Maternal working conditions and child well-being in welfare-leaving families

In the wake of welfare reform, thousands of low-income single mothers have transitioned into the labor market. In this article, the authors examine how the work conditions of mothers leaving welfare for employment are associated with the emotional well-being of 372 children ages 5 to 15 years. The authors examine the cumulative incidence, over a 5-year period, of maternal non-family-friendly work conditions, including long work hours, erratic work schedules, nonday shifts, and lengthy commute times, in association with children's internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and levels of positive behavior. The authors found that mothers' lengthy commute times are associated with higher levels of internalizing problem behaviors and lower levels of positive behaviors.     

Personality,coping, and school well-being: an investigation of high school students

With a growing interest in well-being as an outcome of schooling, there is an increased need for research on how to enable it in students’ academic lives. This study examined personality and coping strategies as predictors of students’ well-being outcomes at school using structural equation modelling. Students (N?=?328) completed measures of personality and coping strategies, and then approximately 6 months later reported on their satisfaction with school and subjective well-being. Results indicated that, along with personality and sociodemographics, productive coping strategies were associated with school satisfaction and subjective well-being 6 months later. The findings suggest that coping strategies used by adolescents to deal with the stresses of school have important consequences. Interventions to increase school students’ use of productive coping strategies may have meaningful impacts on their well-being.     

Active school travel,attitudes and psychological well-being of children

The decline in physical activity levels among children emphasizes a need for research on experiences related to children’s active travel. The present study investigates the relationship between mode use on school trips and psychological well-being (PWB) of children. Data were collected from 152 primary school children in Lower Austria. The paper-and-pencil survey investigated transport-related attitudes, travel behavior, and children’s emotional well-being depending on the travel mode used on their trip to school. Parents’ perceptions of their child’s travel mode on well-being were also collected in 31 in-depth interviews. Findings suggest that active school travel is positively associated with children’s PWB, and that travel-related attitudes towards modes are significantly related to well-being. However, it is difficult to determine the causal direction between the two variables as causal feedback loops can be assumed. Clear results can be obtained for the parental survey: Parents reported strong positive associations between active travel modes and the well-being of their children. More research with bigger sample sizes and higher quality measures should be conducted, including about non-school trips and with longitudinal datasets, to further evaluate the interrelations between children’s mode use, attitudes, and well-being and to determine the most successful strategies for increasing active mobility among children.     

Family functioning and psychological well-being,school adjustment,and problem behavior in chinese adolescents with and without economic disadvantage

Using an indigenously developed measure of family functioning, the author examined the association between family functioning and adolescent adjustment in 1,519 Chinese adolescents. Results showed that family functioning was significantly related to measures of adolescent psychological well-being (existential well-being, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of mastery, general psychiatric morbidity), school adjustment (perceived academic performance, satisfaction with academic performance, and school conduct), and problem behavior (delinquent and substance abuse behavior). Family functioning was generally more strongly related to measures of adolescent adjustment for adolescents with economic disadvantage than for adolescents without economic disadvantage.     

The relative importance of psychological acceptance and emotional intelligence to workplace well-being

Psychological acceptance (acceptance) and emotional intelligence (EI) are two relatively new individual characteristics that are hypothesised to affect well-being and performance at work. This study compares both of them, in terms of their ability to predict various well-being outcomes (i.e. general mental health, physical well-being, and job satisfaction). In making this comparison, the effects of job control are accounted for; this is a work organisation variable that is consistently associated with occupational health and performance. Results from 290 United Kingdom workers showed that EI did not significantly predict any of the well-being outcomes, after accounting for acceptance and job control. Acceptance predicted general mental health and physical well-being but not job satisfaction, and job control was associated with job satisfaction only. Discussion focuses on the theoretical and applied implications of these findings. These include support for the suggestion that not controlling one's thoughts and feelings (as advocated by acceptance) may have greater benefits for mental well-being than attempting consciously to regulate them (as EI suggests).     

Job demands and job resources as predictors of teacher motivation and well-being

We analyzed how teacher perception of job demands and job resources in the school environment were related to teacher well-being, engagement and motivation to leave the teaching profession. Participants were 760 Norwegian teachers in grade 1–10. Data were analyzed by means of confirmatory factor analysis and SEM analysis. A second order job demand variable strongly predicted lower teacher well-being, whereas job resources more moderately predicted higher well-being. Teacher well-being was in turn predictive of higher engagement and lower motivation to leave the profession. Analysis of primary factors showed that time pressure was the strongest predictor of teacher well-being.     

