Subjective Well-Being and Self-Reported Health in Osteoarthritis Patients Before and After Arthroplasty

The main aim of the current study is to examine the changes in the components of subjective well-being (SWB) over time in patients with osteoarthritis who have undergone total hip or knee replacement surgery (arthroplasty). We are also interested in determining whether pre-operative ratings of self-reported health (SRH) status, as well as change in health status, can serve as predictors for postoperative levels of SWB. To this end, 50 participants who had been admitted to a hospital for arthroplasty completed the measures twice—first at the clinic one day before the surgery, and then at home approximately 4.5 months after the surgery. Despite the fact that there were substantial improvements in participants’ health and physical functioning after the arthroplasty, there were no changes in their ratings of general SRH, life satisfaction (LS), or negative affect (NA). The only change in SWB scores was in the level of positive affect (PA), which was significantly higher after surgery compared with the pre-operative measurement. LS, NA, and PA scores after arthroplasty were differentially predicted by health ratings, showing that, it is the cognitive-evaluative component of SWB (i.e., LS) that is mostly responsible for the association between general SRH and SWB while affective components (i.e., NA and PA) are primarily related to more specific health indicators. Our findings can assist physicians in their efforts to provide more realistic expectations for their patients undergoing surgery in terms of the physical and psychological outcome.     

Do the core self-evaluations moderate the relationship between subjective well-being and physical and psychological health?

This study investigates the role that core self-evaluations (CSE) plays on the relationship between subjective well-being (SWB) and health functioning. The findings from a sample of 160 undergraduate students revealed that CSE explains incremental variance in physical and psychological health functioning, above and beyond the effect of SWB. The results also revealed that CSE moderated the relationship of two indicators of SWB (PA/NA and satisfaction with life) with physical functioning, suggesting that individuals who have positive emotions and/or are satisfied with their lives and simultaneously are high CSE are more likely to demonstrate good physical health functioning. Contrary to expectations, the results revealed that CSE did not moderate the relationship between SWB and psychological health functioning. The findings are discussed in the context of the importance of CSE on health psychology, while implications for practice and directions for future research are proposed.     

When Good Feelings Turn Mixed: Affective Dynamics and Big Five Trait Predictors of Mixed Emotions in Daily Life

In this study, we examine how daily life fluctuations in positive affect (PA) and negative afect (NA) relate to mixed emotions—that is, simultaneous positive and negative feelings. We utilised three experience sampling studies (total N = 275), in which participants reported their affect 10 times each day for up to 14 days. Because people generally experience fairly stable moderate levels of PA in daily life, we proposed that mixed emotions would typically occur when NA increases and overlaps with, but does not entirely eliminate, PA. Accordingly, within individuals, we found that mixed emotions in daily life were more strongly predicted by changes in NA and the occurrence of negative events than by changes in PA and positive events. At the between-person level, individuals with more variable NA, more stable PA, and higher trait Neuroticism scores experienced higher average levels of mixed emotions. Further, we found evidence that the average magnitude of NA increases may partially mediate the association between Neuroticism and mixed emotions. We also found that positive predictors of mixed emotions are negative predictors of individuals' within-person PA/NA correlations—that is, affective synchrony. Our findings elucidate trait predictors and affective dynamics of daily life mixed emotions, which appear closely intertwined with NA variability. © 2020 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Prospective and Concurrent Affective Dynamics in Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors: An Examination in Young Adult Women

Affective dynamics, assessed using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), provide a nuanced understanding of within-person fluctuations of negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) in daily life. NA and PA dynamics have been associated with psychopathology and response to psychological treatments. NA and PA dynamics have been rarely studied concurrently in association with self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITB), transdiagnostic difficulties encountered regularly in clinical and community settings. Here we present EMA data from a large, diverse sample of young adult women with high rates of SITB to examine NA and PA dynamics (mean intensity, variability, and inertia). Specifically, we considered the prospective associations between past-year suicidal thoughts and past-year nonsuicidal self-injury and affective dynamics, as well as the concurrent associations between affective dynamics, EMA-reported suicidal thoughts, and EMA-reported urges for nonsuicidal self-injury. Results demonstrate that elevated mean NA and NA variability are robustly associated with all types of SITB assessed prospectively or concurrently. Interestingly, these associations were weakest for past-year nonsuicidal self-injurious behaviors, relative to past-year and concurrent suicidal or nonsuicidal self-injurious thoughts. Past-year suicidal thoughts further predicted increased NA inertia. Decreased PA inertia was associated with past-year nonsuicidal self-injury behavior, as well as concurrent EMA suicidal thoughts. We found no associations (prospective or concurrent) between SITB and mean PA intensity or PA variability. These results highlight the importance of understanding affective processes to develop real-world interventions to prevent nonsuicidal self-injury and suicidal behavior in daily life.     

