Multiple Measures Of Well-being Research Articles

Student-Identified Practices for Improving Belonging in Australian Secondary Schools: Moving Beyond COVID-19

Despite a strong body of evidence demonstrating the importance of school belonging across multiple measures of wellbeing and academic outcomes, many students still do not feel a sense of belonging to their school. Moreover, school closures caused by COVID-19 lockdowns have exacerbated challenges for developing a student’s sense of school belonging. The current study used closed- and open-ended survey questions to explore student perspectives of practices influencing belonging in a sample of 184 Australian secondary school students. Thematic analysis of student responses to open-ended survey questions yielded four themes related to teacher-level practices influencing student belonging: emotional support, support for learning, social connection, and respect, inclusion and diversity. The implications of these findings are discussed, and strategies are suggested for implementing these student-identified practices.

The protective effects of wellbeing and flourishing on long-term mental health risk

ObjectivePersonal wellbeing reflects individuals’ experiences of positive mental health and those with high wellbeing can be described as flourishing. Increasingly, wellbeing and flourishing are informing public health policy and clinical practice. However, the long-term benefit of wellbeing and flourishing on negative mental health outcomes over the life course is not widely explored. MethodData were from the Personality and Total Health Through Life study, based in Canberra, Australia. Participants were recruited to three age cohorts (Early Adulthood n ​= ​991; Middle Adulthood n ​= ​1,510; Later Adulthood n ​= ​1,432). Wellbeing was operationalised by positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, morale, resilience and social support. Flourishing status was defined by those reporting the highest levels of wellbeing. Mental Health was operationalised by depression and anxiety symptoms, and any depressive disorder. A sub-set of early (n ​= ​439) and middle adulthood (n ​= ​1,275) participants completed the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). ResultsAssociations between individual wellbeing indicators with mental health were mostly attenuated or of small magnitude in multivariate analyses, except for negative affect and low mastery which consistently reported substantial 4-year risk for all age cohorts. In contrast flourishing status reported consistently strong protection against poor mental health outcomes. ConclusionIndividual wellbeing indicators are not as strongly related to mental health outcomes as a higher-order latent wellbeing factor reflecting flourishing. However, multiple measures of wellbeing are needed to capture the gamut of wellbeing experiences and are related to improved mental health outcomes over the long-term and are generally consistent across adulthood.

The role of international organizations in equitable and just planned relocation

Since 2010, States party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have recognized planned relocation as a viable adaptation to climate change. Planned relocation has been attempted in many communities globally and has raised serious issues of equity in some cases. Implementation driven by principles of equity is crucial in ensuring successful planned relocations that decrease loss and damage. In this Policy Analysis, we put forth a framework for equitable planned relocation rooted in theories of justice as a basis for implementation. The framework centers around three principles: comprehensive recognition of affected stakeholders in decision-making, consideration of socio-cultural risk factors relevant to relocation, and evaluation of multiple measures of well-being. There are many actors involved in planned relocation. Unique features and abilities of international organizations lend themselves to promoting equitable planned relocation in partnership with other stakeholders. Through the exploration of case studies, we identify best practices that international organizations have available to influence the design, implementation, and evaluation of planned relocation processes. These practices are relevant when striving for equity for all affected individuals and communities. Points of intervention include agenda-setting and advocacy, funding and implementation standards, and facilitation of international cooperation. International organizations also face barriers to supporting equitable planned relocation. Limitations include lack of enforcement mechanisms, limited resources, and fundamental dependence on existing governance structures and global collaboration. As the necessity of planned relocations grows, the need for leadership from international organizations in implementation is magnified, underscoring the importance of developing and evaluating approaches to just implementation.

Revisiting the Spectrum of Bladder Health: Relationships Between Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Multiple Measures of Well-Being.

