may be an effective way to increase well-being and reduce psychological distress.     

How eudaimonic and hedonic motives relate to the well-being of close others

Past research has examined the link of eudaimonic and hedonic motives with personal well-being, but less is known about their link with the well-being of close others. Also, empirical data on the link with the well-being of close others would address an ongoing debate regarding whether eudaimonia is egoistic and possibly detrimental to others. Participants completed self-report measures of their typical degrees of eudaimonic and hedonic motivation. We then asked their friends and relatives to tell us how the participant affected their well-being. When entering eudaimonia and hedonia simultaneously as predictors of close other well-being in multiple regressions, only eudaimonia related positively to the well-being of close others. Thus, eudaimonia had a positive, not negative, impact on other people. Furthermore, while past research shows that both eudaimonic and hedonic motives benefit personal well-being, this study suggests that eudaimonic motivation has more positive influences on close others.     

Gratitude across the life span: Age differences and links to subjective well-being

Abstract

Gratitude has been described as an adaptive evolutionary mechanism that is relevant to healthy psychological and interpersonal outcomes. Questions remain as to whether the presence and benefits of gratitude are consistent from young adulthood to old age; prior research has yielded mixed evidence. We examined the magnitude and direction of age differences in gratitude in three samples (combined N = 31,206). We also examined whether gratitude was associated with greater/lesser well-being at different periods in the life course. We found that the experience of gratitude was greatest in older adults and least in middle aged and younger adults. Further, we found that the associations between gratitude and subjective well-being remained relatively constant across the lifespan. Findings are discussed from a developmental perspective.     

Constitutive and instrumental goal orientations and their relations with eudaimonic and hedonic well-being

This study investigated an Aristotelian model of eudaimonic and hedonic well-being that distinguishes between goal orientations in which the means and ends are separable (instrumental) and in which the means and ends are inherently related (constitutive). Eudaimonic well-being was expected to be related to constitutive goal orientation and hedonic well-being was expected to be related to both constitutive and instrumental goal orientation. Personal identification with activities was expected to mediate the relationship between constitutive goal orientation and eudaimonic well-being. Personal enjoyment was expected to mediate the relationship between instrumental goal orientation and hedonic well-being. Factor analysis supported the independence of constitutive and instrumental goal orientation measures. As predicted, SEM results suggested that there were independent pathways to eudaimonic and hedonic well-being, with strong mediation in both pathways. Results were consistent with Aristotle's [Aristotle (1999). The Nicomachean ethics (M. Ostwald, Trans.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.] concept of eudaimonia and contribute to the growing literature exploring the contrast between eudaimonic and hedonic well-being.     

Being good by doing good: Daily eudaimonic activity and well-being

Eudaimonic theories of well-being assert the importance of achieving one’s full potential through engaging in inherently meaningful endeavors. In two daily diary studies, we assessed whether reports of engagement in behaviors representative of eudaimonic theories were associated with well-being. We also examined whether eudaimonic behaviors were more strongly related to well-being than behaviors directed toward obtaining pleasure or material goods. In both studies, eudaimonic behaviors had consistently stronger relations to well-being than hedonic behaviors. Data also provided support for a temporal sequence in which eudaimonic behaviors were related to greater well-being the next day. Overall, our results suggest that “doing good” may be an important avenue by which people create meaningful and satisfying lives.     

Emotional intelligence and its relation with hedonic and eudaimonic well-being: A prospective study

The primary aim of the current study was to replicate and extend previous findings by examining the relationship between emotional intelligence abilities and levels of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in a 12-week follow-up study. Participants were 349 undergraduate students who completed an ability measure of emotional intelligence (MSCEIT), personality questionnaires, and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being measures at time 1. After 12 weeks, participants repeated the hedonic and eudaimonic measures at time 2. Focusing first on cross-sectional analysis, we found emotional intelligence scores to be moderately and significantly related to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being measures. Next, we found that ability EI predicted a modest but additional variance in prospective levels of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being over and above personality traits. Also, the explained variance of EI was higher for eudaimonic than for hedonic well-being. These findings provide some preliminary evidence on the prospective value of ability EI in the maintenance of positive mood and better outlook on life (hedonia) and, specifically, in the development of aspects of human functioning (eudaimonia).     

Fragile self-esteem and affective instability in posttraumatic stress disorder

Temporal fluctuations in self-esteem and affect are prominent features of several clinical conditions (e.g., depression), but there is an absence of empirical work examining their role in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Individuals who experience large fluctuations in self-evaluations and affect are considered more vulnerable to psychopathology than individuals able to adequately modulate their self-image and emotional responses. We examined the relevance of self-esteem and affective instability to PTSD. Veterans with and without PTSD completed 14 daily ratings of self-esteem, positive affect, negative affect, and gratitude. Compared to veterans without PTSD, veterans with PTSD exhibited more temporal fluctuations in self-esteem, negative affect, and gratitude, with a smaller effect for positive affect. For all veterans, self-esteem and negative affective instability was associated with diminished well-being. Except for self-esteem instability, most findings were substantially reduced after accounting for variance attributable to PTSD diagnoses and mean intensity levels over the 14-day monitoring period. These data suggest self-esteem instability is important in understanding the lives of veterans with and without PTSD.     