Relationship of subjective and objective social status with psychological and physiological functioning: preliminary data in healthy white women.

This preliminary study compared the associations between objective and subjective socioeconomic status (SES) with psychological and physical variables among 157 healthy White women, 59 of whom subsequently participated in a laboratory stress study. Compared with objective indicators, subjective social status was more consistently and strongly related to psychological functioning and health-related factors (self-rated health, heart rate, sleep latency, body fat distribution, and cortisol habituation to repeated stress). Most associations remained significant even after controlling for objective social status and negative affectivity. Results suggest that, in this sample with a moderately restricted range on SES and health, psychological perceptions of social status may be contributing to the SES-health gradient.     

Associations of self-compassion and global self-esteem with positive and negative affect and stress reactivity in daily life: Findings from a smart phone study

The present study examined trait self-compassion and trait self-esteem in relation to positive (PA) and negative affect (NA), as well as their associations with stress reactivity in daily life. One hundred and one subjects completed questionnaires on perceived stress and affect twice a day for 14 consecutive days on smart phones. Results indicated that self-compassion and global self-esteem were positively related to PA and negatively to NA. After controlling for self-esteem, self-compassion remained significantly associated with PA and NA, whereas self-esteem was no longer associated with PA and NA after controlling for self-compassion. Furthermore, results indicated that self-compassion buffered the effect of stress on NA, whereas this was not the case for global self-esteem. Neither self-compassion nor self-esteem moderated the relation of stress on PA in separate models. The results of the present study add to the growing literature regarding beneficial relations of self-compassion and psychological well-being and further emphasize the distinction of self-compassion and global self-esteem.     

The Role of Life Satisfaction in Predicting Student Engagement and Achievement

Much research has investigated how individual components of subjective well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect) influence adolescent functioning. Little is known, however, about how the third component of subjective well-being (SWB), life satisfaction, contributes to positive adolescent outcomes when investigated simultaneously with positive and negative emotions. The current study extends Lewis et al.’s (J Psychoeduc Assess 27:397–408, 2009. doi:10.1177/0734282908330571) work by considering the incremental validity of life satisfaction (LS) relative to negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) as predictors of student engagement and achievement in a sample of middle school students. Results indicated LS provided incremental validity over affective states in predicting student engagement and some aspects of academic achievement. Gender also moderated these relationships. Practitioners are encouraged to include all components of SWB in assessments, especially when trying to understand students’ school functioning.     

Physical activity is positively associated with college students' positive affect regardless of stressful life events during the COVID-19 pandemic

The study was designed to determine associations between physical activity (PA) and affect before and during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders and how change in PA predicted change in affect during this time. Before and during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, college students (n = 107) completed assessments of PA, positive and negative affect, sleep quality, food insecurity, and stressful life events (during stay-at-home order only). Total minutes of PA was positively associated with positive affect before (B = 0.01, p < 0.01) and during (B = 0.01, p = 0.01) COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Change in minutes of PA was positively associated with change in positive affect (B = 0.01, p = 0.01). Associations between PA and positive affect were not moderated by stressful life events. PA only predicted negative affect before COVID-19 stay-at-home orders (B = −0.003, p = 0.04). PA appears to enhance positive affect during a global pandemic. Findings have implications for PA as a tool for maintaining or enhancing mental health during a time of trauma and uncertainty.     

Relational and psychological mediators of change in low‐income couples' perceived health

Experimental tests of the association between relationship functioning and physical health are limited. Although associations are hypothesized to be partially mediated through improved psychological functioning, tests are mostly limited to lab‐based studies. The present study evaluated relational and psychological mediators of change in perceived health in a sample of 742 low‐income couples (1,484 individuals) who participated in a randomized controlled trial of two online relationship education programs and a waitlist control group. Results partially supported the Strengths and Strains Model of Relationships and Physical Health. Relationship functioning and some psychological functioning were mediators of change in perceived health. Future research is needed to understand how relationship functioning improved perceived health through mediators other than psychological functioning tested here.     

