The Facebook paths to happiness: effects of the number of Facebook friends and self-presentation on subjective well-being

The current study investigates whether and how Facebook increases college-age users' subjective well-being by focusing on the number of Facebook friends and self-presentation strategies (positive vs. honest). A structural equation modeling analysis of cross-sectional survey data of college student Facebook users (N=391) revealed that the number of Facebook friends had a positive association with subjective well-being, but this association was not mediated by perceived social support. Additionally, we found that there was a negative curvilinear (inverted U-shape curve) relationship between Facebook friends and perceived social support. As for self-presentation strategies, whereas positive self-presentation had a direct effect on subjective well-being, honest self-presentation had a significant indirect effect on subjective well-being through perceived social support. Our study suggests that the number of Facebook friends and positive self-presentation may enhance users' subjective well-being, but this portion of happiness may not be grounded in perceived social support. On the other hand, honest self-presentation may enhance happiness rooted in social support provided by Facebook friends. Implications of our findings are discussed in light of affirmation of self-worth, time and effort required for building and maintaining friendships, and the important role played by self-disclosure in signaling one's need for social support.     

The effects of social belonging and kindness on stress and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal experiment

Because the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has introduced significant stressors to people's lives, more research on self-directed strategies to cope with pandemic-related stress is needed. In the current longitudinal experiment (N = 614), we investigated the emotional benefits of two self-directed strategies—belonging affirmation and recalling kindness—during the Delta (October 2021) and Omicron (February 2022) waves of the pandemic. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three activity conditions (belonging affirmation, recalling kindness, or control), which they performed weekly for 4 weeks. Contrary to our pre-registered hypothesis, belonging affirmation and recalling kindness did not promote greater well-being overall; however, belonging affirmation led to well-being improvements indirectly via increases in positive emotions. Furthermore, the benefits of belonging affirmation were moderated by pandemic wave. That is, during the Omicron wave, but not the Delta wave, belonging affirmation led to improved life satisfaction, positive emotions, and connectedness, decreased loneliness and negative emotions, and marginally reduced perceived stress and anxiety. These results provide preliminary evidence for the well-being benefits of belonging affirmation and suggest the importance of evaluating coping strategies throughout different stages of a long-term stressor.     

Getting connected: Intergroup contact on Facebook

One correlational study examined whether virtual contact via Facebook is positively related to intergroup relations. The followers of two online campaigns from Iran and Israel—whose countries have been in a politically hostile relationship since the 1980s—indicated the amount of direct and indirect virtual (Facebook) and real-life outgroup contact they have had, a number of quality and affective judgments about that contact, and completed an affective prejudice measure about the respective outgroup. Overall, contact was negatively associated with affective prejudice, providing support for the contact hypothesis in a specific and exclusively virtual setting with citizens of hostile nations. Previously experienced real-life contact did not moderate the results, suggesting that virtual contact has an independent link to positive outgroup attitudes.     

Facebook as a virtual mosque: the online protest against Innocence of Muslims

When the short anti-Islam film the Innocence of Muslims was first posted on YouTube in English, no tangible reactions were seen in the Arab world. However, when the same producer dubbed it into Arabic and posted it on YouTube, street protests started around some parts of the Arab world. The study reported here examines a popular Facebook page identified as The global campaign to counter the hurtful film against the Prophet Muhammed that was created to protest against the Innocence of Muslims film. This study investigated all 6949 Facebook updates and comments that were available on this page by 15 October 2012 and found that a clear majority of posts were Pro-Islamic focusing on prayers for Muhammed and supplications to defend him. This study advances our theoretical understanding of the connection between online and offline religion by providing empirical evidence in relation to this controversial incident.     

The effects of mindfulness interventions on prenatal well-being: A systematic review

Objective: Low well-being during pregnancy can have significant adverse outcomes for mother and child. The effects of mindfulness interventions on prenatal maternal well-being are increasingly examined but outcomes have yet to be systematically evaluated. The aims of the current paper are to systematically evaluate intervention effects and current research approaches with pregnant groups.

Design: A systematic review of eight studies examining mindfulness intervention effects on prenatal well-being.

