Satisfaction with Family Life in South Africa: The Role of Socioeconomic Status

This paper investigates the determinants of self-reported satisfaction with family life, applied to the South African context, with socioeconomic status (SES) as the main covariate and family functioning as the secondary covariate of interest. An individual-, household-, and subjective SES index is constructed via multiple correspondence analysis. Structural equation modelling (SEM) and multiple-group SEM (MGSEM) are used to analyse the role of SES in explaining satisfaction with family life. Higher levels of SES, especially household SES and subjective SES, are related to greater satisfaction with family life. Family functioning, in terms of better family flexibility, is associated with higher satisfaction with family life. The MGSEM results indicate that the role of family flexibility in explaining satisfaction with family life is similar across SES quartiles; family flexibility is an important predictor of family-life satisfaction, regardless of SES quartile.     

Neighborhood, family, and subjective socioeconomic status: How do they relate to adolescent health?

This study investigated the role of neighborhood, family, and individual subjective socioeconomic status (SES) in predicting adolescent physical health and psychological characteristics. Three hundred fifteen adolescents completed assessments of blood pressure, cortisol, and body mass index (BMI). Results revealed that lower neighborhood SES was associated with higher BMI and lower basal cortisol levels and that these effects persisted after controlling for family SES. Both family SES and neighborhood SES predicted negative psychological characteristics and experiences such as hostility and discrimination. In contrast, only subjective SES predicted positive psychological characteristics. These findings suggest the importance of understanding influences at the individual, family, and neighborhood levels for optimally targeting interventions to reduce health disparities earlier in life.     

Family socio-economic status and children’s executive function: The moderating effects of parental subjective socio-economic status and children’s subjective social mobility

Family socio-economic status (SES) is significantly related to disparities in children’s executive function. Children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds perform worse on executive function tasks than their peers from high-SES families. The protective factors in the relationship between SES and executive function have not been sufficiently investigated, especially from the perspective of parents’ and children’s perceptions and expectations regarding SES. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether parental subjective SES and children’s subjective social mobility separately moderated the relationship between family SES and children’s executive function among 885 participants aged 9–13 years. The results showed that family SES was positively related to the three components of executive function (cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and working memory). Moreover, the relationship between SES and cognitive flexibility was weak among the children with a high level of subjective social mobility or those whose parents had high levels of subjective SES. Among children from families with economic hardship, subjective social mobility is a potential protective factor mitigating the negative effects of low family SES on their cognitive flexibility.     

家庭功能：理论、影响因素及其与青少年社会适应的关系

该文综述了中西方近20年有关家庭功能的定义、理论、影响因素及家庭功能与青少年社会适应关系的研究进展。有关家庭功能的理论可以分为两大类：以家庭发展结果为取向和以家庭发展过程为取向的家庭功能理论。现有研究主要探讨了家庭结构、社会经济地位、家庭关系、发展阶段、生活事件等对家庭功能的影响,并发现家庭功能与青少年的社会适应有着非常密切的关系。文章最后分析了已有家庭功能理论及相关研究的不足,并指出了未来家庭功能领域的研究方向。     

青少年家庭功能对其主观幸福感的影响-同伴依恋和亲社会行为的序列中介效应

以2949名中学生为被试,采用问卷法考察青少年的总体家庭功能、同伴依恋和亲社会行为对其主观幸福感的序列中介作用。结果表明：（1）总体家庭功能、同伴依恋、亲社会行为、生活满意度、积极情感两两间正相关显著,而与消极情感均显著负相关;（2）在控制年龄、性别、SES、社会赞许性后,总体家庭功能既能直接显著预测主观幸福感,也能分别通过同伴依恋、亲社会行为,及两者的链式关系间接作用于主观幸福感。     

Family Functioning, Self-Concept, and Severity of Adolescent Externalizing Problems

We investigated direct and shared effects of family functioning and self-concept on the severity of adolescent externalizing problems in a sample of 224 clinically referred adolescents. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed strong, direct relationships between problem behaviors and both family functioning and self-concept. Using R. M. Baron and D. A. Kenny's (1986) and G. N. Holmbeck's (1997) criteria for testing mediation in SEM, family functioning partially mediated the relationship between self-concept and problem behaviors. A moderation model, testing the relationship between externalizing problems and the interaction between family functioning and self-concept, did not yield a significant effect. Our findings indicate that self-concept and family functioning exert direct and shared effects on externalizing problems and suggest that interventions for clinically referred adolescents should target both the individual adolescent and his/her family.     

