Existential Well-being Research Articles

Spiritual Well-Being of Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients in The Cardiac Intensive Care Unit

Patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) are at risk of experiencing problems in various aspects of life. Changes in spiritual conditions are one of the problems that often occur, especially spiritual well-being. Existential well-being (EWB) and religious well-being (RWB) are specific parts of spiritual well-being that will be analyzed in this study. The research design used is descriptive with a cross-sectional approach. The study population was patients who experienced Acute Coronary Syndrome and were treated in the cardiac intensive unit with a total of 84 patients who were taken using a non-probability sampling technique with a purposive sampling method. The instrument used is the Indonesian version of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) questionnaire and has received permission from the original owners Ellison and Paloutzian by paying for the copyright. The results showed that the level of religious well-being (RWB) and existential (EWB) was in the high category with 86.9% and 71.4% respectively. There were no respondents who had a low level of religious or existential spiritual well-being. Health service providers are expected to be able to assess the spiritual well-being of ACS patients so that spiritual problems can be detected and efforts to treat them as early as possible.

Relationship Between Resilience, Social Support, Existential Well-Being and Negative Emotions in Cervical Cancer Patients: a Mediation Analysis.

Background: The patients of cervical cancer have more negative emotions and lower quality of life. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between existential well-being (EWB), social support, resilience, negative emotions in patients with cervical cancer, and to examine whether resilience mediates the associations between EWB or social support and negative emotions. Material and methods: This study enrolled patients with cervical cancer who were treated at the Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital in China during 2012-2019. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the Resilience Scale of 14 items (RS-14) and the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL) were utilized to assess patient's anxiety, depression, resilience, social support and EWB via telephone. Spearman's correlation analyses were used to assess bivariate correlations, and mediation analyses were applied to examine whether resilience mediated the relationship between social support or EWB and negative emotions. Results: A total of 150 (92.0%) out of 163 eligible patients completed the questionnaires. EWB and social support were negatively correlated with anxiety (r=-0.560 and r=-0.561) and depression (r=-0.508 and r=-0.526), and positively correlated with resilience (r=0.691 and r=0.652). Resilience was negatively associated with anxiety (r=-0.545) and depression (r=-0.505). Negative direct effects of social support on anxiety and EWB on anxiety and depression were statistically significant (P<0.05). Resilience played a partial mediating role in the relationship between EWB and depression (β=-0.085, 95%CI: -0.150 to -0.020), accounting for 37.12% of the total effect. It also served as a partial mediator in the association between EWB and anxiety (β=-0.061, 95%CI: -0.107 to -0.015), explaining 34.46% of the overall effect. Additionally, resilience partially mediated the connection between social support and depression (β=-0.173, 95%CI: -0.312 to -0.053), explicating 57.48% of the total effect. Conclusions: A combination of existential, supportive and resilient interventions may help reduce psychological distress and improve quality of life among cervical cancer patients, thereby promoting both physical and psychological health.

Path Analysis of the Relationship between Religious Coping, Spiritual Well-being, and Family Resilience in Dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

Abstract Introduction: Family resilience is strongly influenced by religious coping and spiritual/religious well-being (RW). In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, this study intends to investigate the relationship between religious coping, spiritual well-being, and family resilience. Methods: A cross-sectional survey (n = 242) was conducted from December 2021 to January 2022 in Indonesia. The Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale-Chinese version, Spiritual Well-Being Scale, and Family Resilience Assessment Scale were used for data collection. Smart Partial Least Square (SmartPLS) software (version 3.2.7) was used to analyze the data. Results: Most respondents aged range from 46 to 55 years-old (30.9%). Also, most of them were having senior high school educational level (47.7%), earn &lt;3 million rupiah (90.5%), and jobless (66.7%). Family resilience to COVID-19 has been influenced by the relationship between RW and existential well-being (EW) (81.2%) (β =0.901, t = 24,836, P = 0.001). Religious Non-coping (RNC)- Religious well-being(RW) is 0.124, which indicating that RNC affecting RW by 12.4%, and it also impacting on family resilience to COVID-19 (β = −0.310, t = 3.275, P = 0.001, f 2 = 0.085; minor). Conclusion: Religious coping, RW, and EW are all important factors influencing family resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic has ended. However, with the dynamic development of world health, an outbreak may occur in the future, so the findings of this research will be helpful in providing a warning about spiritual factors that significantly influence family resilience.