Results: Findings indicate potential benefits of mindfulness interventions for reducing levels of depression, anxiety and negative affect during pregnancy. There is also evidence for improved self-compassion and perceived childbirth self-efficacy. Further, these effects may be more pronounced for vulnerable groups, such as women currently experiencing low prenatal well-being. Less consistent findings were observed for stress, and positive affect. Variations in research design, gestational characteristics, timing of assessments and outcome measurement may explain some inconsistencies in the extant literature.

Conclusion: Mindfulness interventions present a potentially useful means to improve prenatal well-being but improved methodological quality is essential to rigorously examine intervention effects.     

Interactive effects of social network centrality and social identification on stress

The present study aimed to integrate the social identity approach to health and well-being with social network analysis. Previous research on the effects of social network centrality on stress has yielded mixed results. Building on the social identity approach, we argued that these mixed results can be explained, in part, by taking into account the degree to which individuals identify with the social network. We hence hypothesized that the effects of social network centrality on stress are moderated by social identification. Using a full roster method, we assessed the social network of first-year psychology students right after the start of their study programme and three months later. The effects of network centrality (betweenness, closeness, eigenvector centrality) and social identification on stress were examined using structural equation models. As predicted, our results revealed a significant interaction between network centrality and social identification on stress: For weakly or moderately identified students, network centrality was positively related to stress. By contrast, for strongly identified students, network centrality was unrelated to stress. In conclusion, our results point to the perils of being well-connected yet not feeling like one belongs to a group.     

Facebook's Contribution to Well-being among Adolescent and Young Adults as a Function of Mental Resilience

Studies of correlations between general internet use and psychological well-being have shown mixed results. The present study aimed to elucidate the relationship between Facebook use and psychological well-being, with mental resilience expected to moderate the relationship. Two hundred Israeli adolescents and young adults completed questionnaires assessing their Facebook use, mental resilience, and psychological well-being. Results showed that Facebook use was positively correlated with psychological well-being, and that this relationship was particularly strong for participants with low mental resilience. The findings support a positive effect of Facebook use as providing a virtual supportive community for individuals who may lack the social skills needed to develop social capital and confidence through traditional communication paths.     

The Protective Influence of Relationship Commitment on the Effects of Facebook Addiction on Marital Disaffection

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that Facebook use can lead to adverse romantic relationship outcomes due to interpersonal conflicts, interactions with potential romantic alternatives, and jealousy. However, these associations have been explored mainly with undergraduates, focusing primarily on conflict rather than emotional disengagement. The current study examined the associations between Facebook addiction and marital disaffection (e.g., loss of love, emotional disengagement) amongst 138 (95 females and 43 males) cohabiting married Facebook users residing in the United States. The results revealed that Facebook addiction and marital disaffection were positively related, even after controlling for relationship commitment. Additionally, greater relationship commitment weakened the association between Facebook addiction and marital disaffection. There are likely multiple explanations for the current findings; however, results suggest that higher levels of relationship commitment may protect spouses against the negative relationship outcomes associated with Facebook addiction. Future longitudinal work with couples is needed to clarify the directionality of the relationship between Facebook addiction and marital disaffection.     

亲社会支出对主观幸福感的影响及其作用机制

亲社会支出是指把钱以送礼或慈善捐款的形式花在别人身上, 而不是自己身上。它不仅可以给接受者带来好处, 还可以对给予者的幸福产生积极影响。亲社会支出对幸福感的影响主要体现在亲社会对象及影响效果两个方面, 其边界条件包括了外部与内部因素。通过自我决定理论、社会规范理论、进化理论及社会交换理论, 可以进一步解释亲社会支出影响主观幸福感的内在机制。未来研究需要检验亲社会支出与幸福感之间的边界条件、探究亲社会支出的长期积极效应及提高亲社会支出研究的生态效度。     

The possible benefits of difficulty: how stress can increase and decrease subjective well-being

This study explores the effects of stress, trauma, coping and growth orientation on subjective well-being. Based on cognitive stress theory, it was hypothesized that adversity may contribute to increased or decreased well-being, depending on the subsequent meaning these experiences are given. Survey data from Norwegian UN/NATO veterans (N= 142) showed that stress and well-being were negatively associated (r=-0.20, p < 0.05) at the level of zero-order correlations. However, a full structural equation model revealed that the effect of stress on well-being was mediated positively through a problem-focused coping process combined with a growth component. Stress was negatively mediated through an avoidant-focused coping process and a distress component. The effect from stress was fully mediated in the model. The hypothesis that stress can produce both increased and decreased subjective well-being was confirmed.     