Trait Meta-Mood and Subjective Happiness: A 7-week Prospective Study

The primary aim of the current study was to replicate and extend previous findings by examining the relationship between trait meta-mood and levels of subjective happiness in a 7-week follow-up study. Participants were 192 undergraduate students (155 females) who completed self-report measures of trait meta-mood and subjective happiness. After 7 weeks, 155 students completed the subjective happiness scale again. Focusing first on cross-sectional analysis, meta-mood dimensions were found to be moderately related to levels of subjective happiness. Next, along with initial levels of subjective happiness, we found that meta-mood dimensions independently predicted prospective levels of subjective happiness over a 7-week follow-up. These findings provide some preliminary evidence on the prospective value of meta-mood dimensions as relevant individual differences involved in the maintenance of emotional well-being indicators.     

Factors Impacting the Mental Health of the Caregivers of Children with Asthma in China: Effects of Family Socioeconomic Status,Symptoms Control,Proneness to Shame,and Family Functioning

Caregiver mental health is widely considered to be an important factor influencing children's asthma symptoms. The present study aimed to examine key factors that contribute to caregiver mental health in pediatric asthma with a Chinese sample. Two hundred participants reported their family socioeconomic status (SES), proneness to shame, asthma symptoms control of their child, family functioning, and their depression and anxiety symptoms. Results suggested that low family SES, low family functioning, and a high level of shame proneness were associated with high levels of anxiety and depression for caregivers. Family functioning mediated the effects of SES and shame on caregiver mental health and also moderated the effects of SES and shame on caregiver depression. This study highlights the importance of reducing experience of shame and enhancing family functioning in families affected by pediatric asthma.     

The Relationships of Family Socioeconomic Status, Parent–Adolescent Conflict, and Filial Piety to Adolescents’ Family Functioning in Mainland China

This study used structural equation modeling to examine the relationships of family socioeconomic status (SES), parent–adolescent conflict, and filial piety to family functioning among middle school and high school students in mainland China. A total of 2,341 students (1,218 girls and 1,096 boys; mean age = 15.42) completed the Chinese Family Assessment Instrument, Family Status Survey, Parent–adolescent Conflict Scale, and Filial Piety Scale. The main results showed that: (a) family SES, parent–adolescent conflict, and filial piety were significantly linked to family functioning; (b) parent–adolescent conflict and filial piety contributed more to family functioning than family SES; (c) parent–adolescent conflict mediated the relationship between reciprocal filial piety and family functioning. The results promote understanding of family processes that influence the relationships between family SES, parent–adolescent conflict, filial piety, and family functioning among middle school and high school adolescents in mainland China.     

Individual differences in the relationship between domain satisfaction and happiness: The moderating role of domain importance

Previous studies have shown that personality traits account for a substantial amount of variance in individual levels of subjective well-being (SWB). However, these studies are limited in their ability to explain the intra- and interindividual differences in the processes of SWB. To redress this shortcoming, researchers have focused on moderators of the relationship between domain satisfaction and global life satisfaction. However, those studies assume only one specific type of interaction pattern for all life domains. Based on a national probability sample from Japan this paper analyzes the role of domain importance in the relationship between domain satisfaction and the overall SWB level. Our study is the first to explore different kinds of interaction patterns in the importance satisfaction moderation of life domains. We identify four different types of domains: (i) domains in which satisfaction correlates with happiness only when the domain is considered as important; (ii) domains in which satisfaction correlates with happiness no matter whether it is considered as important or not; (iii) domains in which the slope of the correlation between satisfaction and happiness increases when it is considered as important and (iv) domains which show no correlation with happiness not matter whether it is considered as important or not.     