Trajectories of Care: Representations of Empowered Mothering in Contemporary Bollywood

Mothering a child with disability increases caregiving responsibilities considerably, making the mother assume the role of the nurse, the therapist, and the educator. Uninterrupted care work, societal surveillance and prevalent stigma severely interfere with the mental, physical, and existential well-being of such mothers. Through a thematic analysis of select contemporary Bollywood films, this article maps the trajectories of care and examines the alternative mothering strategies adopted by mothers of children with disabilities to take care of their children and themselves. A critical examination of these on-screen mothers provides an insight into the shifting discourses of mothering practices in India.

Transdisciplinary assessment frame as leverage for integrated care

In patients with severe, complex, and long-lasting psychiatric problems, psychopathology becomes intrinsically intertwined with personality, biological, social, and existential well-being. Consequently, the share of experience of general well-being becomes more critical. Therefore, apart from standard evidence-based treatment, added guidelines and good practices concerning suicidality, lifestyle, family impact and resource, human custodial measures, collaboration with patients and their expertise, and spiritual and existential guidance, complement standard guidelines. Unfortunately, these extra guidelines are used only as an add-on with traditional treatments or separated in a recovery approach where treatment would no longer be the focus. Because of the lasting need for integrated and precision care in these patients, UPC Duffel Belgium started an integrated plan for precision care. The first step in this plan was the development of a three-level assessment frame, a 'general treatment' backbone as leverage for uniting the different specializations, and a frame in which all interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary activities find their place. The next step is the collaborative use of the system and implementation of the associated skills and attitudes for all participants.&#x0D; The first person-centered level is the individual psychotherapeutic level at which criteria for treatment indication are evaluated in an overview that prioritizes with the patients’ different problems, systematically organized in four axes. Axis I, of distant fixed factors of nature and nurture is associated with the latent intrapersonal or permanent contextual or cultural factors (Axis II). The outcome behavior Axis III shows problem behaviors as a flip side of their associated therapeutic goals, followed by Axis IV with direct behavior-triggering and factual temporary, environmental, and relational/contextual factors. This case conceptualization is feasibly visualized and translated into a short explanation and hope inspiring narrative with the patient. &#x0D; The second interdisciplinary level is the team level, at which treatment criteria are evaluated in the context of the treatment history. The staff and the patient check ten points: identification of the patient, triggering events for admission, previous treatments with successes and failures, important influences of personality, contextual or cultural factors as far as conditional for the present treatment, preferences of the patient, short term risks, long term risks, treatment priorities, ultimate goal and deselected treatment targets, criteria for dismission and contextual points of attention. Experience experts coach patients, using these points as a guide, to emancipate these patients to equality and to informed negotiator in their treatment, thus obliging the teams to prepare for a transparent discussion. &#x0D; The third transdisciplinary level is the hospital level which automatically and repeatedly evaluates the stay's effect by Routine Outcome Monitoring in all domains of functioning as in the International Classification of Functioning model (ICF). This model provides an overview of functioning, activity, and participation problems and resources and indicates the right places for engaging in transdisciplinary actions and collaboration beyond the restricted cure field of psychiatry. The functioning chart is a hinge that connects the psychopathology frame and the complementary positive health domains as both map on the same ICF scheme.

Impact of spirituality on elderly people's quality of life and life satisfaction after acute myocardial infarction: Iranian hospital-based study.

As people age, survival after a heart attack can affect their quality of life and lead to a decrease in life satisfaction. After a myocardial infarction, elderly patients may experience physical, psychological, emotional and social changes that affect their thoughts and behaviour in relation to spirituality. To investigate the relationship between spiritual well-being and other sociodemographic and medical history-related factors on quality of life and life satisfaction among elderly people after myocardial infarction. In a census-based cross-sectional study conducted at the Imam Reza Hospital in Amol, Iran, from May 2020 to May 2021, data on sociodemographics, medical history, subjective well-being, life satisfaction and quality of life were collected from 502 participants who were referred at the heart clinic. The findings showed that spiritual well-being dimensions (religious well-being, [self-assessment of one's relationship with God], and existential well-being, [self-assessment of one's sense of purpose in life and life satisfaction]) were not significantly associated with life satisfaction, but a high perception of both dimensions of spiritual well-being were associated with higher self-reported quality of life. A history of past-year hospital admission and cardiopulmonary resuscitation were significant predictors of life satisfaction, and educational level was a predictor of quality of life. The study found no significant association between spiritual well-being and life satisfaction among elderly people following myocardial infarction. This finding might have been influenced by the physical and emotional challenges experienced by the participants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further studies are needed to confirm this relationship.

