Sustained Effects of Flexible Working Time Arrangements on Subjective Well-Being

The article addressed the impact of a transition to two flexible working time arrangements, employee- and employer-oriented, on subjective well-being (measured by job satisfaction and satisfaction with leisure time) from a longitudinal perspective. The study investigated which of three patterns of well-being, i.e., stability, recovery, or chronic strain/long-term improvement, are associated with these transitions. To address this question, the study used data from eleven waves (2003–2013) of the German Socio-Economic Panel. Fixed-effects analyses indicated that the well-being of individuals who switched to the employer-oriented flexible time arrangement followed a chronic strain pattern (women) or adaptation pattern (men). The effect of the transition to an employee-oriented flexible time arrangement is not unanimous: women appear to profit from this arrangement in the long run in terms of increased satisfaction with leisure time, whereas men experience deterioration in satisfaction with leisure time, followed by adaptation. At best, the effect of this transition on job satisfaction is short-lived for both genders.     

Stability of Typical Patterns of Subjective Well-Being in Middle-Aged Swedish Women

Typical patterns of general subjective well-being (SWB) were searched for in a representative longitudinal sample of Swedish women (N = 272) at age 43 and 49. Cluster analysis at each age separately resulted in a six-cluster solution at both ages. The two solutions were similar, indicating structural stability across 6 years. Five of the six clusters also showed significant individual stability. Among these clusters, a generalized positive typical pattern and two generalized negative typical patterns were found, one characterized by very high negative affect and one characterized by very low global life satisfaction. A cluster characterized by above average positive and negative affect was also found as well as one characterized by low positive affect. A strong relationship was found between membership in an extreme cluster and the values in certain SWB-related variables, supporting the validity of the typical patterns found. Further, it was shown that cluster membership contributed to the prediction of some validation variables above the prediction achieved by using only SWB components entered as continuous variables, suggesting the presence of interactions and nonlinearities in the SWB area.     

Indexes of Psychological Well-Being and Role Commitment Among Working Women

The purpose of this study was to compare level of work role commitment with indexes of psychological well-being among multiple-role working women.     

Parental Marital Quality and Well-Being,Parent-Child Relational Quality,and Chinese Adolescent Adjustment

The linkages between parents’ report of marital quality and parental well-being and children’s report ofparent-child relational quality and adolescent psychological well-being in 378 Chinese families over 2 years were examined. Results revealed that (a) marital quality predicted parental well-being; (b) fathers’ marital quality and well-being predicted parent-child relational quality but mothers’ did not; (c) paternal influence appeared to be stronger than maternal influence on adolescent adjustment; and (d) both direct and indirect paths were found for the linkages between parental marital quality and well-being and adolescent psychological well-being.     

Subjective Well-Being and Policy

This paper analyses whether the aggregation of individual happiness scores to a National Happiness Index can still be trusted once governments have proclaimed their main objective to be the pursuit—or even maximization—of this National Happiness Index. The answer to this investigation is clear-cut: as soon as the National Happiness Index has become a policy goal, it can no longer be trusted to reflect people’s true happiness. Rather, the Index will be systematically distorted due to the incentive for citizens to answer strategically and the incentive for government to manipulate the Index in its favour. Such a distortion would arise even if the measurement of subjective well-being correctly reflected actual happiness before the intervention of government. Governments in a democracy should establish the conditions enabling individuals to become happy. The valuable and important results of happiness research should be introduced into the political process. Each person should be free to pursue happiness according to his or her preferences. This process is supported by obedience to the rule of law, human rights and free media, as well as by extended political participation rights, decentralized public decision-making, an open and effective education system fostering upward mobility and the possibility to find suitable employment.     

Belief and Subjective Well-Being in Outpatients

Background. The purpose of this study was twofold: to test the hypothesis that religious and spiritual beliefs provide medical outpatients with a system of meaning and existential understanding, and to seek to determine some elements that constitute the domain of spiritual and religious beliefs as they relate to subjective well-being. Methods. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of adult outpatients. Results. Patients agreed, strongly to moderately, with statements that had a direct reference to God having a significant influence (cares about me, concerned about my problems, contributes to my sense of well-being) on the daily life of the respondent. Conclusion. Religious and spiritual beliefs provide medical outpatients with a system of meaning and existential understanding. Outpatients identified with more cognitive rather than affective perceptions of well-being, in addition to a conceptualization of what a loving God may mean.     