Relations of child effortful control to personality,well-being and parenting

This study examined effortful control and its relations to personality, parenting and well-being in a community sample of Russian preschool children (N = 365, 46% girls) using parent-reported effortful control scale from the very short form of the children's behaviour questionnaire, the inventory of child individual differences–short version, the Alabama parenting questionnaire—preschool revision, the self-reporting questionnaire, and parent and teacher reports on the strengths and difficulties questionnaire. The findings confirmed the four-factor structure of effortful control, including inhibitory control, attentional control, low-intensity pleasure and perceptual sensitivity. Girls demonstrated higher scores than boys on effortful control, perceptual sensitivity, inhibitory control and low-intensity pleasure. Older children scored higher than younger on inhibitory control and perceptual sensitivity and lower on low-intensity pleasure. Gender and age accounted for less than 3% of the variance in effortful control. Effortful control was associated with personality traits of conscientiousness, agreeableness and openness, and with positive emotions and low-negative affect. Higher effortful control was associated with higher levels of prosocial behaviour and lower levels of externalising and internalising problems. Structural modelling showed that the effect of parenting on child prosocial and problem behaviours may be mediated by effortful control.     

Life history strategy, identity consolidation, and psychological well-being

Previous research has shown that individual differences in life history strategies co-vary with a large array of variables to the extent that latent variables from a number of psychological measures load on a single (Super-K) factor. Similar to research on the Super-K factor, the purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that various measures of identity would load on a single factor and that this latent variable would in turn be associated with other variables reflecting life history strategy and psychological well-being, making a Super-K factor. A sample of 248 university students were administered a variety of questionnaires related to identity, life history strategy, and psychological well-being. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed the hypothesized Super-K factor and the relationship remained even when controlling for variance in social-desirable responding. The results are discussed in terms of the association between Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development and life history theory.     

Couples’ Work Schedules and Child-Care Use in the Netherlands

Various aspects of parental work schedules affect the opportunities and constraints that parents encounter when arranging care for their children. This study examined the extent to which the combination of couples’ work schedules was associated with their use of different types of child care, focusing on parental, formal, and informal child care. We considered multiple dimensions of couples’ work schedules, namely, the timing of work, schedule flexibility, and home-based telework. Data from a recent Dutch survey were used, including information about 1599 dual-earner couples with children aged 0–6 years. The results indicated that paid work during nonstandard hours increased the amount of parental child care that was provided by one parent while the other parent was working, whereas work during evenings, nights, and weekends decreased the likelihood of using both formal and informal child care. Results further revealed gender differences for nonstandard hours and schedule flexibility. We found stronger effects of mothers’ work schedules, indicating that a gender-neutral approach to parental work is not justified. These results indicate that the timing of parental work is important to consider when examining not only parental child care but also formal and informal child-care use. We provide recommendations for future research, specifically regarding the possible consequences for parental well-being.     

Unemployment,attributional style and psychological well-being

The proposition that attributional style is a risk factor for depression, with people who make external, unstable attributions for good outcomes, and internal, stable attributions for bad outcomes being particularly vulnerable, was tested in a study of employed and unemployed youngsters. Among the former, greater self-esteem was associated with internal attributions for good outcomes, and less depressive affect was associated with internal, stable attributions for good outcomes. No such relationships were observed in the unemployed. By contrast, attributions for bad outcomes were related to both depressive affect and self-esteem in the unemployed, but were related only to depressive affect in the employed. In the unemployed, lower depressive affect and higher self-esteem were both associated with unstable attributions, and lower depressive affect was associated with external attributions. In the employed lower depressive affect was associated with external, unstable attributions. Although these relationships were generally consistent with the hypothesis, attributions made three years earlier when respondents were still at school were only weakly related to subsequent measures of psychological well-being. Moreover, many changed their attributions over time, a finding that casts doubt on the assumption that attributional style can be regarded as a stable characteristic in young people.     

