Key Determinant Of Well-being Research Articles

Relative Income and Wellbeing in Canada

This study examines the impact of relative income on wellbeing in Canada, drawing on data from the seventh round of the World Values Survey. The analysis distinguishes between emerging adults (ages 18-25) and mature adults (ages 26-45), evaluating the effects of relative income while controlling for various demographic, socioeconomic, and subjective factors. The covariates include age, low/middle education, and marital status, number of children, employment status, immigrant status, rural residence, religiosity, physical health, financial troubles, scepticism, and happiness levels. The findings indicate that relative income significantly influences wellbeing for both males and females, even after accounting for these factors. Gender-specific differentiations are seen, particularly in the influence of education, marital status, and employment. The interaction analysis shows that the effect of relative income on wellbeing is consistent across different age cohorts. These results highlight the importance of relative income as a key determinant of wellbeing and suggest that policies aimed at reducing income inequality could enhance overall life satisfaction across diverse demographic groups.

Association Between Income and Well-Being Among Working Women in Japan

Background: Income is a key determinant of well-being; however, its effects are often nonlinear. In Japan, working women face unique limitations to their well-being, including substantial gender wage gaps, caregiving responsibilities, and female-specific health conditions. This study aimed to investigate the association between income and well-being, with a focus on potential nonlinear patterns and effect modification with various factors. Methods: A nationwide survey of 10,000 working women aged 20–64 years was conducted in Japan in 2023. Well-being was assessed using four items from the Office for National Statistics-4 questionnaire, each rated on a 0–10 Likert scale. Tobit regression models were used to assess the association between household income and well-being after adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related factors. Results: Annual household income was positively associated with well-being in women earning up to 8–10 million JPY annually, beyond which the effect was attenuated. Women with mental health issues or insomnia reported significantly lower well-being scores regardless of their income level (p < 0.05). Marital status and caregiving responsibilities had moderate effects, whereas having more children diminished the positive effect of income among higher-income households earning over 8 million JPY annually. Conclusions: This study highlights the need for integrated policies that address both economic disparities and health-related challenges to improve the well-being of working women in Japan. Targeted interventions focusing on female-specific health conditions are particularly important.

The Relationship between Wellbeing, Self-Determination, and Resettlement Stress for Asylum-Seeking Mothers Attending an Ecosocial Community-Based Intervention: A Mixed-Methods Study.

Psychosocial support programs have been increasingly implemented to protect asylum seekers' wellbeing, though how and why these interventions work is not yet fully understood. This study first uses questionnaires to examine how self-efficacy, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, and adaptive stress may influence wellbeing for a group of asylum-seeking mothers attending a community-based psychosocial program called Welcome Haven. Second, we explore mothers' experiences attending the Welcome Haven program through qualitative interviews. Analysis reveals the importance of relatedness as a predictor of wellbeing as well as the mediating role of adaptive stress between need satisfaction and wellbeing. Further, attending Welcome Haven is associated with reduced adaptive stress and increased wellbeing, which correspond with the thematic analysis showing that attendance at the workshops fostered a sense of belonging through connection with other asylum seekers and service providers as well as empowerment through access to information and self-expression. The results point to the importance of community-based support that addresses adaptive stress and the promotion of social connection as key determinants of wellbeing. Nonetheless, the centrality of pervasive structural stressors asylum seekers experience during resettlement also cautions that relief offered by interventions may be insufficient in the face of ongoing systemic inequality and marginalization.

Well-Being, Quality of Governance, and Employment Policies: International Perspectives

Looking beyond the traditional national accounts and household-income-labour dynamics, this paper examines well-being from a conceptual and practical perspective. It builds upon the literature review and indicators including the Better Life Index, the Human Development Index, the Healthiest Countries Index, and the Happiness Index. Education, knowledge, skills, health, safety, and good employment are central drivers of well-being and life satisfaction. Job satisfaction is strongly correlated with health, family fulfilment, social relationships, good citizenship, job quality, and productivity at work. Quality of governance and appropriate employment policies positively influence job satisfaction and therefore other key determinants of well-being. Vice-versa, well-being measures represent valuable inputs for various policies and, besides, well-being positively influences health, longevity, and productivity. Given all these, the present paper has the following key objectives: (1) to synthesize the main dimensions of well-being, both from the subjective and objective standpoints; (2) to underline specific relationships between well-being, quality of governance, and employment policies; (3) to describe the performance of various countries in terms of well-being indexes; (4) to underscore current risks that jeopardize well-being.

