The Design and Evaluation of a Hope Enhancement Programme for Adults

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a hope enhancement programme for a group of adults and its impact on general psychological well-being. The intervention programme focused on participants' abilities to set feasible goals, planning ways to reach those goals (pathways) and increase determination and motivation (agency) to reach these goals. The workshop-format programme, consisted of six two-hour sessions conducted over five days. A pre and post-test design included an experimental group (n = 8), control group (n = 8) and ‘chat group’ (n = 8). Findings indicated that the programme increased hope levels of the experimental group as indicated by the Hope Scale and the Hopefulness Subscale of the Hunter Opinions and Personal Expectations Scale. Well-being also improved as indicated by a significant increase in sense of coherence along with a positive change in satisfaction with life. Recommendations for future research were made.     

Psychometric Properties of the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ) in a South African Context

Self-regulation (SR), an important construct within the psychological well-being context, involves the ability to monitor behaviour, to contrast it with reference values and to introduce adjustments where necessary. A lack of validated measures of SR in the South African context has contributed to the current caveat in our knowledge of the potential importance of this construct. This investigation aimed to establish the utility of the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SSRQ; Carey, Neal & Collins, 2004) in a South African context. This short version of the original Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ; Brown, Miller & Lawendowski, 1999) was completed by a group of 385 undergraduate psychology students. Factor analysis produced 7 factors, all of which showed significant positive correlations with other measures of psychological well-being. This first step toward establishing the importance of SR in non-Western cultures reflected positively on the potential use of the SSRQ in large epidemiological studies.     

Gratitude,well-being and psychological distress among South African university students

This study investigated the associations between gratitude, measures of well-being, and indicators of psychological distress (depression and negative emotion) among South African university students. Data were collected from 198 first-year university students (female = 69.70%; mean age = 20.55 years, SD = 1.70 years) using measures of gratitude, flourishing, well-being, depression, and negative emotion. The results showed that gratitude is positively associated with measures of well-being, and inversely related to indicators of psychological distress. University-based support programmes should consider gratitude interventions to support student success.     

Using Themes from Mystical Traditions to Enhance Self-Acceptance in Life Review Groups

ABSTRACT

This article presents a model in which facilitators of life review groups can enhance the self-acceptance of members troubled by memories that seem to confirm their self-as-failed. By incorporating into the group's agenda discussions based on readings from religious mystical traditions East and West, the themes of True-Self, Mystical Night, and Engaged Detachment can move reviewers to own their past, celebrate it as gift, and feel purposeful about their future.     

The Influence of Religiosity,Family-of-Origin,and Self-Efficacy on Depression in Older Adults

ABSTRACT

In this study, the influence of religiosity, self-efficacy, and family-of-origin on depression was examined. In addition, the associations of race, gender, and age on these variables were analyzed. A total of 81 older persons, 56% white and 44% black, and approximately the same number of males and females, were recruited from public housing, a senior citizens organization, and a private community dwelling. Results indicated that a number of associations were significant between race, gender, religion, and age. No gender or race differences were associated with self-efficacy or depression. Multiple regression analysis was utilized to examine the role of self-efficacy, family-of-origin, and religiosity on depression of older adults. Significant causal effects were found for the influence of religiosity and family-of-origin on self-efficacy and the influence of self-efficacy on depression.     

The Imagination of Images and Images of Imagination: How the Imagination Relates to Aging,Health, and Spirituality

ABSTRACT

Psychological literature suggests that religion and spirituality increase in late adulthood. Yet, operational definitions of spirituality and religiosity remain widely debated and inadequate for the concepts they are designed to measure. The empirical studies of religion and spirituality as one ages are of poor design and often measure only limited aspects of religion or spirituality. Few empirical studies exist which have been conceived to only study religiosity and spirituality in late adulthood. The purpose of this study was to determine the defining aspects of religiosity and spirituality using the Allport, Ross Intrinsic, Extrinsic Religiosity Scale, Ellison's Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and Neugarten's Life Satisfaction Instrument. Using a principal component factor analysis, the study examined the factor structure using an older adult sample of 320 individuals 65 years of age and older. Having a purpose in life combines with intrinsic religious questions for the first factor. Life satisfaction questions group together on two factors and extrinsic religiosity is clearly one factor. The scales used hold together well when combined. A new, shortened scale to measure aspects of religiosity and spirituality is proposed.     

Health,Finances, Religious Involvement,and Life Satisfaction of Older Adults

ABSTRACT

This study examines the patterns and relationships between twelve independent variables and the expressed subjective well-being of older adults within that classic community setting of the Lynds' “Middletown.” The twelve variables include measures of church attendance, religious activity, religious conservatism/liberalism, subjective health status, social participation, importance of leisure, participation in physical activity, age, sex, marital status, and level of education.     

Childhood Maltreatment and PTSD: Spiritual Well-Being and Intimate Partner Violence as Mediators

Childhood maltreatment places individuals, including African American women who are undereducated and economically disadvantaged, at risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Participants were 192 African American women with a history in the prior year of both a suicide attempt and intimate partner violence (IPV) exposure. They were recruited from a public hospital that provides medical and mental health treatment to mostly low-income patients. A simple mediator model was used to examine if (a) existential well-being (sense of purpose) or religious well-being (relationship with God) mediated the link between childhood maltreatment and adult PTSD symptoms. Sequential multiple mediator models determined if physical and nonphysical IPV enhanced our understanding of the mediational association among the aforementioned variables. Findings suggest that existential well-being mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and adult PTSD symptoms in a simple mediator model, and existential well-being and recent nonphysical IPV served as sequential multiple mediators of this link. However, religious well-being and physical IPV were not significant mediators. Findings underscore the importance of enhancing existential well-being in the treatment of suicidal African American women with a history of childhood maltreatment and IPV.     

Dynamic models of well-being: implications of affective events theory for expanding current views on personality and climate

Research investigations into employee well-being (EWB) have tended to take a between-individual approach, which highlights differences among people. This traditional paradigm has been complemented by examinations of intraindividual EWB, which explores within-person variation over periods of time. Drawing on affective events theory (AET), we further elaborate the implications of intraindividual EWB for two reasonably stable sets of constructs—personality traits and affective climates. We argue that the intraindividual paradigm challenges scholars to rethink what they mean by stability, concluding that stability can be conceptualized in two ways—as reasonably consistent levels of affect and predictable patterns of affective change.     

The roles of leader emotion management and team conflict for team members' personal initiative: A multilevel perspective

Employees' personal initiative (i.e., their active and future-oriented engagement at work) is of high relevance to organizations that strive for innovation and competitiveness. To better understand its drivers and diminishers, the present study refers to Affective Events Theory and examines the impact of leader emotion management, team conflict, and affective well-being on personal initiative. Data from 300 members of 59 work teams in Germany were gathered from multiple sources at three points in time over the course of 2 weeks. Multilevel analyses indicated that leader emotion management positively affected team members' personal initiative and that this effect was mediated by team members' affective well-being. Data also revealed a contrasting negative indirect effect of task conflict within the team on team members' personal initiative via team members' affective well-being. The study's results suggest that the improvement of leaders' emotion management as well as the establishment of work conditions and experiences that foster affective well-being should be seriously considered by organizations wishing to facilitate personal initiative in team settings.