ИДЕЯ ЭКЗИСТЕНЦИАЛЬНОГО БЛАГОПОЛУЧИЯ В РУССКОЙ ФИЛОСОФИИ И СОВРЕМЕННАЯ ПРОБЛЕМА МЕНТАЛЬНОГО ЗДОРОВЬЯ: ЭТИКО-ФИЛОСОФСКИЙ АНАЛИЗ

The article is devoted to the ethical and philosophical analysis of the idea of existential well-being in Russian philosophy and its role in solving the modern problem of mental security. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the philosophical understanding of the modern issue of mental security by means of the ethical and philosophical heritage associated with the idea of existential well-being. The concept of existential well-being in Russian philosophy, which has an ethical nature, is highlighted. The purpose of the study is to study the contribution of Russian philosophy to the modern discussion about mental security as an important condition for existential well-being. The article considers several approaches (existential, phenomenological, ethical, philosophical and anthropological) to the study of fundamental issues in the context of the studied issues. The core of the study of the relationship between Russian philosophy and mental security as a condition for achieving existential well-being is the orientation towards moral values in the decision-making process, the organization of one’s own life and building relationships with the surrounding reality.

Spiritual Well-Being Among Users and Non-Users of Psychedelics: A Cross-Sectional Study

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) in a Brazilian sample. We analyzed spiritual well-being, defined as existential well-being (EWB) and religious well-being (RWB), among individuals with varying religious and spiritual experiences, both users and non-users of psychedelics. The online cross-sectional survey was conducted in Brazil, from April to June 2022. The psychometric analyses demonstrated reliability and validity based on the internal structure and the relationship with satisfactory external variables concerning the RWB and EWB factors of the SWBS. Validity evidence was shown for both factors (RWB, EWB) with adequate reliability ratings. However, the RWB factor, which was entirely replicated, demonstrated the best group differentiation and internal consistency. Although both factors showed validity, the RWB factor exhibited superior psychometric indices for validity, group discrimination, and reliability. Regarding psychedelics, the association with RWB and EWB demonstrates a U-shaped pattern, as participants who never use these substances typically exhibit higher RWB and EWB indices, succeeded by frequent users. This finding underscores the need for additional studies to further explore the intricate interplay between psychedelics and spiritual well-being.

Abstract 155: The Relationship Between Positive Psychology Factors and Quality of Life in Long-Term Cardiac Arrest Survivors

Introduction: There is a need to identify factors that can improve quality of life (QoL) post-CA. Long-term CA survivors (i.e., &gt; 1 year) have recommended utilizing positive psychology factors (i.e., psychological strengths that foster well-being) such as mindfulness, existential well-being, and resilient coping to manage survivorship challenges. We explored associations between these factors and QoL. Hypothesis: Higher levels of mindfulness, existential well-being, and resilient coping will be individually associated with better physical, psychological, and social QoL. Goal: Identify factors associated with improved QoL, that may become intervention targets. Methods: Secondary analysis of survey data of long-term CA survivors from the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. We examined demographic covariates (sex, months since arrest, age, income), self-reported daily memory problems, functional dependence (Lawton Independent Activities of Daily Living Scale), emotional distress (PTSD Checklist-5, Patient Health Questionnaire-4), and positive psychology factors (mindfulness [Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised], existential well-being [Meaning in Life Questionnaire Presence of Meaning subscale], and resilient coping [Brief Resilient Coping Scale]). We used the WHOQOL-BREF to measure psychological, physical, and social QoL. We conducted 9 multiple regression models to test the individual relationship between each positive psychology factor and each QoL domain, adjusted for demographic covariates, functional dependence, daily memory problems, and emotional distress. Results: We included 129 long-term CA survivors (mean age: 52 years, 52% male, 98% white). In adjusted models, higher mindfulness and resilient coping were associated with better QoL in all domains (βs: 0.19 - 0.56, p &lt; 0.03, R 2 = 0.35 - 0.74); existential well-being was associated with better psychological and social QoL (βs: 0.27- 0.36, p = 0.001, R 2 = 0.4 - 0.72). Conclusion(s): Greater levels of positive psychology factors were associated with better QoL, even after accounting for emotional, cognitive, and functional sequelae. Future interventions should consider teaching these positive psychology factors to CA survivors.

