Psychometric Properties of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form: A Study of Portuguese Speaking Children/Youths

The development of measures of children and adolescents’ subjective well-being is crucial to the conceptualization and evaluation of positive mental health. The aim of this study was to investigate the factorial structure and invariance of the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF—adolescents) across children and youths. Participants were from two different samples: 208 elementary school children (sample 1) and 216 middle school youths (sample 2). Results confirmed the three-dimensional structure of subjective well-being in both samples. The three sub-scales of the MHCSF yielded high internal consistency and results from the HTMT85 indicated discriminant validity. Measurement invariance testing across three different age groups (7–8, 9–10 and 11–14 years) confirmed the full metric and approximate scalar invariance of the MHC-SF. Full scalar invariance was achieved across gender. The study also compared the latent means for mental well-being in the three age groups, and found that the younger groups showed significantly higher levels of wellbeing. The present research study strongly suggests that the MHC-SF (adolescents) is an appropriate instrument to measure the positive mental health and well-being of children and pre-adolescents as multidimensional construct.     

Erratum to: Reducing the Floor Effect in the SF-6D: A Feasibility Study

Applied Research in Quality of Life -     

The "Efficiency" Effect of Conceptual Referents on the Generation of Happiness: A Cross-National Analysis

Journal of Happiness Studies - This paper analyses how different definitions of happiness affect the individual assessment of subjective wellbeing. Bearing in mind the production theory, we study...     

Sensation seeking as a predictor of psychopathology in Danish soldiers deployed to Afghanistan

Identifying methods that enable prediction of psychopathology that results from military service is crucial for individual and mission readiness, and for postdeployment mental health. In the present study, we investigate the relationship between sensation seeking (SS) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and between SS and depression. Data from 743 Danish soldiers deployed to Afghanistan in 2009 were collected 6 times: before deployment, during deployment, 1–3 weeks after homecoming, 2 months after homecoming, 7 months after homecoming, and 2.5 years after homecoming. In this study, we did not find a relationship between SS and PTSD, or between SS and depression. The present study does not support previous findings that link SS with psychopathology. The structural environment in the military setting, the extent of exposure and type of stressful situations may play a moderating role. More extreme environments, such as imprisonment and torture, may favor different expressions of SS. Further research should include other factors such as context and the extent and type of traumatic exposure in relation to SS.     

An Analysis of the Relationship Between Religiosity and Psychological Well-Being in Chilean Older People Using Structural Equation Modeling

Journal of Religion and Health - Using a representative sample, we explored the relationship of organizational (ORA), non-organizational (NORA), and intrinsic religiosity (IR) with depressive and...     

Quality of Life of Children and Adolescents with Short Stature: The Twofold Contribution of Physical Growth and Adaptive Height-Related Cognitive Beliefs

This study aimed to examine the health-related quality of life (HrQoL), coping, height-related beliefs, and social support of children/adolescents with short stature, the sociodemographic, clinical, and psychosocial variables associated with HrQoL, and the moderating role of sociodemographic and clinical variables on the associations between psychosocial variables and HrQoL. 114 Portuguese children/adolescents with short stature, aged 8–18 years old, completed the Quality of Life in Short Stature Youth questionnaire and the Satisfaction with Social Support Scale. Regression analyses explained 54% of the variance of HrQoL, with significant main effects of current height deviation and height-related beliefs, and a significant interaction effect between beliefs and diagnosis. Results suggest that a multidisciplinary therapeutic approach, not only focused on hormone treatment to boost physical growth, but also including psychosocial interventions focused on the modification of height-related beliefs, may contribute to improve the HrQoL of pediatric patients with short stature.

     

Neurocognitive control in dance perception and performance

Dance is a rich source of material for researchers interested in the integration of movement and cognition. The multiple aspects of embodied cognition involved in performing and perceiving dance have inspired scientists to use dance as a means for studying motor control, expertise, and action-perception links. The aim of this review is to present basic research on cognitive and neural processes implicated in the execution, expression, and observation of dance, and to bring into relief contemporary issues and open research questions. The review addresses six topics: 1) dancers' exemplary motor control, in terms of postural control, equilibrium maintenance, and stabilization; 2) how dancers' timing and on-line synchronization are influenced by attention demands and motor experience; 3) the critical roles played by sequence learning and memory; 4) how dancers make strategic use of visual and motor imagery; 5) the insights into the neural coupling between action and perception yielded through exploration of the brain architecture mediating dance observation; and 6) a neuroesthetics perspective that sheds new light on the way audiences perceive and evaluate dance expression. Current and emerging issues are presented regarding future directions that will facilitate the ongoing dialog between science and dance.     

Job insecurity in the younger Spanish workforce: Causes and consequences

The Spanish labor market is currently an example of a flexible labor market. However, it involves a set of detrimental conditions for its workforce, such as lower employability in the labor market and underemployment (i.e. over-qualification and underemployment in time). In this study, we assume that all these conditions promote higher job instability, which is especially serious for the younger population. Hence, the present study aims to examine, on the one hand, how these specific labor conditions affect younger employees' concerns about job loss or job insecurity and, on the other, how this job insecurity can affect their current job performance and the future development of their career. The study sample was composed of 3000 Spanish younger employees. Results showed a significant relationship between employability and underemployment and job insecurity, as well as a significant association between job insecurity and work involvement. Indeed, the relationship between employability and underemployment and work involvement was mediated by job insecurity. Lowemployable, overqualified and temporary young workers experience higher levels of job insecurity, which, in turn, negatively affects their work involvement.