Personality dimensions and subjective well-being

This work examines the association between personality dimensions (extraversion and neuroticism) and subjective well-being. Subjective well-being is associated both with extraversion and neuroticism, and currently, neuroticism is generally considered the more important. A total of 368 students from the University of Rovira i Virgili completed the Extraversion and Neuroticism subscales of the revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (Eysenck, Eysenck, and Barrett, 1985), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffin, 1985), and the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (Watson, Clark, and Tellegen, 1988). Regression analyses revealed the personality variable of neuroticism as one of the most important correlates of subjective well-being. Regression analyses also showed that 44% of the variance of subjective well-being was accounted for by neuroticism, whereas extraversion only explained 8% of the variance.     

Eudaimonic conceptions of well-being, meaning in life, and self-reported well-being: Initial test of a mediational model

The current study examined relationships between eudaimonic dimensions of individual conceptions of well-being (e.g., self-development, contribution), meaning in life, and self-reported well-being, and whether meaning in life mediates associations between eudaimonic conception dimensions and well-being. A sample of 275 adult volunteers completed several instruments assessing the above constructs. Results from structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that eudaimonic conception dimensions were positively associated with both meaning in life and well-being. Further, the relationship between eudaimonic conception dimensions and self-reported well-being was found to be partially mediated by meaning in life. The findings of the current study thus suggest that the experience of meaning in life is one route through which eudaimonic conception of well-being dimensions are associated with self-reported well-being.     

Relationship between contingency awareness and human performance on random ratio and random interval schedules

In three experiments, human participants pressed the space bar on a computer keyboard to earn points on random-ratio (RR) and random-interval (RI) schedules of reinforcement. Verbalized contingency awareness (CA) for each schedule was measured after the entire task (Experiments 1 and 2), or after each RR–RI trial (Experiment 3). In all three experiments, an ability to accurately verbalize the appropriate contingency for each schedule was associated with typical schedule responding. In addition, lagged correlational analysis of verbalized contingency awareness and schedule performance was undertaken in Experiment 3. Results of these correlations initially suggested that CA scores were better predictors of typical schedule performance on the following trial than typical schedule performance was of CA scores on the following trial; however, further analysis revealed no significant differences between the alternate lagged correlation types in each pair. Findings, therefore, suggest that operant performance on RR and RI schedules is associated with participant-derived rule governed behavior, and results are discussed in terms of the introduction of a new paradigm for measuring this association, and the potential for further research to manipulate these parameters further in order to investigate causality in this respect.     

The impact of hope, self-esteem, and attributional style on adolescents’ school grades and emotional well-being: A longitudinal study

We examined the distinctiveness of three “positive thinking” variables (self-esteem, trait hope, and positive attributional style) in predicting future high school grades, teacher-rated adjustment, and students’ reports of their affective states. Seven hundred eighty-four high school students (382 males and 394 females; 8 did not indicate their gender) completed Time 1 measures of verbal and numerical ability, positive thinking, and indices of emotional well-being (positive affect, sadness, fear, and hostility), and Time 2 measures of hope, self-esteem, and emotional well-being. Multi-level random coefficient modelling revealed that each positive thinking variable was distinctive in some contexts but not others. Hope was a predictor of positive affect and the best predictor of grades, negative attributional style was the best predictor of increases in hostility and fear, and low self-esteem was the best predictor of increases in sadness. We also found that sadness at Time 1 predicted decreases in self-esteem at Time 2. The results are discussed with reference to the importance of positive thinking for building resilience.     

Psychological well-being and scholastic achievement among university students in a Canadian Prairie City

This article reports the findings from a questionnaire survey of university students’ scholastic achievement and psychological well-being in a Canadian prairie city. Multiple ordinary least-squares regression analyses revealed that sex, educational aspirations, hours spent on studying, father’s education, physical health, financial stress, and stress due to balancing work, school, and social life were found to be significantly associated with academic performance. More specifically, female students and those who reported higher educational aspirations, indicated better physical health, experienced less financial stress or stress due to finance or to balancing work, school, and social life, spent more time on studying, and those whose father had a higher level of education were found to perform better academically. On the other hand, income, physical health, relationship with significant other, relationship with family, relationships with friends, self image, and academic stress were found to be significantly related to psychological well-being. Put succinctly, respondents who had a higher family income, reported better physical health, expressed a higher degree of satisfaction with their relationships with family, friends, and significant other, indicated a more positive self-image, and experienced less academic stress were found to exhibit a significantly higher level of psychological well-being.     