Life Satisfaction of Career Women and Housewives

Profound changes in gender roles have taken place over the past several decades in the United States. Women’s roles have changed most: women are marrying later in life and at lower rates, having fewer children, and working more outside of the household. “Career women” are the new normal and housewifery has gone out of fashion. At the same time, women have become less happy. We use the US General Social Surveys from 1972 to 2014 to explore these latest trends. We find that, until recently, women were happier to be housewives or to work part-time than full-time, especially, women who are older, married, with children, in middle or upper class, and living in suburbs or smaller places. The effect size of housewifery on subjective wellbeing (SWB) is mild to moderate, at about a fourth to a third of the effect of being unemployed. Therefore, we argue that one possible reason for the decline in average happiness for women was increased labor force participation. Yet, the happiness advantage of housewifery is declining among younger cohorts and career women may become happier than housewives in the future.     

Religion and Subjective Well-Being: Western and Eastern Religious Groups Achieved Subjective Well-Being in Different Ways

Culture can moderate which variables most influence subjective well-being (SWB). Because religion can be conceptualized as culture, religious differences can be considered cultural differences. However, there have been few studies comparing how different religious groups evaluate SWB at any given time. This study is among the first to investigate this issue. The present study compared Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, and atheists. In addition to demographic items, 451 Chinese adults completed Chinese version of the Socially Oriented Cultural Conception of SWB Scale. Religious belief was distributed as follows: 10 % Christian, 20 % Buddhist, 25 % Taoist, and 43 % atheists. As predicted, the socially oriented cultural conception of SWB was found to be highest among Buddhists, followed in order by Taoists, atheists, and Christians. It was concluded that the various religious groups achieved SWB in different ways.     

Gender and Sources of Subjective Well-Being

The literature on national differences in sources of well-being (Kwan, Bond, & Singelis, 1997) was used to generate predictions about gender differences in sources of well-being. This linkage was made possible by parallels between national and gender differences in individualism, collectivism, and selfhood (Markus & Kitayama, 1994). Respondents completed measures of self-construal, self-esteem, relationship harmony, and well-being (positive and negative affect). As anticipated, men’s well-being was predicted better by self-esteem than by relationship harmony, whereas women’s well-being was predicted similarly (though more moderately) by self-esteem and relationship harmony. A mediated pathway from independent self-construal to well-being through self-esteem was predicted and supported. Conceptual fit of this study with previous cross-national and gender research is discussed.     

Professional Financial Advice and Subjective Well-Being

In this paper, we examine the relationship between professional financial advice (PFA) and subjective well-being (SWB). Utilizing the Dutch Household Survey 1995–2018, we find that regarding a professional financial advisor as most important source of financial advice is associated with higher levels of SWB. This association is stronger for households that experienced an increase in income, individuals who do not consider themselves financially knowledgeable, and individuals that have a weaker internal locus of control and have a lower degree of conscientiousness.

     

Subjective Well-Being in Pediatric Oncology Patients

Using negative and positive measures of subjective well-being (SWB), we compared reports of 29 youth with cancer to a matched control sample of 29 youth. Youth with cancer did not differ from healthy controls on self-report measures of life satisfaction, hope, positive affect, or negative affect. Scores on measures of hope were positively correlated with time since diagnosis; none of the other SWB variables was significantly related to time since diagnosis. Except for negative affect, moderate correlations were found between parents’ reports of their own SWB and their youths’ self-reported SWB. Parents’ estimates of their youths’ SWB were also moderately associated with youth self-reports, except for negative affect. Parents of youth with cancer and their youth may use different criteria for reporting the nature and frequency of negative affect, but use similar criteria for reporting positive affect and other positive measures (hope, life satisfaction). Implications for more comprehensive assessments of the well-being of pediatric oncology patients are discussed.     

Dispositional Optimism and Marital Adjustment

Research showing the distinct influence of positive attributes on relationships has been growing. This study examined the impact of husbands’ and wives’ dispositional optimism on their own and partner’s relationship satisfaction, consensus, and cohesion using data from the National Survey of Families and Households. Results indicate that wives’ optimism influences their own later marital satisfaction as well as their husbands’ later marital satisfaction. However, husbands’ optimism did not appear to influence their own nor their wives’ later satisfaction. Potential interventions for increasing optimism in the therapeutic setting are discussed.     

Generational Differences in Subjective Well-Being in Australia

We test for differences in subjective well-being across four pre-defined generations in Australia born between 1928 and 1994: The Lucky Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. We focus on overall life satisfaction and range of domain satisfactions. We find that Baby Boomers are less satisfied with life than thosce born before and after them. We observe similar patterns when considering domains such as finances and housing. However, differences in satisfaction with employment opportunities show the opposite pattern, with Baby Boomers and Generation X’s reporting higher satisfaction as compared to the Lucky Generation and especially those from Generation Y. Family and labour marketcv status have greater effects than cohort of birth on many of the domains studied; however, the cohort effects are significant and non-negligible, particularly concerning satisfaction with life, employment opportunities, and housing.

