Investigating the Effects of Trauma-Related Research on Well-Being

Using an experimental design, we investigated the impact of participation in trauma-related research on well-being in a sample of 219 higher education students. We created five conditions that exposed participants to questions about life events. A sixth condition represented a control condition. Exposure conditions varied according to whether they contained yes/no questions about events that entailed stress, stigma, trauma, or sexual violation. We operationalized well-being by measuring positive and negative affect, state anxiety, and positive reactions to research. Across exposure conditions, participants reported low levels of negative affect and generally positive reactions immediately after participation. The most negative and least positive responses followed exposure conditions that contained questions about stressful events and sexual violation. We discuss implications of our findings for ethics review board practices.     

Generational Structure and Social Resources in Mid-Life: Influences on Health and Well-Being

The influence of generational structure on well-being in mid-life is examined in a regional representative sample of 807 adults aged 30–64. Results indicate that those who lack the personal and social resources of education and marriage, and have parents but no children, report higher levels of well-being than those with only child(ren) or both parent(s) and child(ren). Findings suggest that elders may serve as a key resource to adult children who lack personal and social resources in mid-life. Adults increasingly follow less traditional paths in life (e.g., those without children and/or never married), and hence, these findings have implications for current and future policies directed toward aging and family well-being.     

The Responsible Child and Parental Well-Being

The majority of cancers affect older persons disproportionately and the probability of developing cancer increases dramatically with age. We compared psychological and functional adaptation as well as psychosocial coping resources and service use between two age cohorts: patients under 65 and patienis 65 and over with a diagnosis of breast, colorectal or lung cancer. Older patients were not seriously disadvantaged in terms of adaptation or coping resources, although results suggest that they may be underutilizers of supportive community services. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

呆萌可爱动物秀

4米多高"高富帅"的长颈鹿,萌宠神兽"羊驼",俏皮的环尾狐猴,热情四射的火烈鸟……这些来自异国他乡的动物们,在青岛野生动物世界里,住进了"暖气房"、铺上了茅草垫,安详舒适地过着冬天。它们各种呆萌可爱的表情,十分惹人爱怜。从南非引进的六只长颈鹿是那里的"明星级"动物,在严寒冬日,它们已从户外搬进了装有取暖设备的新馆舍,墙面上手绘的青青草原,使得它们犹如回到了故乡。这六个"大高个",身高平均4米多,体重500斤,并且胃口不小,一天一只能吃4斤颗粒料、     

The Structure of Subjective Well-Being of Elderly Hispanics

This study examines the structure of a model of subjective well-being in an oversample of the elderly Hispanics from the data of a cross-sectional survey. The covariation among the items of the Life Satisfaction Index A (LSIA) was viewed as a function of three correlated latent dimensions of subjective well-being including mood tone, zest for life and congruence. Confirmatory factor analysis via LlSREL VI was used to evaluate the measurement model of subjective well-being. The findings reveal that the model encompassing 10 observed items and three latent factors of subjective well-being was highly supported by the data. In addition, a second-order factor model of subjective well-being was not suitable for the data. Several important methodological issues are discussed.     

Subjective Well-Being and Peace

Hierarchical generalized linear modeling was employed to examine the relations between person-level subjective well-being (SWB) and peace-relevant attitudes, and how these relations vary across nations in the World Values Survey. Person-level SWB was associated with more confidence in the government and armed forces, greater emphasis on postmaterialist values, stronger support for democracy, less intolerance of immigrants and racial groups, and greater willingness to fight for one's country. These associations were moderated at the nation level by liberal development, violent inequality, gross domestic product, and nation-level SWB. The moderator effects indicate that happy people are not completely blind to the conditions of their society and that their endorsement of peace attitudes is sensitive to whether the conditions for peace do exist.     

