Facets of dispositional mindfulness versus sources of social support predicting college students’ psychological adjustment

Abstract

Objective: This study examined the relative contribution of five dispositional mindfulness (DM) facets and two aspects of social support along with sex in predicting psychological adjustment. Participants: Three hundred fifty-three undergraduates (72% female; M?=?18.82?years) participated with data collected from September 2014 through March 2016. Methods: Self-report measures of DM, social support, perceived stress, and emotional well-being were completed. Results: Sex and higher scores on specific mindfulness facets (ie, nonreactivity, nonjudging) predicted lower stress and greater emotional well-being. Higher family support predicted lower stress, whereas friend support predicted greater emotional well-being. The mindfulness facets were stronger predictors of adjustment than the social support domains. Females reported higher perceived stress and lower emotional well-being than males, and males scored significantly higher on total mindfulness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity. Conclusions: Results have implications for mindfulness-based interventions with college students such that focusing on the nonjudging and nonreactivity facets may enhance effectiveness.     

HIV Prevention and Social Desirability: Husband–Wife Discrepancies in Reports of Condom Use

Greater use of condoms within marriage would help limit the spread of HIV in sub‐Saharan Africa. Using data from the Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change Project (MDICP), the authors examined the influence that the fidelity norm and the traditional association between marriage and reproduction have on condom use with a spouse. The sample included 749 married couples. The authors used latent class analysis to estimate a “true,” or latent measure of condom use by couples based on the individual reports of husbands and wives and to explore the reasons why individuals tend to misreport their use of condoms. They found that married couples with more children were more likely to use condoms and that having been informed by experts about AIDS prevention at home induced men and women to overreport condom use within marriage in a survey but may not necessarily increase the extent to which condoms are used.     

Time to look in/at anger: considerations on the position and policing of young people’s anger

Mental and emotional well-being is steadily overtaking physical difficulty as the biggest health challenge facing young people. As a result, young people’s emotional well-being and needs are a significant concern within contemporary youth studies. However, the intricacies of ‘managing emotion’ have been somewhat neglected in the context of youth studies. In particular, the role of discourses of emotional well-being to produce ‘feeling rules’ [Boler, M. 1999. Feeling Power: Emotions and Education. Florence, KY: Routledge], to discipline, and to restrict expressions of emotion has been unconsidered. This article explores this problematic further with the intention of provoking a larger concentration on relationship between the policing of emotion and youth well-being discourses. Specifically, it focuses on anger as one of the emotions that young people are encouraged to move away from. It outlines how young people’s right to be angry is policed through the construction of angry subjectivities as characterised by incompleteness. It focuses on two – the unresolved subject and the unreasoned subject. Young people, who are already constructed as incomplete, are particularly vulnerable to this policing. Drawing on a range of theoretical interjections on the disciplining of ‘adult’ anger, the article explores the political importance of anger, how it is limited for young people, and the complexities of engaging with anger in the context of youth studies. Given the limited attention anger has attracted in youth studies literature, the article is intentionally provocative. However, as the article notes, this is a complex debate with many challenges and a much more detailed investigation is necessary.     

Joining formative evaluation with translational science to assess an EBI in foster care: Examining social–emotional well-being and placement stability

This study examined measures of placement stability and social–emotional well-being for a federally-funded demonstration project of inhome Parent Management Training-Oregon model (PMTO) for children in foster care with serious emotional disturbance (SED). Following a cultural exchange framework for translational research and a tollgate approach to evaluation, this formative study tested these measures prior to further investment in summative evaluation. The research aim was to observe whether measures of social–emotional well-being and placement stability performed as expected. Using a pretest–posttest randomized consent trial, children identified as SED within six months of entering foster care were randomly assigned to PMTO or to a services-as-usual comparison group (N = 121). A multi-group structural equation model was tested to observe the relationship of baseline social–emotional wellbeing and placement stability on post-test social–emotional well-being. Results showed that post-test well-being was significantly predicted by baseline well-being for both groups and, importantly, only the intervention group demonstrated significant effects of placement stability on post-test well-being. For the intervention group, as placement stability increased, post-test social skills significantly improved, demonstrating an association between well-being and placement stability that was not evident in the comparison group. Overall, wellbeing measures performed as expected and detected relationships between variables and variation as hypothesized. Additionally, placement stability may have been mediated by the PMTO intervention. In conclusion, by using a real world example of the translational research concept of cultural exchange between university-based researchers and agency-based practitioners, this study shows that formative evaluation offers an important opportunity to test ad hoc research questions inspired by the process of implementation itself.     