Happiness,inspiration and the fully functioning person: Separating hedonic and eudaimonic well-being in the workplace

The study investigates the idea that feeling good and functioning well-being are regulated by two different mechanisms: hedonic and eudaimonic. At the state level it is assumed that happiness is a hedonic feeling typically experienced when life is easy or a goal is reached. Inspiration is a eudaimonic feeling typically experienced when facing challenges in the process of goal attainment. At the trait level, we assume that personal growth is connected with eudaimonic rather than hedonic mechanisms. These assumptions were confirmed with data from 465 employees of the Occupational Health Services in Norway using day reconstruction method. Multilevel analyses showed that complex work situations increased inspiration and decreased happiness. Personal growth had a stronger effect on inspiration than on happiness. Our results support the idea that pleasant feelings (hedonia) and optimal functioning (eudaimonia) have different roles to play in the regulation of behavior, and therefore need to be distinguished from one another.     

Up-regulating positive emotions in everyday life: Strategies, individual differences, and associations with positive emotion and well-being

This research aimed to identify strategies people use to up-regulate positive emotions, and examine associations with personality, emotion regulation, and trait and state positive experience. In Study 1, participants reported use of 75 regulation strategies and trait emotional experience. Principal component analysis revealed three strategy domains: engagement (socializing, savoring), betterment (goal pursuit, personal growth), and indulgence (substance use, fantasy). In Study 2, participants reported state-level regulation and emotional experience. Engagement correlated with greater state and trait positive emotion, and overall greater well-being. Betterment correlated with less state, but greater trait, positive emotion. Indulgence correlated with greater state, but less trait positive emotion and overall lower well-being. This research suggests trade-offs between short-term and long-term emotional consequences of different strategies.     

Distinctions between hedonic and eudaimonic well-being: Results from a day reconstruction study among Norwegian jobholders

The study suggests that hedonic and eudaimonic well-being can be studied by theoretical and empirical analysis of subjective feelings. In this approach, pleasure is the hallmark of hedonism, and engagement serves as the core feeling of eudaimonia. The Day Reconstruction Method was used to investigate the assumption that overall life satisfaction predicts hedonic feelings but not eudaimonic feelings during a workday. Perceived job control was hypothesized to predict eudaimonic feelings but not hedonic feelings. Questionnaire data from 120 Norwegian jobholders were analyzed, providing support for the hypothesis. Moreover, pleasure was found to be relatively unrelated to engagement, and perceived control was basically unrelated to life satisfaction. The results are discussed against the background that hedonism and eudaimonia are two independent parts of a multidimensional concept of well-being.     

Self-reported problems: a comparison between PTSD-diagnosed veterans,their spouses,and clinicians

This study investigated self-reported problems in a sample of help-seeking Vietnam veterans, comparing the veteran's own view with clinician and spouse perspectives, with the aim of examining convergence in reports across different informants. Veterans with PTSD (N = 459) were asked to list and rate their five most serious problems. Spouses and treating clinicians completed the same questionnaire in relation to the veteran. Rates of endorsement for each problem area, and levels of agreement between raters, were calculated. Veterans, spouses, and clinicians were all likely to rate anger as a high priority, with veterans also likely to nominate anxiety and depression. Spouses were likely to nominate more observable behavioural problems such as interpersonal difficulties and avoidance, while clinicians were likely to nominate indications of psychopathology, such as anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts. Agreement across raters was generally high, although interpretation of agreement levels was complex.     

Impact of Traumatic Life Events in a Community Sample of Toddlers

Toddlers may be at particularly high risk for a number of psychiatric, developmental and neurobiological consequences in the aftermath of trauma. The social and emotional impact of potentially traumatic life events experienced between 6 and 36-months of age was assessed in an epidemiological birth cohort of 18- to 36-month-olds from the Greater New Haven Area. Event-exposed toddlers evidenced greater symptom severity on the ITSEA Internalizing, Externalizing, Dysregulation, Atypical and Maladaptive scales, as well on the CBCL Internalizing and Externalizing scales than those not exposed. Approximately one-fifth of event-exposed toddlers were reported by their parents to have experienced a dramatic change in functioning following the event, and were described as experiencing higher levels of symptoms consistent with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), namely re-experiencing and arousal, than exposed toddlers whose parents did not report a change in their functioning. Implications for clinicians and child care providers working with toddlers and their parents are discussed.