Background: Little research to date has investigated the spectrum of bladder health in women, including both bladder function and well-being. Therefore, we expanded our previous baseline analysis of bladder health in the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) Survey to incorporate several additional measures of bladder-related well-being collected at the 5-year follow-up interview, including one developed specifically for women. Methods: At follow-up, participants reported their frequency of 15 lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), degree of life impact from and thought related to urinary symptoms or pelvic/bladder pain/discomfort, and perception of their bladder condition. Prevalence ratios were calculated by generalized linear models with robust variance estimation, adjusting for LUTS risk factors and individual LUTS. The BACH Survey was approved by the New England Research Institutes Institutional Review Board and all participants provided written informed consent. Results: Generally similar findings were observed in the 5-year cross-sectional analysis as at baseline, irrespective of how we categorized LUTS or measured bladder-related well-being. Approximately one in five women (16.2%-18.0% of 2527 eligible women) reported no LUTS and no diminished bladder-related well-being, the majority (55.8%-65.7%) reported some LUTS and/or diminished well-being, and a further one in five (16.9%-26.6%) reported the maximum frequency, number, or degree of LUTS and/or diminished well-being. Measures of storage function (urinating again after <2 hours, perceived frequency, nocturia, incontinence, and urgency) and pain were independently associated with bladder-related well-being. Conclusions: Our similar distribution of bladder health and consistent associations between LUTS and bladder-related well-being across multiple measures of well-being, including a female-specific measure, lend confidence to the concept of a bladder health spectrum and reinforce the bothersome nature of storage dysfunction and pain.

Patient-reported measures of well-being in older multiple myeloma patients: use of secondary data source

BackgroundChanges in well-being of patients with multiple myeloma (MM) before and after diagnosis have not been quantified.AimsExplore the use of secondary data to examine the changes in the well-being of older patients with MM.MethodsWe used the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), linked to Medicare claims to identify older MM patients. We compared patient-reported measures (PRM), including physical impairment, sensory impairment, and patient experience (significant pain, self-rated health, depression) in the interviews before and after MM diagnosis using McNemar’s test. We propensity-matched each MM patient to five HRS participants without MM diagnosis based on baseline characteristics. We compared the change in PRM between the MM patients and their matches.ResultsWe identified 92 HRS patients with MM diagnosis (mean age = 74.6, SD = 8.4). Among the surviving patients, there was a decline in well-being across most measures, including ADL difficulty (23% to 40%, p value = 0.016), poor or fair self-rated health (38% to 61%, p value = 0.004), and depression (15% to 30%, p value = 0.021). Surviving patients reported worse health than participants without MM across most measures, including ADL difficulty (40% vs. 27%, p value = 0.04), significant pain (38% vs. 22%, p value = 0.01), and depression (29% vs. 11%, p value = 0.003).DiscussionSecondary data were used to identify patients with MM diagnosis, and examine changes across multiple measures of well-being. MM diagnosis negatively affects several aspects of patients’ well-being, and these declines are larger than those experienced by similar participants without MM.ConclusionThe results of this study are valuable addition to understanding the experience of patients with MM, despite several data limitations.

Democracy and child health in developing countries

The rise of democracy across the world brought with it expectations that governments would be more attentive and responsive to the welfare of the people, creating better services and better health. Indeed, a considerable body of scholarship finds that democracy has significant, direct effects on multiple measures of well-being, particularly life expectancy and infant mortality. Despite several recent critiques, the paramount theme is that democracy is good for health. This study contributes to this literature by assessing the relationship between democracy and child diarrhea and malnutrition across 52 developing countries. Using a multilevel modeling strategy, the analysis examines the country-level effects of democracy and development on child health, while simultaneously taking into account wealth, education, and other household characteristics at the individual level. Contrary to much previous scholarship, democracy does not exhibit a significant association with diarrhea or malnutrition. Instead, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and improved sanitation and water have substantial effects on child health at the country level. At the individual level, household wealth and maternal education have the largest health-enhancing impact on child diarrhea and malnutrition. Furthermore, the size and strength of the relationship between wealth and health does not vary by political regime. These results demonstrate the enduring importance of socioeconomic status regardless of political context, and they support a small but growing literature that calls the democracy–health link into question.

Improvements in well-being and vagal tone following a yogic breathing-based life skills workshop in young adults: Two open-trial pilot studies.

Background:While efficacy of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY) has been demonstrated in a number of prior studies, little is known about the effects of SKY taught as part of the Your Enlightened Side (YES+) workshop designed for college students and other young adults.Aims:This study aimed to assess the effects of YES+, a yogic breathing-based life skills workshop, on multiple measures of well-being and physiological stress response.Materials and Methods:Two nonrandomized open-trial pilot studies were conducted with a total of 74 young adults (age 25.4 ± 6.6 years; 55% female). Study 1 collected a variety of self-report questionnaires at baseline, postworkshop, and 1-month follow-up. Study 2 collected self-report questionnaires in addition to electrocardiography with a stationary cycling challenge at baseline and 1-month follow-up.Results:Study 1: Improvements in self-reported depression (P's ≤ 0.010), perceived stress (P's ≤ 0.002), life satisfaction (P's ≤ 0.002), social connectedness (P's ≤ 0.004), and gratitude (P's ≤ 0.090) were observed at postworkshop and 1-month after workshop relative to baseline. Study 2: Improvements in self-reported emotion regulation were observed at 1-month follow-up relative to baseline (P = 0.019). Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Expanded Form positive affect increased (P = 0.021), while fatigue and sadness decreased (P's ≤ 0.005). During the stationary cycling challenge, rate to recovery of electrocardiography inter-beat interval also increased from baseline to 1-month follow-up (P = 0.077).Conclusions:These findings suggest that a life skills workshop integrating yogic breathing techniques may provide self-empowering tools for enhancing well-being in young adults. Future research is indicated to further explore these effects, particularly in regards to vagal tone and other aspects of stress physiology.