The Contextual and Compositional Associations of Social Capital and Subjective Happiness: A Multilevel Analysis from Seoul, South Korea

Although studies on the association between social capital and subjective well-being have been recently increasing many issues still remain unsolved. The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between various social capital dimensions both at the individual (political participation, network source, trust, and organizational participation) and area level (voting rate, trust, and organizational participation) and subjective well-being (happiness) using multilevel analysis while controlling for various control variables at multiple levels. Survey data was collected from December, 2010 to April, 2011 in Seoul, South Korea. The final sample was comprised of 4,585 respondents within all 25 administrative areas in Seoul. Results from the multilevel analysis revealed that all individual and area level (trust) social capital variables are positively associated with subjective happiness. Our findings also point to the need for more sophisticated studies with longitudinal datasets based on multilevel framework using instrumental variable analysis to clarify our knowledge regarding the effects of social capital on subjective well-being.     

Parental socioeconomic status and child intellectual functioning in a Norwegian sample

Socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood has been linked to cognitive function and future academic and occupational success in studies from several countries. However, previous Nordic studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the strength of this link. We therefore investigated the association between SES and cognitive functioning in a sample of 255 Norwegian children, including 151 typically developing children and 104 children with a psychiatric diagnosis. The third edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC‐III) to assess cognitive function was used. SES was defined from maternal and paternal education and family income of typically developing children and of a subsample of children with a psychiatric diagnosis. Multiple adjusted regression analyses were used to investigate the relation between SES and cognitive functioning. The analyses showed that SES explained a significant part of the variance of the full‐scale WISC‐III score and two WISC‐III indices (Verbal Comprehension and Freedom from Distractibility). Overall, the strength of the relations was weaker than expected from reports from other non‐Nordic countries. Parental education was the only significant individual predictor, suggesting that income was of minor importance as a predictor of cognitive functioning. Further studies should investigate how diverse political and socioeconomic contexts influence the relation between SES and cognitive functioning.     

Social Support from Family and Friends and Subjective Well-Being of Older African Americans

This study examines the impact of informal social support from family and friends on the well-being of older African Americans. Analyses are based on a nationally representative sample of older African Americans from the National Survey of American Life (n = 837). Three measures of well-being are examined: life satisfaction, happiness and self-esteem. The social support variables include frequency of contact with family and friends, subjective closeness with family and friends, and negative interactions with family. Results indicate that family contact is positively correlated with life satisfaction. Subjective closeness with family is associated with life satisfaction and happiness and both subjective closeness with friends and negative interaction with family are associated with happiness and self-esteem. There are also significant interactions between family closeness and family contact for life satisfaction, as well as friendship closeness and negative interaction with family for happiness. Overall, our study finds that family and friend relationships make unique contributions to the well-being of older African Americans. Qualitative aspects of family and friend support networks (i.e., subjective closeness, negative interactions) are more important than are structural aspects (i.e., frequency of contact). Our analysis verify that relationships with family members can both enhance and be detrimental to well-being. The findings are discussed in relation to prior research on social support and negative interaction and their unique associations with well-being among older African Americans.     

Free to Be Happy: Economic Freedom and Happiness in US States

While the measurement of subjective well-being and its usefulness as a policy objective is a matter of contention, a burgeoning field of happiness economics is emerging. This paper examines the relationship between the institutions of economic freedom and happiness as reported by respondents to the Generalized Social Survey (GSS) in the United States. GSS responses are matched via geocode to state of residence. This allows individual responses in the GSS to be matched to institutional characteristics of the state of residence. A novel contribution of this study is that analysis of the effect of economic freedom on reported happiness is conducted both at the individual level and using state averages. It is found that the level of economic freedom in US states has a positive effect on both individual reported happiness and state average happiness. Dynamic panel analysis is also conducted both as a robustness check and in an effort to control for endogeneity. This confirms the relationship as positive and is suggestive of a causal positive impact of economic freedom on average state happiness.     

The relationships between Internet addiction, subjective vitality, and subjective happiness

The aim of the present study is to examine the relationships between Internet addiction, subjective vitality, and subjective happiness. The participants were 328 university students who completed a questionnaire package that included the Online Cognition Scale, the Subjective Vitality Scale, and the Subjective Happiness Scale. According to the results, subjective vitality and subjective happiness were negatively predicted by Internet addiction. On the other hand, subjective happiness was positively predicted by subjective vitality. In addition, subjective vitality mediated the relationship between Internet addiction and subjective happiness. Results were discussed in light of the literature.     