Work-related stress and well-being: the roles of direct action coping and palliative coping

The purpose of the present study is to analyze the roles of direct action coping and palliative coping in the relationship between work stressors and psychological well-being, as well as their possible interactions, in a sample of 464 bank employees. Hierarchical regression analyses showed main effects of direct action coping on well-being. Palliative coping predicts higher levels of psychological distress. Contrary to what was expected, the interactions between work stressors and direct action coping were not significant. Palliative coping interacted with work stressors when predicting psychosomatic complaints. The interaction between the two types of coping was significant on psychosomatic complaints and psychological distress, but not on job satisfaction. The paper discusses theoretical and practical implications of these results, in order to design intervention strategies to prevent and manage job stress.     

Identifying gender differences in the independent effects of personality and psychological well-being on two broad affect components of subjective well-being

Subjective well-being (SWB) is defined in terms of positive and negative affect whilst psychological well-being (PWB) reflects self-referent attitudes of mastery and self-acceptance. Whilst both SWB and PWB are associated with personality, concurrent analysis is limited. This study (n = 679) reports on a teacher sample in which personality, SWB and PWB were measured. Results indicated moderate correlations between variables. Hierarchical regression controlled for personality and identified PWB as a significant predictor of SWB. Separate predictors of negative and positive affect support the need to assess both SWB affective components. As the most significant predictor of positive affect the inclusion of PWB is needed in future well-being research.     

Coping with recruiter stress: Hardiness,performance and well-being in US Army recruiters

ABSTRACT

Recruiting for military service can be a highly stressful job, but it is one that is essential for success in the all-volunteer force. Military recruiters face a number of job stressors, including pressure to meet monthly production quotas, long work hours and time away from family. They also work in relative isolation, with limited work social support networks. These factors make recruiters vulnerable to burnout and early attrition. The present study examines psychological hardiness and active, problem focused coping as potential stress resilience resources in US Army recruiters. In a stratified random sample of N = 817 recruiters, hardiness was found to predict supervisor-rated performance and psychological well-being. Hardiness also interacted with problem focused coping to predict psychological well-being, suggesting a mediating role for coping. These results can be applied to help improve policy for selecting and training military recruiters.     

应激对风险和社会决策的影响

应激是有机体在受到真实或者潜在的威胁刺激时所表现出来的全身性非特异性反应, 伴随着紧张和焦虑的心理体验, 交感神经系统的兴奋, 糖皮质激素分泌的增多以及脑干−边缘系统−前额叶神经环路的改变。应激对个体在风险决策行为中的风险寻求和风险回避倾向, 社会决策行为中的利己和利他倾向都会产生重要影响。策略使用异常、习惯化和自动化反应增强、反馈学习过程以及奖惩敏感性的改变是应激影响决策行为的认知基础; 应激激素的分泌, 及杏仁核、前额叶等在决策过程发挥重要作用的脑区活动的改变则为应激作用于决策行为的神经基础。未来研究应重点关注：应激的个体差异与应激对决策影响效应多样性的关系; 综合多种指标对应激进行测量; 考察应激的时序效应; 揭示个体的最佳应激水平; 加强对慢性应激影响决策以及应激对决策影响效应可逆性的研究; 揭示应激影响决策的神经机制。     

The how and the when of the social cure: A conceptual model of group- and individual-level mechanisms linking social identity to health and well-being

In this article, we aim at theoretical specification and integration of mechanisms proposed within the Social Identity Approach to Health and Well-being. We differentiate group-level and individual-level effects of shared social identity by distinguishing three different aspects: individual identification, group identification, and individually perceived group identification. We discuss specific group-level mechanisms (i.e., mutual social support and collective self-efficacy) and individual level-mechanisms (i.e., attribution and appraisal processes regarding stressors and resources) for each of the three aspects. A core conclusion is that the positive effects of shared social identity on health and well-being crucially depend on its close relationship with social support, and that although social support is an interindividual phenomenon, it is intraindividual mechanisms—attribution and appraisal—that shape the psychological partnership between social identity and social support. Therefore, we put special emphasis on cross-level interactions between group- and individual-level mechanisms, which have been widely neglected in earlier research.     