Adverse Childhood Experience and Adolescent Well-being: Do Protective Factors Matter?

Studies have found traumatic experiences in childhood to have lasting effects across the lifecourse. These adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) include a variety of types of trauma, including psychological, physical or sexual abuse; living in poverty; violence in the home; living with a substance abuser; living with a mentally ill or suicidal person; or living with someone who is or has been imprisoned. Long-term effects among adults have been found in previous studies; but there is limited research on the association between ACEs and adolescent development and even less on potential protective factors to mediate these associations. Utilizing the U.S. 2011–2012 National Survey of Children’s Health, this study examines both the prevalence of ACEs in a nationally representative sample of 12–17 year old adolescents and the cross-sectional relationship between experiencing ACEs and multiple measures of well-being. Potential protective factors are then examined in a mediation model. Results indicate that the more ACEs adolescents experience, the less likely they are to enjoy high levels of well-being. Many factors partially mediate this association, including residing in a safe neighborhood, attending a safe school, and parental monitoring of friends and activities. We conclude that measures of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) represent an important construct for indicator systems; in addition, these findings indicate that measures of protective factors represent important components of indication systems.

Cognition–Well-Being Relations in Old Age

Abstract. We examine whether sensory impairment moderates the association between cognitive performance and well-being and, if so, whether such a moderation effect is due to a mediating mechanism via everyday competence in sensory-impaired individuals. Our sample consisted of visually-impaired (VI, n = 121), hearing-impaired (HI, n = 116), and sensory-unimpaired older adults (UI, n = 150), with a mean age of 82.50 years (SD = 4.71 years). Multiple measures of well-being (life satisfaction, affect, loneliness) as well as several established tests of cognitive performance were included. We found stronger relationships between cognitive performance and well-being in the HI and VI group than in UI individuals. Furthermore, the relationship was mostly mediated by everyday competence both in VI and HI older adults.

Space allowance and high fiber diet impact performance and behavior of group-kept gestating sows1

Identifying and optimizing housing and management systems that improve the well-being of the gestating sow is essential to sustaining animal agriculture. Therefore, the impact of 2 floor-space allowances and a high-fiber gestation diet on dry group-housed sows were evaluated using multiple measures of well-being. Groups of 10 multiparous sows/pen (n = 221) were assigned randomly to treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement to either a corn-soybean meal diet (CTL) or corn-soybean meal diet supplemented with soybean hulls and wheat middlings (FBR), and floor-space allowance of either 1.7 or 2.3 m(2)/sow. Sow BW, backfat (BF), and body condition score (BCS) were all recorded on d 34, 65, 90, and 110 of gestation, whereas skin lesions were scored on d 34, every 2 d for the first 2-wk postmixing, and then biweekly throughout gestation. Blood sample was collected only on d 34 for cortisol (baseline), and samples were collected on d 90 of gestation for other measures including cortisol. Behavior was registered on multiple days throughout gestation. Sows fed FBR and kept at 1.7 m(2) produced heavier litter and weaning weights and greater number of piglets born alive, compared to sows fed FBR but kept at 2.3 m(2) of floor space (diet × floor space, P ≤ 0.04). Sows fed FBR and kept at 1.7 m(2) performed fewer oral-nasal-facial and sham-chew behaviors than sows fed CTL and kept at the same floor space (diet × floor space, P ≤ 0.044). Sows kept at 1.7 m(2) of floor space had a greater (P < 0.05) total lesion severity score than sows kept at 2.3 m(2)/sow, and vulva lesion scores were more (P < 0.02) severe among CTL-fed sows than FBR-fed sows. Parities 2 and 3 sows fed FBR and kept at 1.7 m(2) of floor space were heavier (P < 0.001) than sows fed the same diet but kept at 2.3 m(2). These results indicate that keeping small groups of pregnant sows at a minimum floor-space allowance of 1.7 m(2)/sow and floor feeding these sows a high-fiber diet can improve short-term sow well-being.

