The Quest for Well-being in Growth Industries 2: The Survey

This working paper reports the ongoing research conducted in the research project, The Quest for Well-being in Growth Industries: A Collaborative Study in Finland and Scotland, under the auspices of Academy of Finland research programme, The Future of Work and Well-being. The research project examines the contradictory pressures for policies and practices towards both the inhibition and the enhancement of work-related well-being that are likely in growth industries. The overall aim is to evaluate the development, implementation and use of work-related well-being policies in four selected growth industries. These – electronics, care, finance and accounting, and tourism – have been selected on the basis of EU and national forecasts, and demographic and socio-economic trends in standard and non-standard employment. In this paper we aim to review the survey that constitutes the second main phase of this research.

Characterisation of physiological conditions and evaluation of well-being in two species of bivalve molluscs (Ruditapes philippinarum and Chamelea gallina) intensively exploited in coastal and lagoon areas of the Northern Adriatic Sea (Italy)

Tese de Doutoramento, Ecologia, Especialidade de Ecofisiologia, Faculdade de Ciências do Mar e do Ambiente, Universidade do Algarve, 2007

The eudaimonic component of satisfaction with life and psychological well-being in Spanish cultures

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

The role of efficacy and well-being in guiding the use of education and training services by young homeless mothers

This paper builds on previous work applying the concept of well-being to the field of housing. It uses the concepts of self-esteem, efficacy and social identity to explore the situations of a group of young homeless mothers. In particular, it focuses on the impact of well-being factors, among others, in understanding the uptake of education and training services. The paper concludes by arguing that well-being issues are crucial for housing agencies and others who want to engage with young homeless people.

Autobiographical memory and well-being in aging: the central role of semantic self-images

Higher levels of well-being are associated with longer life expectancies and better physical health. Previous studies suggest that processes involving the self and autobiographical memory are related to well-being, yet these relationships are poorly understood. The present study tested 32 older and 32 younger adults using scales measuring well-being and the affective valence of two types of autobiographical memory: episodic autobiographical memories and semantic self-images. Results showed that valence of semantic self-images, but not episodic autobiographical memories, was highly correlated with well-being,particularly in older adults. In contrast, well-being in older adults was unrelated to performance across a range of standardised memory tasks. These results highlight the role of semantic self-images in well-being, and have implications for the development of therapeutic interventions for well-being in aging.

The application of a new psychotherapeutic strategy for enhancing eudaimonic well-being in children with mood and anxiety disorders

The aim of the dissertation was to test the feasibility of a new psychotherapeutic protocol for treating children and adolescents with mood and anxiety disorders: Child-Well-Being Therapy (CWBT). It originates from adult Well-Being Therapy protocol (WBT) and represents a conceptual innovation for treating affective disorders. WBT is based on the multidimensional model of well-being postulated by Ryff (eudaimonic perspective), in sequential combination with cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Results showed that eudaimonic well-being was impaired in children with affective disorders in comparison with matched healthy students. A first open investigation aimed at exploring the feasibility of a 8-session CWBT protocol in a group of children with emotional and behavioural disorders has been implemented. Data showed how CWBT resulted associated to symptoms reduction, together with the decrease of externalizing problems, maintained at 1-year follow-up. CWBT triggered also an improvement in psychological well-being as well as an increasing flourishing trajectory over time. Subsequently, a modified and extended version of CWBT (12-sessions) has been developed and then tested in a controlled study with 34 patients (8 to 16 years) affected by mood and anxiety disorders. They were consecutively randomized into 3 different groups: CWBT, CBT, 6-month waiting list (WL). Both treatments resulted effective in decreasing distress and in improving well-being. Moreover, CWBT was associated with higher improvement in anxiety and showed a greater recovery rate (83%) than CBT (54%). Both groups maintained beneficial effects and CWBT group displayed a lower level of distress as well as a higher positive trend in well-being scores over time. Findings need to be interpret with caution, because of study limitations, however important clinical implications emerged. Further investigations should determine whether the sequential integration of well-being and symptom-oriented strategies could play an important role in children and adolescents’ psychotherapeutic options, fostering a successful adaptation to adversities during the growth process.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OBESITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL GENERAL WELL-BEING IN UNITED STATES WOMEN

While clinical studies have shown a negative relationship between obesity and mental health in women, population studies have not shown a consistent association. However, many of these studies can be criticized regarding fatness level criteria, lack of control variables, and validity of the psychological variables.^ The purpose of this research was to elucidate the relationship between fatness level and mental health in United States women using data from the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES I), which was conducted on a national probability sample from 1971 to 1974. Mental health was measured by the General Well-Being Schedule (GWB), and fatness level was determined by the sum of the triceps and subscapular skinfolds. Women were categorized as lean (15th percentile or less), normal (16th to 84th percentiles), or obese (85th percentile or greater).^ A conceptual framework was developed which identified the variables of age, race, marital status, socioeconomic status (education), employment status, number of births, physical health, weight history, and perception of body image as important to the fatness level-GWB relationship. Multiple regression analyses were performed separately for whites and blacks with GWB as the response variable, and fatness level, age, education, employment status, number of births, marital status, and health perception as predictor variables. In addition, 2- and 3-way interaction terms for leanness, obesity and age were included as predictor variables. Variables related to weight history and perception of body image were not collected in NHANES I, and thus were not included in this study.^ The results indicated that obesity was a statistically significant predictor of lower GWB in white women even when the other predictor variables were controlled. The full regression model identified the young, more educated, obese female as a subgroup with lower GWB, especially in blacks. These findings were not consistent with the previous non-clinical studies which found that obesity was associated with better mental health. The social stigma of being obese and the preoccupation of women with being lean may have contributed to the lower GWB in these women. ^

Land nationalisation, its necessity and its aims : being a comparison of the system of landlord and tenant with that of occupying ownership in their influence on the well-being of the people /

"First ed. ... 1892; second ed. ... 1896; third ed. ... 1902; fourth ed. ... 1906."