First-Aid Activities and Well-Being: The Experience of Professional and Volunteer Rescuers

ABSTRACT

While several studies have highlighted the negative consequences of trauma exposure on rescuers’ health, the psychological factors promoting rescuers’ well-being have rarely been investigated. The present study aimed at analyzing the quality of rescuing experience among professionals and volunteers of the Italian Red Cross. The experiences of 14 professional and 11 volunteer ambulance rescuers were examined through the repeated assessment of their subjective evaluations of daily activities and contexts in real time. Their experience fluctuation pattern was analyzed based on the levels of environmental challenges and personal skills perceived during daily activities. Both professionals and volunteers reported frequent exposure to highly challenging situations while rescuing and associated this activity with high concentration, involvement, and control. Perceptions of anxiety were significantly more frequent among volunteers. For both groups, first-aid activities were reported to provide optimal experience, a complex and rewarding condition characterized by the perception of high challenges matched with adequate skills. Results suggested that working as rescuers can promote well-being through optimal experiences. The potential for skill refinement and individual development embedded in rescuing activities, together with individual characteristics, should be taken into account in designing training programs for professionals and volunteers.     

Human Capital, Physical Health, and Mental Health of Welfare Recipients: Co-occurrence and Correlates

Drawing on a large random sample of welfare recipients in the post–welfare reform era, this article examines the prevalence of mental health disorders, substance dependence, and physical health or disability, their co-occurrence with human capital problems, and their relation to employment. Half of the participants have none of these potential barriers to employment. Mental health and human capital problems, when present, tend to occur in isolation about half the time. Women with co-occurring human-capital, mental-health, and physical-health problems have the poorest work outcomes. The findings suggest the need to design and implement more assessment, referrals, and service provision to support women in meeting the challenges in the transition from welfare to work.     

时间之窗与时间之创——留守经历对主观幸福感影响的时间效应

本文从生命历程视角出发,基于 2018 年“中国劳动力动态调查”数据,从累积留守时长、结束留守时长、留守阶段、留守时监护类型等维度分析了童年期留守经历对个体成年后主观幸福感的影响。 研究发现,留守经历对个体主观幸福感有长期负面影响,并具有“双重时间效应”：累积留守时间越长,对留守者成年后主观幸福感造成的负面冲击越大, 且留守者成年后主观幸福感并不会因结束留守时长的增加而回升; 留守经历对个体主观幸福感的负面影响呈现“初中留守＜小学留守＜学前留守”的逆向递增特点,即学前阶段是影响个体主观幸福感的“关键窗口”;无论是哪个阶段,单亲监护和祖辈监护都会对个体主观幸福感产生负面影响,且呈现“单亲监护>祖辈监护>双亲监护”的特点。     

Internet Use and Well-Being in Adolescence

Previous research suggests that Internet use may be associated with decreases in well-being among adolescents. However, there has been little investigation of the relationship between well-being and social aspects of Internet use. In the present study, 130 7th graders from a middle-class public school in California completed dispositional measures of well-being, and on three subsequent evenings they responded to questions regarding their Internet use (including detailed logs of instant messages) and daily well-being. Time spent on-line was not associated with dispositional or daily well-being. However, as suggested by intimacy theory, the closeness of instant message communication partners was associated with daily social anxiety and loneliness in school, above and beyond the contribution of dispositional measures.     

Impact of Support Groups on Well-Being of Older Women

ABSTRACT

The goal of this study was to determine whether differences in incidence of depression and level of well-being are manifested between older women, aged 60 and older, who attend either (a) a peer-run support group, (b) a staff-run support group, or (c) a comparison group (i.e., who do not attend a support group).

Thirty-six women participating in peer-run and staff-run support groups and 9 women receiving nongroup support were administered the Geriatric Depression Scale and the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale. Separate analyses of variance were employed on each scale to determine the significance of differences in scores according to facilitator type (i.e., peer-run vs. staff-run vs. comparison group).

Analysis of scores on the Geriatric Depression Scale indicated significant differences between women in the peer-run groups and women in the comparison group, but no significant differences between women in the peer-run groups and women in the staff-run groups or between women in the staff-run groups and women in the comparison group. Analysis of scores on the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale did not indicate any significant differences between women based on facilitator type.