Marriage and Children as a Key to Happiness? Cross-National Differences in the Effects of Marital Status and Children on Well-Being

This research examines the relationship between family structure and subjective well-being and the extent to which cultural differences across 24 countries/regions may condition that relationship. Using the 2002 ISSP data, we examine how the effects of marriage status and the presence of children on happiness and satisfaction with family life differ according to the perceived importance of marriage and parenthood in society. We find significant cross-country differences in the relationship between presence of young children and the happiness of men, and in the relationship between the marital status of women and their happiness and satisfaction with family life.     

家庭功能对青少年疏离感的影响: 有调节的中介效应

采用问卷法调查了608名初一至高二城市青少年, 通过结构方程模型探讨了青少年疏离感与家庭社会经济地位、家庭功能和同伴接纳的关系。结果发现: (1) 青少年疏离感年龄段差异显著, 高中生的疏离感显著高于初中生; (2) 青少年疏离感的三个维度之间存在显著差异。其中环境疏离感最高, 其次是社会疏离感, 人际疏离感最低; (3) 家庭功能在家庭社会经济地位与青少年疏离感之间起完全中介作用, 这一中介作用的实现受到同伴接纳的调节, 即家庭功能对青少年疏离感的影响是有调节的中介效应。     

Individual Well-Being,Geographical Heterogeneity and Social Capital

This paper argues the relevance of analysing the origins of contextual effects to explain subjective well-being (SWB). Using the 2012 European Social Survey, the study applies social capital indicators to distinguish between-context and between-individual heterogeneity in three multilevel models of happiness and life satisfaction. Five indicators of social capital at individual and regional level are used to measure the trust, networks and norms dimensions of social capital. Random intercept and random slope hierarchical models are used to control for unexplained regional variability. The possibility of aggregated subjective perceptions conditioning, or interacting with, the effects of individual perceptions is also examined. The results show that the regional means of the social capital indicators are useful in explaining not only average levels of SWB (between-context heterogeneity) but also differences in the importance individuals attribute to their social capital (between-individual heterogeneity). The paper also proposes a research agenda to expand the frontier on contextual effects in the new science of well-being.     

Economy, Values and Happiness in Norway

Why has the level of happiness in the Norwegian population not risen in parallel with the substantial increases in income and possessions in the period 1985–2001? An answer is sought by analysing data from a series of large representative surveys of the Norwegian population. Individual level correlations between indicators of health or family situation and happiness indicate that the measure of happiness is valid, and that happiness is not fully determined by personality traits, but affected also by changes in the circumstances of an individual. Several aspects of a person's economic situation turn out to have significant effects on happiness, in particular how the situation is subjectively experienced. Even if the development for some of these subjective indicators does not reflect the improvement in objective economic conditions, there is sufficient positive change to expect an increase in the level of happiness. The stability in aggregate happiness means that counteracting influences must have been present. One such factor is value orientation. An increasing tendency for Norwegians to give priority to income and material possessions appears to have had an adverse effect on happiness towards the end of the last millennium.     

Subjective Happiness and Emotional Responsiveness to Food Stimuli

Through three studies, this study aims to investigate the relationship between subjective happiness and responsiveness to eating and to foods. In Study 1, 299 Japanese undergraduates completed the Japanese subjective happiness scale and self-report questionnaires for attitudes toward eating and food. Study 1 revealed that in daily life, people with higher happiness levels show a stronger tendency to feel pleasure by eating than those with lower happiness levels. In Study 2, 26 Japanese undergraduates performed impression assessments for foods when looking at pictures of them. In Study 3, 22 Japanese undergraduates performed the same assessments when looking at real foods and eating them using a comparison with the data from pictures of non-food items as a control condition. The results of the study indicate that people with higher happiness levels show a stronger emotional response (happy and glad) to food stimuli than those with lower happiness levels. Even images of food were effective. No such group differences were observed for appetitive responses. It was also shown that emotional responses to the pictures of non-food items’ condition in the two groups did not differ. The present studies provided empirical evidence that subjective happiness has relevance to daily eating behavior and attitudes. Further studies should investigate the possibility that subjective happiness is related to a wide range of behavior and cognition in our daily life.