Subjective wellbeing and its relationship with academic achievement and multilinguality among Lebanese university students

The study investigated three subjective wellbeing (SWB) components, namely positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and life satisfaction (LS), along with optimism and self-esteem and their association with academic achievement and multilinguality in a sample of 1401 Lebanese university students. As predicted, optimism and self-esteem correlated positively with LS and PA, and negatively with NA. Optimism, self-esteem and each of the SWB components jointly predicted academic achievement (GPA), with PA being an individually significant positive predictor. There were differences in the five key variables across language groups, specifically between Arabic-only speakers and some other groups: Compared Arabic-only speakers, bilingual speakers of Arabic and either English or French scored higher on self-esteem, PA and optimism, and lower on NA, while trilingual speakers of Arabic, English, and French scored higher on self-esteem, PA and LS. Language grouping was a significant predictor of the SWB components, optimism, and self-esteem even when controlling for GPA, socioeconomic status (SES), and religion. Lastly, the relevance of SES and religion for the prediction of SWB is discussed, and implications and future research questions are advanced.     

Subjective temporal trajectories for subjective well-being

Based on Diener's (Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.) tripartite model of subjective well-being (SWB), subjective evaluations of past, present, and anticipated future life satisfaction (LS), positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA) were evaluated in a cross-sectional undergraduate sample. Upward mean trends in subjective trajectories (past?<?present?<?future) were typical, on average, for each SWB component. As predicted, higher levels of present SWB were aligned with greater positive psychological, physical, and interpersonal functioning. In contrast, steeper upward subjective SWB trajectories were associated with greater distress and dysfunction. Of the three SWB components, unique links with indicators of functioning were most consistent for LS trajectories. We conclude that a temporally expanded conceptualization of SWB spanning subjective assessments of past, present, and anticipated future LS, PA, and NA provides a rich framework for studying the structure of SWB and the significance of how people perceive their well-being to be unfolding over time.     

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.     

Individual and dyadic associations among relational self‐expansion potential,affect, and perceived health

A growing body of literature suggests that specific markers of relationship quality are meaningfully linked to health outcomes. We tested whether relational self‐expansion potential might be one of these markers in cross‐sectional samples of individuals and romantic couples. Study 1 found that greater self‐expansion potential was linked to better perceived physical health via both higher positive affect (PA) and lower negative affect (NA). Study 2 replicated these findings for PA (but not NA) and revealed both actor and partner effects of self‐expansion potential. Results remained robust when statistically accounting for gender, age, body mass index, agreeableness, neuroticism, and perceived partner responsiveness. These findings identify a new relationship‐level “active ingredient” associated with health and have implications for future physical health studies.     

The role of workload and driver coping styles in predicting bus drivers' need for recovery, positive and negative affect, and physical symptoms

A survey was conducted on a sample of 159 Australian bus drivers to determine the extent to which workload and self-reported driver coping styles predicted their subjective health status. The model that was proposed incorporated the hours spent driving as a measure of workload, both adaptive and maladaptive driver coping styles, and self-report measures of need for recovery (i.e., fatigue), positive and negative affect (PA and NA), and physical symptoms. The results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the workload was a significant predictor of drivers' need for recovery, but not of their PA and NA nor of their physical symptoms. Need for recovery was in turn a significant predictor of PA and NA and of their physical symptoms, indicating that it mediates the influence of workload on PA and NA and physical symptoms. Two maladaptive coping strategies added to the prediction of need for recovery, as well as to the prediction of NA, even after controlling for the influence of need for recovery. One adaptive coping strategy added to the prediction of PA. Strategies for management of fatigue in bus drivers should focus on the assessment and remediation of maladaptive coping strategies which impact of drivers' need for recovery, which in turn predicts PA and NA and physical symptoms.     

Affective Well-Being in Retirement: The Influence of Values,Money, and Health Across Three Years

In this study, personal values, health, and financial status were investigated as determinants of affective well-being in a sample of 371 recent retirees across 3 years. Personal values, measured with the Portrait Value Questionnaire (Schwartz et al. in J Cross Cult Psychol 32:519–542, 2001), were hypothesized to show direct links to positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) as well as to moderate the association between financial and health status and affective well-being. Using structural equation modeling, higher PA was predicted by female gender, better finances, fewer illnesses, and higher self-transcendence (ST), openness to change (OC), and conservation values. Higher NA was predicted by female gender, lower finances, more illnesses, higher self-enhancement (SE) and lower OC values. SE and OC values also moderated the association between financial status and PA. Longitudinal analyses indicated a relatively stable pattern of associations across 3 years. While the impact of finances on affect was stable over time, the effects of health and values increased across 3 years.     