Psychological and spiritual factors affecting well-being among military personnel engaged in remote combat.

Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) require multiple crewmembers to successfully operate the aircraft. RPAs shape modern warfare and pose challenges for the spiritual-emotional health of RPA personnel. This study explored whether (a) RPA crewmembers could be separated into groups based on their experiences, (b) the groups differed in psychological health outcomes, and (c) they differed in aspects of spiritual well-being. Participants included 354 United States Air Force personnel involved in RPA duty. Participants provided demographic information and completed the Work Role Strain Scale as a predictor. Outcome measures included job satisfaction, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Outcome Questionnaire-45.2, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5), and medical complaints and psychosocial services indices. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale and Unit Cohesion Scale were assessed as moderating factors. Cluster analysis identified two groups of crewmembers. Psychologically healthy participants included 73.4% of crewmembers (n = 260); the remaining 26.6% (n = 94) were distressed. The distressed group included more imagery analysts, weapon-strike pilots, and females, and fewer sensor operators and males compared with the healthy group. Symptoms among the distressed group included more psychological difficulties and PTSD symptoms, more medical complaints, and greater use of psychosocial services. The distressed group reported greater work-role conflict, role ambiguity, work overload, relationship stress, emotional exhaustion, and cynicism as well as lower job satisfaction, unit cohesion, professional efficacy, and existential well-being. The strongest predictors of distress were lack of meaning and feeling overextended at work. Emotional exhaustion and low existential well-being identified distressed crewmembers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Negative Life Events Associated with COVID-19 and Psychological Distress: The Role of Sense of Helplessness and Existential Well-Being

Negative Life Events Associated with COVID-19 and Psychological Distress: The Role of Sense of Helplessness and Existential Well-Being

How does a hospital servicescape impact the well-being and satisfaction of both health care customers and professionals?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how servicescapes impact well-being and satisfaction of both hospital customers (patients) and health care professional service providers. Design/methodology/approach The study investigates how a hospital servicescape impacts two critical outcomes – well-being and satisfaction – of both hospital patients (customers) and health care professionals, who are immersed in that environment. Findings The hospital servicescape had a greater impact on physical, psychological and existential well-being for professionals than for patients. However, the reverse was true for satisfaction. The new servicescape enhanced the satisfaction and physical and psychological well-being of professionals but only the satisfaction of customers. Research limitations/implications The study implications for health care policy suggest that investment in health care-built environments should balance the needs of health care professionals with those of customers to benefit their collective well-being and satisfaction. Practical implications Based on the findings, the authors propose that servicescape investments should focus on satisfying the physical needs of patients while also placing emphasis on the psychological needs of professionals. Social implications Health care spending on physical facilities should incorporate careful cost-benefit analysis, ensuring that beneficial features for both user groups are included in new hospital designs, omitting features that are less supportive of well-being. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to compare the impact of the same real-life servicescape on the satisfaction of both customers and service providers (professionals) and considers the critical health outcome of well-being.

The Relationship Between Spiritual Well-Being and Psychological Capital Among Nursing Students: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: University students’ spiritual well-being (SWB) is a potentially decisive factor in strengthening positive concepts, such as psychological capital (PsyCap). Objectives: This study investigated the relationship between SWB and PsyCap among nursing students. Methods: The present descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 383 nursing students of a four-year educational program using a convenience sampling method from July to December 2021 in Iran. The tools applied in this study were the psychological capital (PsyCap) questionnaire and the spiritual well-being scale (SWBS). Pearson’s correlation coefficient and hierarchy of multiple regressions were used to analyze the data. Results: The results of Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed a positive and significant relationship between religious well-being (RWB) and self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience (r ranging from 0.36 to 0.45, P &lt; 0.01). Also, the correlation coefficients between existential well-being (EWB) and self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience (r ranging from 0.41 to 0.61, P &lt; 0.01) were positive and significant. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that two areas of SWB were explained: 26.6%, 37.7%, 29.6%, and 17.9% of the variance in the students’ self-efficacy, hope, optimism, and resilience, respectively. Conclusions: SWB is a substantial issue in promoting the students’ PsyCap, and it is possible to improve their PsyCap through spirituality-based interventions.