Meaning in Nature: Meaning in Life as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Nature Connectedness and Well-Being

Research has established nature connectedness as a reliable correlate of well-being. In the current research, we examined whether meaning in life mediated the association between nature connectedness and well-being. In Study 1, 311 undergraduates completed multiple measures of nature connectedness, multiple measures of meaning in life, and multiple measures of well-being. Mediational analyses revealed that meaning in life fully mediated the association between nature connectedness and well-being. In Study 2, we examined whether mediation of the association between nature connectedness and well-being by meaning in life could be demonstrated alongside a previously documented mediation of the association between religiousness and well-being by meaning in life. Undergraduates (N = 227) completed measures of nature connectedness, religiousness, meaning in life, and well-being. Mediational analyses revealed that meaning in life fully mediated both the association between nature connectedness and well-being and the association between religiousness and well-being.

Demands, control, supportive relationships and well-being amongst British mental health workers

Staff well-being is considered to be a potential problem within mental health occupations, and its variability is in need of investigation. Our starting point is to assess the role of demands, control and supportive relationships that are at the core of Karasek's model. The study aims to assess the relationship amongst mental health workers of job demands, control and support (from peers and superiors) with multiple measures of well-being. Data were obtained through a self-completion questionnaire from mental health staff in 100 inpatient wards, 18 crisis resolution/home treatment teams and 18 community mental health teams. The data was analysed using multilevel regression analysis. Job demands (negatively), control (positively) and supportive relationships (positively) are each uniquely associated with the five measures of well-being included in the study: namely intrinsic satisfaction, anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment. Non-linear and interaction effects involving these demands, control and supportive relationships are found, but vary in type and strength across well-being measures. The combination of low levels of demands and high levels of control and supportive relationships is good for the well-being of mental health staff. Our results suggest that management initiatives in mental health services should be targeted at creating this combination within the working environment, and particularly at increasing levels of job control.

Religious coping and caregiver well-being in Mexican-American families

Objective: We sought to explore the association of religious and spiritual coping with multiple measures of well-being in Latinos caring for older relatives with long-term or permanent disability, either with or without dementia. Methods: Using a multi-dimensional survey instrument, we conducted in-home interviews with 66 predominantly Mexican-American Catholic family caregivers near the US–Mexico border. We assessed caregivers’ intrinsic, organizational and non-organizational religiosity with the Duke Religiosity Index, as well as Pargament's brief positive and negative spiritual coping scale to determine the association of religiosity with caregivers’ mental and physical health, depressive symptomatology and perceived burden. Results: Using regression analysis, we controlled for sociocultural factors (e.g. familism, acculturation), other forms of formal and informal support, care recipients’ functional status and characteristics of the caregiving dyad. Intrinsic and organizational religiosity was associated with lower perceived burden, while non-organizational religiosity was associated with poorer mental health. Negative religious coping (e.g. feelings that the caregiver burden is a punishment) predicted greater depression. Conclusion: Measures of well-being should be evaluated in relation to specific styles of religious and spiritual coping, given our range of findings. Further investigation is warranted regarding how knowledge of the positive and negative associations between religiosity and caregiving may assist healthcare providers in supporting Latino caregivers.

Symptoms of psychosis and depression in middle-aged and older adults with psychotic disorders: The role of activity satisfaction

The presence of depressive symptoms among patients with psychosis is well documented in the literature. Behavioral models of depression emphasize the role of environmental factors in the onset and maintenance of depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of an activity-buffering model of well-being, in which increased satisfaction with leisure activities serves to moderate the relationship between symptoms of psychosis and multiple measures of well-being. Participants were 210 middle-aged and older adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Analyses examined the main and interactive effects of positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and activity satisfaction for predicting both depressive symptoms and overall well-being. Results indicated that when individuals were less satisfied with their leisure activities, the relationship between negative symptoms and depressive symptoms was significant (p < 0.001). However, when individuals had high satisfaction, negative symptoms and depressive symptoms were no longer related (p = 0.243). Similar results were observed for overall well-being. These results provide initial support for an activity-buffering model of well-being among middle-aged and older patients with psychosis. Behavioral therapies which encourage engagement in reinforcing activities may provide additional benefits to existing treatments for psychosis, including reduced depression, improved well-being, and possibly functional outcomes.