Mindfulness and psychological well-being among black South African university students and their relatives

This study investigated the relationship between mindfulness and psychological well-being in a convenience sample of black South African students (n = 203) and their parents and other relatives (n = 204) (66.1% = female; age range 18–73). The students self-reported on their mindfulness on the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale and psychological well-being on the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Adult Trait Hope Scale and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire. A multivariate regression model was specified and analysed via structural equation modelling in Mplus 7.3. Results revealed that mindfulness scores strongly predicted elevated levels of meaning and positive affect, and lowered levels of negative effect, and were moderately strong predictors of life satisfaction and hope. The findings imply that mindfulness likely plays an important role in relation to the psychological well-being of cross-generational African culture community members.     

Religiosity moderates the relationship between negative affect and life satisfaction: A study in 29 European countries

Many religions contend that the key to well-being is living one’s life based on religious standards, rather having certain emotional experiences. On this basis, it is predicted that the relationship between positive and negative affect and life satisfaction would be stronger in less religious individuals. Using multi-level modeling in a sample of 50,130 participants from 29 European countries, this study reveals that religiosity moderates the relationship between negative affect and life satisfaction, such that life satisfaction is less strongly influenced by the frequency of negative emotions in more religious (vs less religious) individuals.     

Religiosity and Life Satisfaction: A Multi-dimensional Approach

In this paper we employ a unique data set of 413 adults and scrutinize over the linear and non-linear relationship of religious adherence to life satisfaction. The findings confirm the previous studies regarding the positive linear and curvilinear relationship between the uni-dimensional religiosity and subjective well-being. To deepen the understanding of the relationship between religiosity and subjective well-being, the authors make use of a multi-dimensional religiosity scale. Via dissecting religiosity into different dimensions, we show when life satisfaction is in negative, positive, linear and/or curvilinear relationship with religiosity. The empirical evidence shows that the relationships between the dimensions of religiosity on life satisfaction are non-linear. Specifically, we demonstrate that there exist non-linear relations of ideological and consequential dimensions of religiosity to life satisfaction.     

Gratitude and PTSD symptoms among Israeli youth exposed to missile attacks: examining the mediation of positive and negative affect and life satisfaction

Based on a sample of Israeli adolescents living in a city which was under missile attack 2½ months prior to this study, we examined the possible affective and cognitive mechanisms through which gratitude may serve as a protective factor against PTSD symptoms. Specifically, we focused on how this process might be mediated by positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. These are widely understood as the emotional and cognitive components of subjective well-being and have each been significantly associated with gratitude and with pathology in the literature. Using pathway analysis, our findings revealed that life satisfaction and negative affect, but not positive affect, mediated the relationship between gratitude and PTSD symptoms. Our study suggests that gratitude may serve as a protective factor primarily through cognitive appraisal processes tied to greater appreciation of life in a way that distinguishes it from other positive emotions.     

Do Existential Variables Mediate Between Religious-Spiritual Facets of Functionality and Psychological Wellbeing

Religiosity has been related to psychological wellbeing outcomes. Although this relationship is primarily based on studies of church attendance or prayer and wellbeing, more recent work has focused on the potential mechanisms that may mediate the religion-wellbeing findings. One of the major function of religion is finding of meaning of life and improving hope. Recent studies have indicated that hope and meaning of life are the potential variables mediate between religion and wellbeing. It was hypothesized that one pathway through which religiosity may exert its positive influence on psychological wellbeing is through finding meaning of life and improving hope. One study was conducted examining the relationships among spiritual experiences, hope, meaning of life and psychological wellbeing operationalized as satisfaction with life, positive affect and negative affect. The following research tools were used: Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale, Purpose in Life Test, Hearth Hope Index, Cantril Ladder, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. Meaning of life and hope were noticed to mediate between spiritual experiences and satisfaction with life as well as between spiritual experiences and positive affect. Spiritual experiences were not related to negative affect. Both meaning of life and hope predicted negative affect. This study found meaning of life and hope to be an important factors in the religion-wellbeing relationship and related to positive psychological outcomes, including improved satisfaction with life and positive affect as well as reduced negative affect.     

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.     

Assessing psychological health: the contribution of psychological strengths

Balanced assessment of mental health involves assessing well-being and strengths as well as psychopathology. The character strengths of curiosity, gratitude, hope, optimism and forgiveness are assessed in 214 new undergraduates and their relationships to mental health, subjective well-being and self-esteem explored. Scoring the mental health scale for psychiatric caseness, case and non-case students did not differ in character strengths, positive affect or life satisfaction, supporting a dual-factor model. Hope pathways and gratitude predicted mental health. Gratitude, hope agency and exploratory curiosity predicted positive affect. Gratitude and hope agency predicted life satisfaction. Hope agency, hope pathways, exploratory curiosity and gratitude predicted self-esteem, with absorption curiosity as a negative predictor. The benefits of assessing strengths are discussed and interventions designed to develop them.     