Supporting the Sexual Rights of Women Living With HIV: A Critical Analysis of Sexual Satisfaction and Pleasure Across Five Relationship Types

In the context of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a focus on protecting others has overridden concern about women’s own sexual well-being. Drawing on feminist theories, we measured sexual satisfaction and pleasure across five relationship types among women living with HIV in Canada. Of the 1,230 women surveyed, 38.1% were completely or very satisfied with their sexual lives, while 31.0% and 30.9% were reasonably or not very/not at all satisfied, respectively. Among those reporting recent sexual experiences (n = 675), 41.3% always felt pleasure, with the rest reporting usually/sometimes (38.7%) or seldom/not at all (20.0%). Sex did not equate with satisfaction or pleasure, as some women were completely satisfied without sex, while others were having sex without reporting pleasure. After adjusting for confounding factors, such as education, violence, depression, sex work, antiretroviral therapy, and provider discussions about transmission risk, women in long-term/happy relationships (characterized by higher levels of love, greater physical and emotional intimacy, more equitable relationship power, and mainly HIV-negative partners) had increased odds of sexual satisfaction and pleasure relative to women in all other relational contexts. Those in relationships without sex also reported higher satisfaction ratings than women in some sexual relationships. Findings put focus on women’s rights, which are critical to overall well-being.     

Association between Depressive Symptoms,Perceived Partner Emotional Expression,and Marital Quality

Previous studies have explored the direct association between mental health and marital quality; however, the processes moderating that association are not yet well understood. The present study examined associations between depressive symptoms, perceived partner emotional expression, and marital quality among 462 married individuals. Findings suggest that (a) low commitment, low satisfaction, and marital instability may be symptomatic of mental well-being; (b) individuals experiencing depressive symptoms are more inclined to have negative views of their relationships; and (c) perceptions of their partners’ expressions of gratitude and understanding serve as a buffer against the negative association between depressive symptoms and marital quality. Thus, perceptions of positive emotional expressiveness may serve as a resource facilitating marital quality when individuals are experiencing depressive symptoms.     

Dimensions of social capital and subjective well-being: evidence from Italy

The concept of social capital was investigated as an explanatory variable of a number of significant socio-economic phenomena, such as economic development, the well-functioning of institutions, and school performance. This study proposes an analysis of the relation between social capital and well-being. The two concepts have been interpreted by social sciences in many different ways. In particular, as a result of its recent success, social capital has been the object of a great deal of interpretations. Social scientists have considered it either as a collective resource (macro social capital), or as an available resource amongst members of specific groups (friends, associations, local communities, etc.; i.e. meso social capital), or as a resource that individuals can achieve through their personal networks (micro social capital). Using data from a representative sample of Italian citizens (25–80 years old), this work investigates which dimension (micro, meso, or macro) of social capital has (if any) a major influence on subjective well-being. Data show some interdependence only with the macro social capital, and suggest that it is just the symbolic and cognitive qualities of the social capital, rather than its structural dimension, that could be associated with subjective well-being in a significant way.     

