Cognitive Component Of Subjective Well-being Research Articles

Coping Strategies as Mediating Variables Between Self-serving Attributional Bias and Subjective Well-Being

Self-serving attributional bias (SSAB) is defined as the tendency to attribute positive situations to internal, stable and global causes, and negative situations to external, unstable and specific causes. SSAB, like other manifestations of the self-enhancement motive, is aimed at protecting self-esteem, and therefore expected to be associated with well-being. Furthermore, given the features of this bias, this possible positive association between SSAB and well-being could be mediated by coping strategies. In this study, we wanted to analyze the relationships among SSAB, coping strategies and subjective well-being. Two hundred and five individuals (90 male and 115 female, mean age = 35.99, ranging from 22 to 50) participated voluntarily in this study. Path analysis showed that SSAB had an indirect effect on life satisfaction (the cognitive component of subjective well-being) through the affect balance (the emotional component of subjective well-being). In turn, SSAB had both a direct and an indirect effect on affect balance. The indirect effect was through the use of problem solving and positive cognitive restructuring coping strategies as well as the non-use of avoidant ones. These results suggest that well-being promotion programs should aim at encouraging the use of problem solving and positive cognitive restructuring coping strategies, as well as promoting healthy attributional styles.

Are Migrants Going Up a Blind Alley? Economic Migration and Life Satisfaction around the World: Cross-National Evidence from Europe, North America and Australia

Are migrants satisfied with their decision to move to another country? Research shows that the income-wellbeing relationship is weak in wealthy countries, usually countries of destination. Are then economic migrants mistaken? Employing data from the Gallup World Poll, a representative sample of the world population, we investigate whether a general pattern of association exists between income and the cognitive component of subjective wellbeing, and whether this pattern differs by immigration status in 16 high-income countries. In only a handful of countries do we find a distinctive immigrant advantage in translating income into higher life evaluation or life satisfaction: Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Sweden. For immigrants in most of these countries, income increases cognitive wellbeing even in the fifth income quintile. Depending on the measure used, immigrants in Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy and the US only have positive income-wellbeing associations at or below the third quintile. We take this as evidence that, among recent arrivals, income is positively associated with wellbeing up to the point in which non-pecuniary factors associated with long-term residence become dominant. We also find a number of “frustrated achievers” among the foreign born in the US, France and Finland. These immigrants report a negative association, in absolute value, between income and life satisfaction or life evaluation.

Personality and subjective well-being: One neglected model of personality and two forgotten aspects of subjective well-being

Previous research on the relations between personality and subjective well-being (SWB) often overlooked the distinction between the affective and cognitive components of SWB. The main aim of this study was to investigate the role of personality traits in predicting separately affective well-being and satisfaction with life. We used Zuckerman’s Alternative Five Factor Model of Personality, which is rarely used as a framework to operationalize personality traits in the field of SWB. Results of this research clearly show that personality traits have different predictive power in explaining individual differences in affective well-being and satisfaction with life. None of the personality traits had a unique contribution in explaining satisfaction with life, showing that they do not have a direct effect on the cognitive aspect of well-being. On the other hand, Neuroticism-Anxiety and Activity proved to have a direct effect on the affective component of SWB. Theoretical and practical implications of the results were discussed.

The Influence of Environment and Personality on the Affective and Cognitive Component of Subjective Well-being

Subjective well-being (SWB) has two components: affective well-being (AWB) and cognitive well-being (CWB). The present study demonstrated that AWB and CWB have are influenced by different factors in a nationally representative sample in Germany (N = 1053). Neuroticism was a stronger predictor of AWB than CWB. Unemployment and regional differences between the East and West of Germany were stronger predictors of CWB than AWB. In addition, the study demonstrated that shared evaluative biases in personality and SWB ratings inflate estimates of the effect size of personality. After controlling for this bias, the effects of environmental factors (unemployment, regional differences) on CWB were stronger than the effects of personality (neuroticism). The results demonstrate that AWB and CWB are distinct components of SWB and that research findings for one component may not generalize to the other component. The results also raise important questions about the weighing of the two components in the creation of subjective social indicators.

The Role of Subjective Well-Being in Positive Youth Development

Comprehensive perspectives on well-being that include positive aspects of human life such as subjective wellbeing have recently been proposed. Life satisfaction is the cognitive component of subjective well-being and plays an important role in positive development as an indicator, a predictor, a mediator/moderator, and an out-come. Whereas low life satisfaction is associated with psychological, social, and behavior problems, high life satisfaction is related to good adaptation and optimal mental health among youth. Life satisfaction and positive affect mitigate the negative effects of stressful life events and work against the development of psychological and behavioral problems among youth. Supportive parenting, engagement in challenging activities, positive life events, and high-quality interactions with significant others contribute to the development of life satisfaction. Further longitudinal research into the mechanisms of how life satisfaction plays its role in positive youth development is needed to promote the psychological wellbeing of all youth.

Culture, personality, and subjective well-being: Integrating process models of life satisfaction.

The authors examined the interplay of personality and cultural factors in the prediction of the affective (hedonic balance) and the cognitive (life satisfaction) components of subjective well-being (SWB). They predicted that the influence of personality on life satisfaction is mediated by hedonic balance and that the relation between hedonic balance and life satisfaction is moderated by culture. As a consequence, they predicted that the influence of personality on life satisfaction is also moderated by culture. Participants from 2 individualistic cultures (United States, Germany) and 3 collectivistic cultures (Japan, Mexico, Ghana) completed measures of Extraversion, Neuroticism, hedonic balance, and life satisfaction. As predicted, Extraversion and Neuroticism influenced hedonic balance to the same degree in all cultures, and hedonic balance was a stronger predictor of life satisfaction in individualistic than in collectivistic cultures. The influence of Extraversion and Neuroticism on life satisfaction was largely mediated by hedonic balance. The results suggest that the influence of personality on the emotional component of SWB is pancultural, whereas the influence of personality on the cognitive component of SWB is moderated by culture.

Spirituality and well-being: an exploratory study of the patient perspective

Spirituality has become a construct of interest in American health care; however, there remains a limited understanding of how patients themselves describe spirituality and view its impact on their health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe elements of patient-reported, health-related spirituality. A qualitative study utilized focus group interviews of 17 women with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 18 women with no self-identified illness. Purposeful sampling of participants who had prior experiences in healthcare settings, with or without a chronic illness, guided the sampling strategy. Editing analysis of the interview transcripts were coded into conceptual categories. Participant narratives were grouped into eight general categories: (1) change in functional status, (2) core beliefs, (3) medical/disease state information gathering and processing, (4) interpretation and understanding, (5) life scheme, (6) positive intentionality, (7) agency, and (8) subjective well-being. A change in functional status was the catalyst for two process-oriented categories; medical/disease state information gathering and processing, and the higher-order interpretation and understanding, or meaning making of life events. Core beliefs were sources that grounded and maintained an interpretative structure through which participants viewed their life events and positively framed their experiences. Life scheme described a heuristic framework through which all life events were viewed. Positive intentionality was participant belief in the capacity to execute a specific action that was required for a desired outcome. Participants tied the attitudes and practices of positive intentionality with agency, or the use or exertion of power through belief, practice, or community. Participants outlined both a positive affective and cognitive component of subjective well-being. Patients describe several interrelated elements and a process of events in their depiction of spirituality in healthcare settings. Patient-reported spirituality is predominantly a cognitive construct incorporating the domains of life scheme and positive intentionality.