The effects of romantic partners’ goal congruence on affective well-being

Affective well-being in romantic couples was examined from the perspective of interdependence theory. The independent variables were (a) presence of partner, (b) whether an activity met the actor’s goals, and (c) goals of the actor’s partner. Dependent variables were feelings of closeness and affective well-being (happiness, sadness, anger, anxiety). We predicted a three-way interaction with the highest affective well-being when partners are together and activities meet both partners’ goals. In Study 1, data from 194 married individuals who participated in an experience sampling study supported our predictions. Feelings of closeness partially mediated the effect on affective well-being. Study 2 replicated the findings with 112 participants in dating relationships who recalled specific events and made ratings about goals and affective well-being.     

Occupational stress and mental well-being in a cohort of Black South African teachers

This study explored levels of occupational stress and mental well-being of a cohort of Black South African teachers. 200 secondary school teachers completed the Teacher Stress Inventory (TSI: Boyle, Borg, Falzon, & Baglion, 1995), General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28: Goldberg & Hillier, 1979 Goldberg, D. P., & Hillier, V. F. (1979). A scaled version of the General Health Questionnaire. Psychological Medicine, 9, 139–145. doi: 10.1017/S0033291700021644[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF: Keyes, 2006 Keyes, C. L. M. (2006). Mental health in adolescence: Is America's youth flourishing? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(3), 395–402. doi: 10.1037/0002-9432.76.3.395[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Correlations and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) were used to determine the levels of occupational stress and well-being of participants, and to establish the relation between these variables. A significant majority of the teachers reported high levels of mental health (flourishing) despite high levels of teacher stress. These results show teachers’ ability to withstand and cope with stress whilst maintaining their mental health. This suggests the presence of protective factors that mediate the effect of work-related stressors and, in so doing, contribute to the teachers’ levels of resilience.     

Counselling and well-being: on the road to realities

This article aims to discuss the rationale and some guiding principles for the realm of counselling in the fostering of well-being. After some brief observations of a theoretical nature, the principles analysed are: the revitalisation of counselling; the reflection on the concept of dialogue, including the notion of context; the perspective of counselling as social activity; understanding counselling and how it adjusts on the road to realities. From this perspective, practitioners view counselling as a social activity aimed at self-construction and life designing. In following that view, the idea of counselling as being socially produced is also examined. At the end, some considerations on the future of counselling are discussed.     

Health,social comparisons,and psychological well-being: Their cross-time relationships

The purposes of this short-term longitudinal study were to investigate (a) stability and change in social comparisons across time; (b) the relationship between physical health and the use of social comparisons across time; (c) whether psychological well-being is best predicted by prior or concurrent social comparisons; and (d) the moderating effects of social comparisons. Community-dwelling elderly women (N=149) completed self-report instruments designed to measure social comparisons, psychological well-being, and physical health at two times, 2 years apart. Worse health at Time 1 predicted more frequent and less positive social comparisons at Time 2. Concurrent, but not prior, social comparisons contributed to a number of domains of psychological well-being. Further, the effects of prior health status on subsequent psychological functioning (Time 2) were moderated by social comparison processes. Women in poorest health who engaged in positive social comparisons showed less depression and anxiety and more positive relations with others at Time 2. Little support was found for the influence of prior psychological functioning on subsequent physical health.     

Influencing value priorities and increasing well-being: The effects of reflecting on intrinsic values

A four-week experimental study (N?=?113) examined the effects of reflecting on intrinsic values. In the experimental group, participants learned about the distinction between intrinsic (e.g. having close relationships) and extrinsic (e.g. being popular) values, wrote about two personal intrinsic values, and then reflected on these values weekly for four weeks. In the control group, participants completed parallel exercises related to the daily details of their lives. Results revealed that participants in the intrinsic values group experienced greater well-being immediately following the written reflection than participants in the control group. Four weeks later, the more engaged participants felt in the reflection exercises, the more they prioritized intrinsic over extrinsic values and the greater their well-being. These effects occurred only for participants in the intrinsic values condition. The implications for changing value priorities and improving well-being are discussed.