     

Marital Adjustment and Irrational Beliefs

The present study was designed to determine which aspects of Ellis' irrational beliefs as well as emotional traits (anxiety, curiosity, anger) differentiate couples attending marriage counseling from couples couple not attending marriage counseling as well as levels of marital satisfaction in couples as measured by the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test. Participants were 61 married couples, 18 of whom were attending marriage counseling and 43 who were not attending marriage counseling. Each partner completed a number of self-report questionnaires containing items measuring irrational /rational beliefs, anger, anxiety and curiosity, and communication skills. Correlational and multiple regression analyses indicate support for Albert Ellis' proposition concerning the importance of individual partner's emotional traits and accompanying irrational beliefs in marital adjustment and dissatisfaction. Self-downing and need for comfort were the dimensions of irrational thinking most strongly related to marital dysfunction. Anger, anxiety but neither curiosity nor communication skills distinguished individuals experiencing or not experiencing marital problems. Implications for relationship counseling are briefly discussed.     

Effect Size Strengths in Subjective Well-Being Research

Subjective well-being (SWB) research is characterized by many large samples, which often results in virtually all variables being significantly related to well-being, even if the associations are small. In this article we explore the strengths of associations between various predictors and SWB outcomes. In addition to standard effect-size statistics, we also examined the range of the SWB scale covered in the distribution of the predictor, allowing us to estimate the strength of influence of each variable, independent of variability in the sample. We analyzed just a few variables to illustrate what our approach reveals. Our analyses included a representative sample of both the world and the United States, and our data included three types of SWB (life satisfaction (LS), positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA)). The largest effect sizes emerged for societal characteristics, such as between-nations differences, as well as personal characteristics, such as perceived social support. Small or very small effect sizes were consistently found for demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, and marital status. Other effect sizes varied by the type of SWB being considered. For example, income resulted in a large effect size for LS, but small to medium effect sizes for PA and NA. We suggest that when scholars report and interpret the associations of predictor variables with SWB, they consider the strengths of their significant associations.

     

Value as a Moderator in Subjective Well-Being

We investigated individual differences in the processes of subjective well-being (SWB). There were considerable individual differences in the domain that was most strongly associated with global life satisfaction. Individuals also differed significantly in the types of activities that they found satisfying. Moreover, these individual differences in the patterns of SWB were systematically related to value orientations. A 23-day daily diary study revealed that intraindividual changes in satisfaction were strongly influenced by the degree of success in the domains that individuals value. The present findings highlight the meaningful individual differences in the qualitative aspects of subjective well-being.     

Factor Structure of Subjective Well-Being in Iran

Subjective well-being is predominantly conceived as having 3 components: life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect. This article reports 2 studies that seek to investigate the factor structure of subjective well-being in Iran. One-, two-, and three-factor models of subjective well-being were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM). The results of Study 1 (N = 2,197) and Study 2 (N = 207) show that whereas the 1- and 2-factor models do not fit the data well, the 3-factor model provides an adequate fit. These results indicate that the 3 components of subjective well-being constitute 3 interrelated, yet distinct, factors. The analyses demonstrate how traditional CFA and ESEM can be combined to obtain a clear picture of the measurement model of subjective well-being and generate new insights about individual items and cross-loadings needed to derive more parsimonious measures. Nuances relating to the assessment of subjective well-being in more collectivist and Muslim countries are discussed.     

Subjective Well-Being of Bullied Children in Indonesia

This study aimed to explore sibling bullying and school bullying across three age groups (8, 10, and 12 years old) in Indonesia (N = 21,002; 49.44% boys, 50.56% girls) and how these bullying actions (physical, psychological, verbal) affect children’s subjective well-being. The study used data from the third wave of Children’s Worlds Survey, which was conducted in West Java Province. Bullying actions were measured by reported frequency of experiencing being bullied by siblings and other children during the last month. Subjective well-being (SWB) was measured using the Children’s Worlds Subjective Well-Being Scale (CW-SWBS). Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Being hit by siblings displayed significant effects on the CW-SWBS for Grades 6 and 2, while being called unkind names by siblings showed significant effects in the three grades. Being hit by other children at school did not display a significant effect on the CW-SWBS for Grades 2 and 4, and only a low level of significance for Grade 6. Being left out by children in class showed significant effects for all grades. Being called unkind names by children at school displayed significant effects for Grades 2 and 4 and was non-significant for Grade 6. Many Indonesian children who are victims of bullying seem to have adapted to physical bullying to maintain their level of SWB through buffers (behaviour and good relationships). The incidence of bullying in Indonesian children is very worrying and it must be taken into account by parents and teachers that these children may be at risk, although they remain passive to the situation in apparently a conformist way, by reporting rather high SWB scores.