The impact of migration on the well-being of transnational families: new data from sending communities in Mexico

We present results from a new study of the effects of migration to the USA on the well-being of transnational families in high emigration communities within Mexico. Our survey measured the well-being of family members in a variety of domains: economic, health, education, and child development for a representative sample drawn from high migration municipalities. Compared to those with no recent emigrants to the USA, Mexican households sending non-caregivers to the USA appear to gain economically without contributing to problems faced by children. However, when family caregivers migrate to the USA, the remaining members in Mexico struggle to meet the family's needs and children are more vulnerable to educational, emotional, and health problems. Children in households where a caregiver migrated were more likely to have frequent illnesses (10% vs. 3%, p<0.0001), chronic illness (7% vs. 3%, p=0.011), emotional problems (10% vs. 4%, p=0.006), and behavioral problems (17% vs. 10%, p=0.018) compared with children in households where the migrant was not a caregiver. Research, policy, and program implications of these findings are discussed.     

Double trouble: work–family conflict and well-being for second job holders

The purpose of this study was to provide an initial investigation into the work–family conflict (WFC) experiences of individuals who hold a second job. Specifically, we proposed two opposing theoretical arguments regarding the relationship between WFC and four measures of well-being: life satisfaction, physical health, emotional exhaustion, and exercise for individuals who hold two jobs. In a sample of individuals working two jobs, we tested whether the effects of WFC arising from the first job and from the second job exerted an additive or interactive effect on employee well-being. Our results indicated that for emotional exhaustion, physical symptoms, and life satisfaction, the effects of WFC from two jobs are interactive; but that for exercise, the effects of WFC from two jobs are additive. In both cases, the additional WFC experienced as a result of working a second job contributed to the prediction of employee well-being over and above WFC from the first job. Results are discussed within the context of relevant theory, and suggestions are made for future research.     

Penny for Your Thoughts: Beggars and the Exercise of Morality in Daily Life1

Urban sociology has tended to study interactions between passersby and “street persons” with an emphasis on the ways street persons become bothersome, harassing, or dangerous. This article moves away from the focus on the ways interactions in public go awry and focuses on how individuals account for the mundane, everyday exchanges they have with strangers who seek their help. Based on interview data (N = 31) and qualitative analysis of data from an Internet survey (N = 110), this article suggests that the presence of beggars does not inherently symbolize urban decay to passersby and does not necessarily elicit anxiety, but instead provides a valuable texture of urban life. Further, the article argues that individuals, when justifying their responses to requests for help from needy persons (beggars) in urban spaces, use a variety of cultural strategies to maintain their perception of themselves as moral persons, both when they choose to help and when they refuse. Drawing from these findings, the article suggests that urban sociology and the sociology of risk would benefit from sensitizing their studies of public interactions to the diverse meanings individuals assign to them, rather than presupposing annoyance, anxiety, or fear as their predominant characteristic.     

Lesbian Desire in the Age of AIDS: From the Head of Medusa Sprung

In the age of AIDS, lesbians' sexualities were strangely protected from the epidemic spread of the HIV virus, even while many lesbians' social and political lives were deeply impacted by its catastrophic effects on the gay community. The “so close but yet so far” phenomenon defining lesbian experience during the AIDS crisis evoked mixed and complicated emotions unique to that sector of the gay community. This article highlights the manifold emotional experience for lesbians, which paralleled an equally complex web of identifications and disidentifications with gay men. Although this perpetuated a sense of invisibility for lesbians during the epidemic's crisis years, it may have contributed to opening a space for new possibilities of feminine sexualities and identities as the crisis receded.     

Planning for Aging in Place: Incorporating the Voice of Elders to Promote Quality of Life

Abstract

Aging in place offers emotional and physical benefits; however, challenges associated with advanced age may make aging in place difficult. As communities across the country prepare for forecasted increases in the proportion of older residents, it is important to understand barriers that may prevent aging in place. Perceived barriers voiced by residents of a suburban county who completed an Aging in Place Needs Assessment Survey were categorized into four themes: need to downsize/home modification; need for assistance; family desire to reciprocate care; and isolation. A fifth group with no intent to relocate, but with concerns about having to, was also identified. Included among this group were persons with mental health or developmental disorders, such as anxiety and autism spectrum disorder. Results were examined through a person-centered lens to illustrate that aging in place may be the desired option even among residents who indicate that it is not. It is important that aging-in-place initiatives preserve identity by fostering a sense of autonomy, control, and well-being in older residents.     