The differential effects of intrinsic and identified motivation on well-being and performance: prospective, experimental, and implicit approaches to self-determination theory

Self-determination theory research has demonstrated that intrinsic and identified self-regulations are associated with successful adaptation. However, few distinctions are typically made between these regulations and their outcomes. In the present studies, the associations between intrinsic and identified motivations and outcomes of psychological well-being and academic performance are compared in educational settings. In Study 1, intrinsic self-regulation predicted psychological well-being, independent of academic performance. In contrast, identified regulation predicted academic performance. Additionally, the more that students demonstrated an identified academic regulation, the more that their psychological well-being was contingent on performance. In Study 2a, priming intrinsic self-regulation led to greater psychological well-being 10 days later. In Study 2b, an implicit measure of identified regulation predicted academic performance 6 weeks later. Results indicate the need to address important distinctions between intrinsic and identified regulations.     

Academic optimistic bias: Implications for college student performance and well-being

Although optimism has several benefits, there are potential drawbacks associated with “too much of a good thing”. Within an academic context, a possible determinant of the adaptiveness of optimistic bias is whether students have a sense of control over academic outcomes: optimistically-biased (OB) achievement expectations paired with perceptions of academic control may enhance performance and well-being; optimistic bias in the absence of perceived control may result in disappointment, poor performance, and diminished well-being. The current longitudinal study examined academic control cognitions (ACC) among OB college students (n = 319) versus non-optimistically biased (non-OB) students (n = 321). We also examined the effects of academic optimistic bias on composite measures of college performance (perceived success, final psychology course grades, cumulative GPA, course attrition) and well-being (positive and negative emotions, health behaviors, future optimism) 6 months later; and determined whether ACC accounted for those associations. Significant MANCOVAs showed OB students had greater ACC, better subsequent well-being, and outperformed their non-OB counterparts. These well-being and performance differences remained significant after statistically accounting for initial aptitude and ACC. Overall, academic optimistic bias was accompanied by perceived controllability over scholastic outcomes, yet beyond the effects of ACC, optimistic bias was associated with better year-end performance and well-being. Findings have implications for maximizing the successful transition of first-year college students.     

学校资源对青少年早期幸福感发展的影响：意向性自我调节的纵向中介作用

通过对1214名初中生历时3年的3次追踪测量, 考察了青少年早期的学校资源、意向性自我调节及幸福感的发展趋势, 并对意向性自我调节在学校资源与幸福感发展间的纵向中介作用机制进行检验。结果发现, 在青少年早期, 学校资源具有相对的稳定性, 意向性自我调节及幸福感均呈线性增长; 学校资源对幸福感发展的作用机制表现为：一方面, 学校资源通过意向性自我调节的初始水平分别对幸福感的初始水平和发展速度起间接作用, 另一方面, 学校资源通过意向性自我调节的发展速度对幸福感的发展速度起间接作用。结论：青少年早期, 学生的学校资源水平保持稳定, 意向性自我调节和幸福感的发展均呈线性递增趋势; 学校资源能够通过意向性自我调节的初始水平和发展速度对幸福感的发展起间接作用。     

Religious involvement,helping others,and psychological well-being

This study has two goals. The first goal is to see if involvement in religion is associated with providing tangible support to family members and strangers. The second goal is to see if providing tangible support to family members and strangers is associated with well-being. A conceptual model, which was developed to address these issues, contains the following core relationships: (1) individuals who go to church more often will receive more spiritual support from coreligionists; (2) those who receive more spiritual support will provide more tangible assistance to family members and strangers; and (3) people who help family members and strangers will report greater life satisfaction and higher self-esteem. Findings from a nationwide survey support all but one of these relationships. More specifically, the results suggest that providing tangible support to family members is associated with greater well-being, but providing tangible support to strangers is not associated with well-being.     

Shiftwork, burnout, and well-being: A study of canadian nurses

This study examined the relationship between shift-time and employees’ burnout, psychosomatic health, job satisfaction, skill use, intrinsic motivation, and absenteeism. Data were collected by means of a structured questionnaire from nurses (N=175) working in a psychiatric hospital in a large metropolitan city in eastern Canada. One-way ANOVA,t-tests, and two-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. Shift-time was not related to burnout. However, nurses on rotating shifts and night shifts appeared to suffer more seriously than nurses on other shifts in terms of their well-being. Limited support for gender (males vs. females) as a moderator of shift-time and outcome variables was found. Results are discussed in light of the previous empirical evidence on shiftwork and employees’ well being. Implications for management and employees involved with shiftwork are highlighted.