On The Dimensional and Hierarchical Structure of Affect

Green, Goldman, and Salovey (1993) challenged the view that "positive affect" and "negative affect" are largely uncorrelated dimensions. On the basis of factor analytic studies of happiness and sadness, and of positive and negative emotional activation (PA and NA), they claimed that a "largely bipolar structure of affect" (p. 1029) emerges when random and nonrandom error are taken into account. A reappraisal of their own findings and confirmatory analysis of additional data do not support this claim. Happiness and sadness form a largely unidimensional bipolar structure, but PA and NA are relatively independent. However, exploratory analyses yield a three-level hierarchy incorporating in one structure a general bipolar Happiness-Versus-Unhappiness dimension, the relatively independent PA and NA dimensions at the level below it, and discrete emotions at the base. We emphasize the heuristic value of a hierarchical perspective.     

Effects of daily events on mood states in major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by high negative affect (NA) and low positive affect (PA), but little is known about emotional reactivity in daily life. The authors used experience sampling methodology to investigate changes in NA and PA following minor daily events in MDD compared with healthy participants. Contrary to expectation, MDD participants did not report more frequent negative events, although they did report fewer positive events. Multilevel regression showed that both NA and PA responses to negative events were blunted in the MDD group, whereas responses to positive events were enhanced. NA responses to negative events persisted longer in MDD participants. Depressed participants with a positive family history or longer current episodes showed relatively greater NA responses to negative events.     

Effects of positive and negative affect and emotional suppression on short-term life satisfaction

Relationships between emotional experiences and health and adjustment are influenced by many variables, with emotional suppression (ES) being one of the most influential factors. In the current study, we examined the effects of affect and ES on short-term life satisfaction (LS) measured over the previous week. We also considered the dimension of activation status for both positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). The final sample included data collected from 398 undergraduates (184 men and 214 women). Participants answered six questionnaires, two of which were used for another study. All of the tests were of Japanese versions and were answered with regard to the previous week's experiences. Results showed that LS was positively associated with PA and negatively with NA, but that the positive association was stronger for activated PA than deactivated PA, while the negative association was stronger for deactivated NA than activated NA. Furthermore, an interactive effect between deactivated NA and ES on LS was significant in men, where post hoc tests demonstrated that deactivated NA was more negatively associated with LS when ES was higher. This study suggests that activated and deactivated affect differ in their effects on LS. In addition, it is likely that the detrimental effect of deactivated NA on LS is larger when NA is more strongly suppressed. The necessity of interventional research along with the limitations of this study is discussed for future research.     

Health-related quality of life in chronic fatigue syndrome: predictors of physical functioning and psychological distress

This study investigated health-related quality of life (HRQoL; physical functioning and psychological distress) in an Australian chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) population. The aims of the study were to compare HRQoL in those with CFS to the normal population, and to investigate the extent to which sociodemographic (age, gender, partner status, education), illness-related (illness duration, symptom frequency), and fatigue severity (physical, mental) variables predicted HRQoL. A total of 139 people meeting CFS criteria completed questionnaires. HRQoL was assessed using standardised measures of distress and physical functioning. Compared with norms, those with CFS obtained significantly lower scores on all physical functioning areas, whereas 63% of participants reported clinically significant psychological distress. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that physical fatigue severity and symptom frequency were the strongest predictors of deficits in physical domain HRQoL. Physical HRQoL outcomes were also predicted by mental fatigue severity, older age, and female gender. All predictors were unrelated to psychological distress apart from weak positive associations with physical fatigue and symptom frequency. Results identify a potent set of predictors of HRQoL and show that CFS has a pervasive negative impact on quality of life, particularly physical and psychological functioning.     

Physical health, positive and negative affect, and personality: A longitudinal analysis

This study used structural equation modeling to examine longitudinal relations among physical health, personality and mood in a sample of 360 college students. Research focused on the longitudinal associations among physical health and mood and their systematic relations with the Big Five personality dimensions of Extraversion and Neuroticism. Longitudinal analyses over successive 1-month intervals revealed lagged reciprocal effects between physical health and negative affect. After controlling for the effect of negative affect, physical health influenced subsequent positive affect, but positive affect did not influence subsequent physical health. Implications of these findings for subsequent research on health, personality, and emotions are discussed.