Replication: Emotional well-being and unemployment – Evidence from the American time-use survey

We use data from the well-being module of the American Time-Use Survey (ATUS) 2010–2013 to reexamine the relationship between unemployment and emotional well-being. We replicate two previous studies (Krueger & Mueller, 2012; Dolan, Kudrna, & Stone, 2017) which have produced differing findings on this relationship, and analyze what factors cause the differences in their outcomes. We find that the results critically depend on the definition of employment statuses and the choice of well-being measure. The unemployed appear sadder and more in pain than the employed, but no other emotion queried in the ATUS has worse values for the unemployed than for the employed. Aggregate emotional well-being measures suggest that unemployment is not negatively related to emotional well-being. Applying a wider instead of narrow definition of unemployment tends to result in better emotional well-being scores for the unemployed, mainly because job leavers and new or re-entrants into the labor market report better emotions than the group of people who are unemployed due to an involuntary job loss.     

Beyond averages: Child well-being in Kazakhstan

With the majority of poor people now living in middle-income countries and the post-millennium development goals framework taking shape, the issue of inequality has gained prominence in many policy debates. Although detailed assessments of poverty and well-being are crucial for formulating adequate policies, all too often such assessments focus on average outcomes. In this paper we present an analysis of child well-being for Kazakhstan that moves beyond averages in two ways: first, it explicitly reports on the situations of different socioeconomic groups of children in society; second, it applies a method that is diversified by age group and thereby accounts for differences among children across stages of childhood. Kazakhstan illustrates the need for more nuanced and in-depth analyses, given the significant but far from universal economic growth within the country. We find that there are large discrepancies in child well-being outcomes between different regions and that high levels of economic output do not necessarily go hand in hand with improved outcomes in terms of poverty and well-being. We argue that child well-being studies need to be more in depth, thereby ensuring that levels of inequity across socioeconomic groups and between children in different age groups are given due consideration.     

Promoting resilience and emotional well-being of transgender young people: research at the intersections of gender and sexuality

Within lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) research there is increasing health-related scholarship on trans lives, with a growing awareness of the impact of health inequalities on trans well-being. The aim of the paper is to provide greater understanding of transgender young people’s views of what is needed to promote their emotional well-being and resilience by undertaking specific analysis of data collected as part of wider research with young people (n?=?97). The study utilised participatory qualitative methods with a cross sectional design generating data via a focus group with trans youth (n?=?5), followed by thematic analysis. Findings suggest that both individual and collective capacities or resources enable and sustain resilience and well-being for trans young people. The adversity trans youth face is present in school, the community and in healthcare, but they are able to find places where they feel safe and connected to others. Practitioners, teachers and school nurses are well positioned to facilitate structural change in alliance with trans youth to promote resilience. Research results were utilised to inform health improvement, commissioning and service delivery.     

Spiritual but not religious seek unrestricted connection to selves,others, and earth: Formative research on the explosive growth of an ‘inactive public’ beyond the organization

In the last half century, we have observed an explosive growth in individuals who identify as spiritual but not religious. Today, over one in four U.S. adults fall into this category. This phenomenon is an influential component of our modern and changing society, as spiritual beliefs are associated with health, well-being, goals, feelings, and attitudes. In this formative research study, we apply the public relations’ approach of Sense-Making of an ‘inactive public’ beyond the organization to explore how these individuals define themselves, how their beliefs influence their behaviors (such as political, environmental, communal) and how they feel they are perceived by those around them. Amongst others, our main findings reveal that the spiritual but not religious have disparate specific beliefs and often struggle or resist articulating who they are, yet more broadly share a common belief in connection to others, the natural environment, and one’s self. The majority emphasize acceptance, tolerance, compassion, and the importance of each individual embracing their own spiritual positions. The participants report feeling misunderstood, misrepresented, or ignored by others and media, and that their behaviors (perspective on the world, actions, political ideologies, etc) are influenced by their spiritual beliefs.     