Results of this study have implications for those who run face-to-face support groups for older adults, for those who train peer group facilitators, and for community agencies that desire to initiate a support group system for their clientele.     

The Interpretation of Multiracial Status and Its Relation to Social Engagement and Psychological Well-Being

This research examines how multiracial individuals chose to identify themselves with respect to their racial identity and how this choice relates to their self-reported psychological well-being (e.g., self-esteem, positive affect) and level of social engagement (e.g., citizenship behaviors, group alienation). High school students who belong to multiple racial/ethnic groups (N = 182) were asked to indicate the group with which they primarily identify. Participants were then classified as identifying with a low-status group (i.e., Black or Latino), a high-status group (i.e., Asian or White), or multiple groups (e.g., Black and White, etc.). Results showed that, compared with multiracial individuals who identified primarily with a low- or high-status group, those who identified with multiple groups tended to report either equal or higher psychological well-being and social engagement. Potential explanations and implications for understanding multiracial identity are discussed.     

Impact of Community on Personal Well-Being in Urban China

ABSTRACT

As the work-unit system fell after economic reform in China, neighborhoods replaced work units as the primary provider of vital social services for the urban population and became a new social space for enhancing the quality of people's well-being. This study examined the neighborhood characteristics that influenced personal well-being of residents. Drawn by multistage sampling and administered by face-to-face interviews, the survey included a sample of 976 participants from 31 neighborhoods in urban Shanghai. Results indicate that neighboring behaviors enhanced subjective well-being of the young and middle-aged residents but had no impact on older people. Sense of community, on the other hand, was found to contribute to well-being of all age groups and was particularly strong among older people in more deprived neighborhoods. Findings inform development of community practice strategies for vitalizing community efficacy and fostering individual well-being in urban China. Recommendations for future research are made using the results of this study.     

The Effects of Emotional Support on Burnout,Work Stress and Mental Health Among Norwegian and American Social Workers

This article examines the effects of emotional support on work stress and burnout among human service workers in the U.S.A. and Norway. Since work stress has been identified as an important predictor of job dissatisfaction and burnout, it is the purpose of this study to examine the ability of emotional support to moderate or "buffer" the impact of job stress. Previous research on this subject has shown some support for the buffering hypotheses, but the effect has not been adequately explored within the mental health professions, nor has the concept been extensively assessed by comparative studies of such professionals in two different countries. The results of this study, based upon moderated regression analyses, indicate that emotional support is inversely correlated with burnout and stress. However, buffering effects were not observed to any significant degree in either national sample.     

Animals,Agency and Resistance

In this paper we develop a relational approach to the question of animal agency. We distinguish between agency and action and, using three examples of non‐human animal behaviour, explore how human‐other animal interactions might be understood in terms of action, agency and resistance. In order to do this we draw on the distinction between primary and corporate agency found in the work of Margaret Archer, arguing that, while non‐human animals are able to act and to exercise primary agency, they are unable to exercise corporate agency. Animals are therefore agents; they act and their actions have consequences, they also resist conditions which they do not like and, in some circumstances, are able to change the conditions of their agency. We discuss the place of animals in the social world and the political implications of this way of viewing animal agency.     

Effects of Unemployment on Health in a Community Survey: Main, Modifying, and Mediating Effects

Results from a community survey in a sample of high-unemployment census tracts in southeastern Michigan showed significant elevations of depression, anxiety, somatization, and self-reported physical illness among the currently unemployed. These adverse effects were largely reversed by reemployment. Subsequent analyses documented modifying effects of social support, self-concept, and coping. We also found two mediating processes that account for the overall effects of current unemployment: (a) the intervening effects of financial strain, and (b) an influence of unemployment in creating heightened vulnerability to other stressful life events. The implications of these results for the design and implementation of preventive interventions are briefly discussed.