Looking for happiness in all the wrong places: The moderating role of gratitude and affect in the materialism–life satisfaction relationship

We propose a model that explains the negative relationship between materialism and life satisfaction. We test negative affect as a mediator of the relationship between materialism and dissatisfaction with life, and gratitude and positive affect as moderators of this effect. Self-report data collected from 246 (129 female) undergraduate students generally supported our predictions. The negative relationship between materialism and life satisfaction was mediated in part by an increase in negative affect. Additionally, gratitude – and to a lesser extent, positive affect – functioned as moderators of the effect of materialism on life satisfaction. Individuals high in gratitude showed less of a relationship between materialism and negative affect. Additionally, individuals high in materialism showed decreased life satisfaction when either gratitude or positive affect was low. Thus, negative affect, positive affect, and gratitude seem to be important variables in the relationship between materialism and dissatisfaction with life.     

Relationship quality,divorce, and well-being: Findings from a three-year longitudinal study

Recent studies indicate that divorce sometimes is positive for subjective well-being, but we lack knowledge about the circumstances under which this is the case. Further, we lack knowledge about the possible different associations between divorce and life satisfaction (LS) vs. positive affect (PA). The current study is based on the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Change in LS and PA over a three-year period was examined in women who divorced and women who did not divorce (N > 37,000). Relationship quality and relationship status at follow-up were included in the models. The results indicated that divorce predicted higher LS and PA when initial relationship quality was poor. Furthermore, divorce predicted higher PA for women who, after divorce, reported being in a new romantic relationship. The associations between relationship quality and LS and PA were stronger among not-divorced than divorced women, indicating that relationship quality affects LS and PA.     

青少年学校幸福感量表的编制

本研究提出了青少年学校幸福感的概念并进行了理论构建,以此为基础自行编制了青少年学校幸福感量表。对中学生进行问卷调查的结果进行了探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析,研究结果如下:(1)在中国青少年学生学校生活背景下,学校幸福感由学校满意度、在校积极情感和在校消极情感三种成分组成;(2)学校满意度是一个由成就感、学校管理、师生关系、同学关系、教学和课业学习组成的六维结构,在校积极和消极情感均为单维结构;(3)本研究所编制的青少年学校幸福感量表(Adolescents’ School Well-Being Scale)具有较好的信度与效度,可供同类研究使用。     

Perfectionism and Life Aspirations in Intrinsically and Extrinsically Religious Individuals

Religiosity is related to positive health and life satisfaction but the pathways through which this occurs have not been clearly delineated. The purpose of this study was to examine potential mediators of the relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity and negative affect and life satisfaction. Perfectionism and life aspirations are two possible pathways through which religious orientation is related to outcome. It was hypothesized that adaptive perfectionism and intrinsic life aspirations would act as mediators between intrinsic religiosity and negative affect and life satisfaction, and that maladaptive perfectionism and extrinsic life aspirations would act as mediators between the extrinsic religiosity and negative affect and life satisfaction. Two consecutive samples of religious college students (N = 540 and N = 485) completed measures of the Age Universal Religious Orientation Index, the Frost Multi-Dimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Aspiration Index, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Intrinsic religiosity had a direct negative relationship with negative affect and positive relationship with life satisfaction. Contrary to the hypotheses, intrinsic religiosity had its strongest indirect effect via maladaptive perfectionism such that increased intrinsic religiosity was related to decreased maladaptive perfectionism which in turn lead to better negative affect and life satisfaction. Extrinsic religiosity was related to increased maladaptive perfectionism and thereby indirectly contributed to worse negative affect and life satisfaction. Interestingly, when the effects of maladaptive perfectionism were controlled, the direct effects of extrinsic religiosity were related to reduced negative affect and increased life satisfaction. Overall, the strongest mediator in this study of both intrinsic and extrinsic religiosity was maladaptive perfectionism, with intrinsic religiosity related to decreased maladaptive perfectionism and extrinsic religiosity related to increased maladaptive perfectionism.     

Religious commitment and positive mood as information about meaning in life

Two studies examined the role of religious commitment in moderating the relationship between positive affect (PA) and meaning in life. In Study 1, Sample 1, religiosity was found to moderate the relationship between naturally occurring PA and meaning in life, showing that high levels of religiosity attenuated the effects of PA on meaning in life. In Study 1, Sample 2, religiosity similarly moderated the effects of induced mood on meaning in life. In addition, this pattern of results was shown to be unique to meaning in life compared to another life domain (life satisfaction). In Study 2, subliminally priming Christians with positive religious words (e.g., “Heaven”) was further shown to weaken the association between PA and meaning in life, whereas subliminal primes of negative religious words (e.g., “hell”) weakened the association between religious commitment and meaning in life. A competition of cues model is proposed to account for these effects.     

Affective mediators of the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and life satisfaction in young adults

This study examined the affective mediators of the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and life satisfaction in young adults and the widespread or limited affective mediators between the different groups in demographic factors, e.g., gender, students and non-students, family conditions. Six hundred and twenty participants completed the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale. Results using structural equation modeling showed that both positive affect and negative affect acted as mediators of the relationship between trait EI and life satisfaction and the indirect effect of trait EI on life satisfaction via positive affect was stronger than that via negative affect. Moreover, multi-group analyses found that the paths did not differ by gender and family conditions, but positive affect was more strongly associated with students’ life satisfaction, compared to non-students. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.     