Job security and the promotion of workers’ wellbeing in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: A study with Canadian workers one to two weeks after the initiation of social distancing measures

Background: Due to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, workplaces have had to make significant alterations in the way they conduct business. This, in addition to the current financial instability, may put workers at risk of experiencing job insecurity and, in turn, lower wellbeing. Job insecurity is a key determinant of wellbeing, but little is known on how it is impacted by public health crises, and more specifically how it relates to workers’ positive and negative wellbeing in the midst of a pandemic. Research is lacking on resilience levers that workplace interventions should target to support wellbeing in times of insecurity. Objective: Framed from a multidisciplinary perspective (public health, positive and organizational psychology), the study explores (1) workers’ job (in)security during the COVID-19 pandemic one to two weeks after social distancing measures were implemented by Canadian governments, (2) how job (in)security relates to wellbeing during the pandemic, and (3) the potential positive effects of workplace-related resilience levers. Method: 1,073 Canadian workers working full-/part-time or who were temporarily laid off completed an online survey, including measures of wellbeing at work or in general, job security and potential resilience levers (workplace disaster preparedness, policy, social capital). Results: Multiple regression findings highlight that marginalized workers (e.g., women, migrants, people facing financial hardships) reported lower job security, and having temporarily lost one’s job was negatively associated with job security. Low job security was related to lower scores across measures of wellbeing. Distress was high in the sample. Workplace disaster preparedness, policy and social capital were associated with higher wellbeing. The effects of these resilience levers tended to be stronger at higher job security levels. Discussion: Recommendations include a systemic, collaborative approach that includes policies fostering job security as well as resilience-promoting interventions in the workplace to protect/increase the wellbeing of workers during COVID-19.

Understanding the (non-)Use of Societal Wellbeing Indicators in National Policy Development: What Can We Learn from Civil Servants? A UK Case Study

Gross Domestic Product is often used as a proxy for societal well-being in the context of policy development. Its shortcomings in this context are, however, well documented, and numerous alternative indicator sets have been developed. Despite this, there is limited evidence of widespread use of these alternative indicator sets by people working in policy areas relevant to societal wellbeing. Civil servants are an important group of indicator end-users. Better understanding their views concerning measuring societal wellbeing can support wider discussions about what factors determine indicator use and influence in policy decision-making. Taking the UK as a case study, we ask what views exist among civil servants in the UK about measuring societal well-being? To answer this question, we used a bootstrapped Q methodology, interviewing 20 civil servants to elicit their views about measuring societal well-being. Three distinct discourses emerged from our analysis: one that was concerned about the consequences of ignoring natural, social and human capital in decision making; one that emphasised opportunity and autonomy as key determinants of well-being; and one that focused on the technical aspects of measuring societal well-being. Each of these discourses has direct implications for the way that we integrate societal wellbeing into policy making and highlights the potential benefits of including end-users in indicator development and strategy.

The development of the ‘Forms of Responding to Self-Critical Thoughts Scale’ (FoReST)

BackgroundSelf–critical thoughts are a feature of many mental health problems. Adopting a psychologically flexible response to thoughts has been highlighted as a key determinant of wellbeing. But, the measurement of psychological flexibility (PF) in relation to self-critical thoughts is under-developed. This paper reports on the development of the Forms of Responding to Self-Critical Thoughts Scale (FoReST). MethodStudy One involved the development and exploratory factor analysis of the FoReST in a convenience sample of 253 non-clinical adults. Study Two was a confirmatory factor analysis study of the FoReST in a sample of 110 University students. Study 3 explored the convergent and concurrent validity of the FoReST by examining associations with measures of similar constructs (PF, self-compassion, self-criticism) and relevant mental health measures (anxiety, depression, distress). Study 3 also explored the FoReST's incremental validity for predicting depression and anxiety levels beyond an established measure of self-critical thinking. ResultsIn Study One, exploratory factor analysis produced a 9-item/2-factor solution (unworkable action and mindful acceptance). The measure demonstrated good internal consistency. In Study 2, the confirmatory factor analysis also indicated a 2-factor model (unworkable action and mindful acceptance) and overall internal consistency that was excellent. In Study Three, the FoReST demonstrated high convergent validity with similar measures, and good concurrent validity with mental health outcomes. Analyses also indicted good incremental validity for the FoReST for predicting HADS depression and anxiety scores. ConclusionsThe FoReST appears to be a psychometrically sound measure suitable for measuring change processes in third wave therapies such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness-based Interventions and Compassion Focused therapy.