On the trail of Sisyphus - addiction as an existential neurosis?

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, king of the Corinthians, dared to deceive the gods and was condemned to roll a boulder to the top of a mountain for all eternity. Shortly before reaching the summit, however, the boulder rolled back down into the valley, and the arduous task had to begin anew. Many of the contents of this classic myth are reminiscent of the therapeutic approach to addictive disorders. In addiction therapy, too, it is often a long and rocky road that ends with a relapse. The therapeutic effort was not entirely in vain, but one often begins to doubt its usefulness. In terms of Sisyphus and a Bio-Psycho-Social Model (BPSM) of health and disease, addiction can be located at the end of a downward spiral. By extension of the BPSM, can addictive disease be considered an expression of existential neurosis? The results of our own research speak in favor of this and show a clearly reduced experience of sense and meaning, but also diminished feelings of hope and forgiveness in addiction patients. However, positive correlations between various parameters of existential well-being and mental health or more appropriate stress coping are also found for the addiction group. These results are supported by neuronal correlates and are mirrored in the general population. Based on this, the consideration of existential issues in addiction therapy can be discussed. Finally, the use of art therapy and work training are proposed as examples of a meaning based therapeutic intervention in dealing with people with addictive diseases.

Integration of Person-Centered Narratives Into the Electronic Health Record.

Care delivery that is not person-centered has been called discordant care . There has been a shift to incorporate more of a person's narrative into their individual healthcare treatment plan to reduce discordant care. Aligning with this shift in healthcare delivery, we developed a person-centered narrative intervention (PCNI) to address existing gaps in delivery of person-centered care. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of conducting a randomized study and describe the outcomes of PCNI to usual care on the following person (patient)-reported outcomes: perceptions of the quality of communication with their nurses and their psychosocial and existential well-being. This study's design was an Obesity-Related Behavioral Intervention Trials model Phase II proof-of-concept randomized study. The participants were people admitted to an acute care hospital diagnosed with heart failure and/or end-stage renal disease. Despite COVID-19 challenges, the PCNI was feasible in an acute care setting; it showed a moderate positive difference between conditions in the person's perception of their quality of communication and a small positive difference in their perception of feeling heard and understood. For our secondary outcomes of anxiety, depression, and psychosocial illness effect, there were small or no effects in the acute care setting. Using a person-centered narrative, such as the PCNI, can help inform delivery of care that incorporates a person's (patient's) beliefs, values, and preferences into their healthcare. This study used a pragmatic approach to evaluate the PCNI in real time in an acute care setting to assess patient-reported outcomes. These positive results in a small sample indicate the need for continued testing of the PCNI. These promising effects require further testing in a Phase III efficacy study within a larger randomized controlled clinical trial.

Sexual Function, Religion, Existential Well-being and Mental Health among Iranian Married Women of Reproductive Age.

The present study investigates the relationship between sexuality and spirituality with mental health among Iranian married women of reproductive age. It was a cross-sectional, correlational study with a sample size of 120 Iranian married women in 2022. Goldberg general health, Female Sexual Function Index, and Paloutzian and Ellison spiritual health questionnaires were used to collect data. The level of spiritual health scale (SWBS) in more than half of the married women was high (50.8%) and 49.2% at the average level. Sexual dysfunction was reported at 43.3%. Sexual function, religious and existential well-being was predictors of mental health and its dimensions. The risk of sexual dysfunction was 3.33-fold higher in people who had an unfavorable level of SWBS (β = 3.33, CI: 1.558-7.099, P = 0.002) compared to those who had a favorable level of SWBS. Therefore, adhering to sexual health and relying on spirituality are emphasized in preventing mental health problems.

Fostering existential well-being: mobility, dwelling, and Undocumented Student Resource Centers in California

In recent years, scholars have taken increased interest in the existential dimensions of human im/mobility largely to trace how growing numbers of persons across the globe are pressed to navigate increasingly restrictive mobility regimes. The focus on restrictive contexts has, however, deterred researchers from considering experiences of well-being in precarious conditions. This paper shows how a place-based approach to the study of im/mobility can address this gap by directing scholarly attention to supportive places that promote the well-being of various groups facing limited social conditions. Drawing upon phenomenological healthcare studies, I theorize existential well-being as a dialectic of dwelling-mobility, and study how an increasingly visible supportive place on college campuses in California—namely, the Undocumented Student Resource Center (USRC)—impacts the existential experiences of undocumented students involved in its operations. I theorize ‘place’ from a sociocultural psychological perspective, viewing USRCs as dynamic, psycho-social-material realities produced by USRC staff and students involved in distinct meaning-making practices. I then discuss research conducted with an USRC in Northern California to show how its distinct socio-material design and psychosocial practices contributed to the development of existential well-being in undocumented students. I conclude that a place-based approach to the study of existential im/mobility can shed light on well-being experiences that are not dependent on the eradication of restrictive mobility regimes and (as such) can contribute to social change.