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.     

The Repercussions of Emotional Abuse and Parenting Styles on Self-Esteem,Subjective Well-Being: A Retrospective Study with University Students in Brazil

This study verified the differences in the incidence of memory of emotional abuse among the different parenting styles in students from 18 to 30 years of age at a university in southern Brazil. The relationship between memory of emotional abuse and self-esteem, and subjective well-being was also examined. Students (n = 293) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, published scales measuring self-esteem, life satisfaction, parenting styles, and self-report questionnaires. Negative correlations were found between emotional abuse and self-esteem, positive affect, and life satisfaction. Positive correlations were found between emotional abuse, age, and negative affect. Memories of emotional abuse were significantly more frequent in students who reported being raised under negligent and authoritarian parenting styles than in those who were raised under the other parenting styles.     

Religiosity, Religious Doubt, and the Need for Cognition: Their Interactive Relationship with Life Satisfaction

Previous research has found a consistent, negative relationship between holding religious doubts and mental well-being, and a small positive relationship between religiosity and mental well-being. To assess the interrelationship between religious doubt, religiosity, and need for cognition on life satisfaction, a survey was administered to an almost exclusively Christian sample of 192 Americans drawn from undergraduates and alumni of a small mid-western college, undergraduates from a small south-eastern college, and several churches from the metro-Detroit area. Zero-order correlations revealed relationships between religiosity and life satisfaction, as well as religious doubt and life satisfaction. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that the three-way interaction of religiosity, religious doubt, and the need for cognition was predictive of life satisfaction. Significant two-way interactions also emerged for both gender and religiosity, and gender and religious doubt as predictors of life satisfaction. Based upon these findings, counseling applications are discussed, and the importance of probing for interactions in research on religious influences on well-being is espoused. Portions of this research were presented at the 2004 Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, HI.     

Reframing the ordinary: Imagining time as scarce increases well-being

We explored a counterintuitive approach to increasing happiness: Imagining time as scarce. Participants were randomly assigned to try to live this month (LTM) like it was their last in their current city (time scarcity intervention; n = 69) or to keep track of their daily activities (neutral control; n = 70). Each group reported their activities and their psychological need satisfaction (connectedness, competence, and autonomy) weekly for 4 weeks. At baseline, post-intervention, and 2-week follow-up, participants reported their well-being – a composite of life satisfaction, positive emotions, and negative emotions. Participants in the LTM condition increased in well-being over time compared to the control group. Furthermore, mediation analyses indicated that these differences in well-being were explained by greater connectedness, competence, and autonomy. Thus, imagining time as scarce prompted people to seize the moment and extract greater well-being from their lives.     

大学生成就目标与主观幸福感的关系研究

目的：探讨大学生成就目标与主观幸福感的关系。方法：采用成就目标量表、主观幸福感量表整群抽样调查247名大学生。结果：①来自乡村的大学生的掌握目标显著高于来自城镇的大学生,女生的成绩回避目标显著高于男生。②掌握目标与积极情感显著正相关,与消极情感显著负相关;成绩接近目标与生活满意度、积极情感显著正相关;成绩回避目标与消极情感显著正相关。③掌握目标正向预测积极情感,负向预测消极情感;成绩接近目标正向预测生活满意度和积极情感;成绩回避目标正向预测消极情感,负向预测积极情感。结论：掌握目标和成绩接近目标有利于主观幸福感,成绩回避目标不利于主幸福感。     

The role of positive and negative affect on well-being amongst Swedish and Iranian university students

The roles of positive and negative affect in well-being were studied in two different societies, namely the Iranian and the Swedish. A total of 606 university students (296 Iranian and 310 Swedish) participated in the study. The results showed that, whereas there was no difference between Iranian and Swedish participants in their general level of life satisfaction, differences with regard to positive and negative affect were found. Swedish participants had more positive affect, whereas Iranian participants had more negative affect. In the Swedish sample, the most predictive factor of flourishing was positive affect, while there was a balance affect (between positive and negative affects) in the Iranian sample. The results are discussed from a individualistic–collectivistic perspective.     

The broaden and build process: Positive affect,ratio of positive to negative affect and general self-efficacy

Previous research indicates that increases in positive affect enhance personal resources and bring about improvements in various realms of life. The present study examined the role of general self-efficacy as a mediator between increases in positive affect and change in work and relationship satisfaction and mental health. Participants randomly assigned to a three-week intervention intended to increase positive affect showed significantly greater change in positive affect, ratio of positive to negative affect, self-efficacy, work satisfaction and mental health than participants in a control condition. Changes in affect were associated with changes in self-efficacy, work satisfaction, relationship satisfaction and mental health. Changes in self-efficacy were associated with increases in work satisfaction and mental health. The findings incorporate the concept of general self-efficacy into the broaden and build model and provide information regarding the utility of ratio of positive to negative affect indices.