Evening and night work schedules and children's social and emotional well-being

ABSTRACT

An emerging body of evidence shows that parents’ non-standard work schedules have a detrimental effect on children's well-being. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated mediating factors that underpin this association. Likewise, only a few studies have examined the impact of fathers’ non-standard work schedules on children's well-being. Based on data from the Families in Germany Study (FiD), this study aimed to address these research gaps. The sample consists of parents and their children at ages 7–8 and 9–10 (n?=?838 child observations in dual-earner families). The data were collected in the years 2010–2013. Non-standard work hours were defined as working in evenings and or at night (every day, several times a week, or changing as shifts). Children's social and emotional well-being was measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The findings show that both mothers’ and fathers’ evening and night work schedules are linked to an increase in children's externalizing and internalizing behavior and that this association is partially mediated by mothers’ and fathers’ harsh and strict parenting, with a stronger mediation effect for fathers parenting.     

Psychosocial experiences of concussed collegiate athletes: The role of emotional support in the recovery process

Abstract

Objective: Understand from whom concussed football players seek and receive emotional support, and whether this support is associated with injury perceptions. Participants: Football players (N?=?26) from three NCAA Division I programs. Methods: With approval from the head athletic trainer, concussed athletes (2017 season) completed short surveys within 4–6?days of diagnosis and when cleared to return. Results: Concussed athletes perceived their injury as a normal consequence of playing football, not serious, and reported little, if any, depression and anxiety. Athletes reported the most support from athletic trainers; the least from coaches and teammates. Emotional support was associated with fewer adverse psychosocial reactions, more sport-injury related growth, and greater intentions to report future concussion symptoms. Conclusion: Results from this pilot study suggest that emotional support during the concussion recovery process should be understood and fostered by university officials charged with the health and well-being of collegiate football players.     

Remaining home: Well-being outcomes and co-occurring parental substance use following a maltreatment investigation in middle childhood

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to understand differences in child well-being related to parental substance use among children ages 6–12 who were investigated for maltreatment but not removed from their homes. Children with a substance-using parent in the home are compared to those without a substance-using parent in the home.MethodsLongitudinal data from waves 1 and 3 of the second National Study of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW II) are used. NSCAW II is a national sample of families with children and youth aged birth to 17.5 investigated by child protective services (CPS). A subset of the data (analyzed with domain analysis methods) is used for this study (n = 575). Eight well-being outcomes from four domains (cognitive development, physical health, psychological/behavioral development and social/emotional competence) are analyzed.FindingsWe hypothesized that (among children investigated for maltreatment and not removed from home) children whose parents used substances would exhibit lower mean levels of well-being at thirty-six months follow-up compared to those whose parents did not use. Unexpectedly, we found no significant differences in well-being levels between children with parents in the home using substances and those without.ConclusionsChildren with substance-using parents may be able to remain at home over an extended period after investigation, while maintaining well-being levels similar to children at home with parents not using substances. If an effective safety plan can be put in place, this option may provide a path to maintaining safety, permanency and well-being for such children without placement in out-of-home care.     

A Qualitative Exploration of the Premigration Victimization Experiences of Sexual and Gender Minority Refugees and Asylees in the United States and Canada

Progress in analyzing and interpreting the concepts of sexual orientation and gender identity in the context of refugee law has contributed to a rise in individuals seeking asylum in such countries as the United States and Canada. However, few studies have examined the victimization experiences of sexual- and gender-identity forced migrants prior to their arrival in North America. This qualitative study used thematic analysis to explore the premigration adult victimization experiences of 26 lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals who obtained refugee, asylee, or withholding-of-removal status in the United States or Canada based on persecution for their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Participants originated from countries in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. Analysis revealed the following themes: living on the edge, adopting concealment strategies, routine victimization, and protectors as perpetrators. Participants described living in a constant state of hypervigilance, and they adopted numerous strategies to protect themselves from victimization. Despite the use of such strategies, participants experienced victimization by community members and state actors, leaving them no choice but to flee to ensure their safety and well-being. Findings are discussed using the ecological framework outlined by the World Health Organization (WHO). The discussion concludes with implications for international policy and clinical practice.