Protective positive psychology factors and emotional distress after cardiac arrest

BackgroundThere is a critical need to identify factors that can prevent emotional distress post-cardiac arrest (CA). CA survivors have previously described benefitting from utilizing positive psychology constructs (mindfulness, existential well-being, resilient coping, social support) to cope with distress. Here, we explored associations between positive psychology factors and emotional distress post-CA. MethodsWe recruited CA survivors treated from 4/2021–9/2022 at a single academic medical center. We assessed positive psychology factors (mindfulness [Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised], existential well-being [Meaning in Life Questionnaire Presence of Meaning subscale], resilient coping [Brief Resilient Coping Scale], perceived social support [ENRICHD Social Support Inventory]) and emotional distress (posttraumatic stress [Posttraumatic Stress Checklist-5], anxiety and depression symptoms [PROMIS Emotional Distress – Anxiety and Depression Short Forms 4a]) just before discharge from the index hospitalization. We selected covariates for inclusion in our multivariable models based on an association with any emotional distress factor (p < 0.10). For our final, multivariable regression models, we individually tested the independent association of each positive psychology factor and emotional distress factor. ResultsWe included 110 survivors (mean age 59 years, 64% male, 88% non-Hispanic White, 48% low income); 36.4% of survivors scored above the cut-off for at least one measure of emotional distress. In separate adjusted models, each positive psychology factor was independently associated with emotional distress (β: −0.20 to −0.42, all p < 0.05). ConclusionsHigher levels of mindfulness, existential well-being, resilient coping, and perceived social support were each associated with less emotional distress. Future intervention development studies should consider these factors as potential treatment targets.

Social Withdrawal, Solitude, and Existential Concerns in Emerging Adulthood

This study aimed to investigate the ways subtypes of social withdrawal and dimensions of solitude are related to existential concerns in emerging adulthood. The links between social withdrawal/solitude and existential well-being are a highly neglected research issue. Participants were 774 emerging adults (50.4% males) aged 18–25 ( M = 20.07) from Greece. They completed measures on social withdrawal, solitude, authenticity, meaning in life, existential anxiety, and existential loneliness. We used structural equation modeling to analyze the data. Results indicated that shyness, avoidance, and isolation were associated with more existential concerns, whereas unsociability was associated with less existential concerns. The solitude dimensions—enlightenment, freedom, intimacy, and loneliness—were differentially associated with existential concerns, with enlightenment exhibiting the most existential benefits. Findings showed that existential well-being is dependent on emerging adults’ quality of withdrawal experiences and ability to make constructive use of solitude.

Factors Influencing Suicidal Ideation in Middle Aged Adults: Focused on Gender Differences

Purpose: This study investigated levels of economic stress, depression, existential well-being, and family function, and analyzed their influences on suicidal ideation in middle aged adults.Methods: This study included 217 adults aged of 40~65 years. Data were collected from July to August 2019. Data were analyzed separately according to the genders. Descriptive analysis, t-test, Cronbach’s ⍺, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression were conducted using SPSS 23.0 software.Results: The suicidal ideation of the subjects had positive correlations with economic stress and depression but negative correlations with existential well-being and family function. The most significant factor affecting suicidal ideation of middle aged men was depression (β=.68, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt;&lt;.001), with an overall explanatory power of 46.8%, while the suicidal ideation of middle aged women was substantially affected by depression (β=.53, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt;&lt;.001), marriage status (β=-.17, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt;=.028), and presence of chronic diseases (β=.16, &lt;i&gt;p&lt;/i&gt;=.030), with an overall explanatory power of 41.6%.Conclusion: The origins of suicidal ideation in middle aged men and women were different. Therefore, suicide prevention plans, nursing interventions, and policies for middle aged adults must consider gender differences.