Differences in the Environmental, Social and Economic Development of Polish\u2013Lithuanian Trans-Border Regions

Regional development is a complex process that can be analysed in various contexts, including environmental, social and economic factors. Variations in the levels of development are naturally observed across countries and regions, but they play a special role in trans-border regions. The aim of this study is to investigate differences in the level of development of two Polish voivodships (Warmia and Mazury, and Podlasie) and two Lithuanian counties (Marijampolė and Alytus) which are trans-border regions (NUTS 4 level). The study was conducted by analysing three subordinate criteria, namely environmental, social and economic factors, as well as the overall development of the evaluated regions with the use of the analytical hierarchy process and technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution methods. The evaluated trans-border regions are characterised by a predominance of rural areas and considerable variations in development. The entire area is characterised by high natural value. This is an important observation because the condition of the natural environment is a key determinant of well-being, and it directly influences the quality of life. The analysis revealed considerable demographic problems, mainly in Lithuanian regions, resulting from low population growth and a negative net migration rate which influence population structure. Disproportions in regional development call for regional policies that are adapted to local needs and resources.

Life course social connectedness: Age-cohort trends in social participation

Social connectedness has emerged in recent decades as a key determinant of well-being. Considering its importance, several studies have sought to describe how overall trends in society have changed over the years, while others have been more concerned with how it changes as individuals age. This study set out to synthesize these two strands of research by describing age-cohort trends of social connectedness, using social participation as the key indicator. Data are from the Americans’ Changing Lives survey, a nationally representative panel dataset with an accelerated longitudinal design, collected over 25 years. Multivariate Bayesian generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) were utilized to estimate age-cohort trajectories of formal and informal social participation. Findings show that even as informal social participation decreases with age, formal social participation increases – suggesting some form of compensatory mechanism. Further, while informal social participation remains stable across cohorts, formal social participation increases in later cohorts. These results suggest that the isolation of old age or overall societal declines in social participation in America may be overestimated by some observers, but more research is needed to more comprehensively describe how other aspects of social connectedness are distributed over the life course.

Relative consumption and renewable resource extraction under alternative property-rights regimes

This paper presents a simple model of resource extraction where preferences are defined over the individual’s consumption level, her effort and the comparison of her consumption with that of other members of the community. Our specification captures the intuition that lies behind the growing body of empirical evidence that places interpersonal comparisons as a key determinant of well-being. We consider the effect of consumption externalities under two alternative property-rights regimes: perfect property rights and open access. We identify two dimensions along which consumption externalities distort the efficient exploitation of resources, or, in the case of open access, aggravate the over-exploitation of resources: (i) the static trade-off between consumption and leisure, and (ii) the dynamic trade-off between current and future consumption. In general, envious agents over-exploit the natural resource stock, resulting in a steady-state stock lower than the efficient level chosen by a central planner. We propose a tax mechanism to induce the first-best outcome.

Environmental satisfaction, sociability, and well-being among urban elderly.

A review of the literature indicates that until recently little attention has been paid to the effects of the environment on well-being among the aged. This study analyzes data relevant to both the individual and his or her environment from a large (N = 2265) national sample of low- and middle-income elderly. A recursive causal model is presented; the results indicate that perceived health and housing satisfaction contribute the most to well-being among the elderly. In addition, for men and women home ownership was not found to affect well-being positively. For men who owned their own homes lower scores on well-being were reported. The findings also indicate that while the quantity of neighbor interaction benefits the well-being of men, women benefit more from the positive sentiments of sociability in the neighborhood. This study emphasizes the importance of environmental satisfaction and neighborhood sociability as key determinants of well-being in later life.