Components Of Subjective Well-being Research Articles

Human-built environment interactions: the relationship between subjective well-being and perceived neighborhood environment characteristics

The neighborhood is one of the most fundamental urban elements and acts as the intermediary link between the city and citizens to enhance the quality of life. The present study examined the significance of the relationship between the subjective well-being of citizens and perceived neighborhood environment characteristics in urban historical fabrics for creating healthy neighborhoods. To this end, a survey research method was employed, and the data were collected via questionnaires. The population consisted of all the citizens of the historical neighborhood of Sange Siah in Shiraz, Iran, who lived or worked in the neighborhood and used the neighborhood spaces daily. A Nonparametric Spearman correlation coefficient was run to assess the correlation between the variables. The results showed that the component of social inclusion from among the six components of subjective well-being had a significant positive correlation with perceived neighborhood environment characteristics (r = 0.712). In the following, the components of satisfaction with life (0.614), mental well-being (0.569), positive and negative effect (0.526), and feeling of happiness (0.468) had a moderate positive correlation; and the component of physical and mental health also had a weak positive correlation with perceived neighborhood environment characteristics (0.230). In addition, the concept of subjective well-being with a correlation coefficient of 0.579 had a moderate positive correlation with perceived neighborhood environment characteristics, which indicates that the structural characteristics of the neighborhood have a significant relationship with the subjective well-being of the people living in the neighborhood.

The dark triad and subjective well-being: The mediating role of cognitive-emotional regulation strategies.

The dark triad (DT) is composed of psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. These traits have usually been correlated with maladaptive strategies of emotion regulation. In turn, these types of strategies have shown a negative relationship with the components of subjective well-being (SWB): affective well-being (AWB) and cognitive well-being (CWB). The principal objective of the present study was to analyze the possible mediating role of adaptive and maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies in the relationship between the DT and SWB components. For this purpose, a community sample of 678 participants (Mage =35.03; 53.1% women) completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWB), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-36), and the Short Dark Triad (SD-3). The results showed a good fit with the model in which Machiavellianism was indirectly and negatively related to CWB through the effect of maladaptive strategies and AWB, and indirectly and positively related to CWB through the effect of adaptive strategies and AWB. Narcissism was indirectly positively related to CWB through the effect of adaptive strategies and AWB. Finally, psychopathy was indirectly negatively associated with CWB through the effect of adaptive strategies and AWB. Limitations and clinical implications of this research are discussed.

On the association between students’ (domain-specific) subjective well-being and academic achievement—disentangling mixed findings

Today, there is wide recognition of schools as places that should foster children’s learning and well-being alike. The past two decades have thus witnessed an upsurge in research on children’s subjective well-being (SWB) in school and how it relates to their academic achievement. The first meta-analysis on the SWB/achievement relation revealed substantial, yet unexplained variability in effect sizes across samples and studies. In this context, in the present investigation we examined three potential sources of differential SWB/achievement relations: The domain-specificity of measures (global/school-specific/math-specific), the type of SWB component (cognitive/affective), and the type of achievement indicator (test-based/grade-based). Data from N = 767 8th and 9th grade students from German secondary schools were assessed via latent factor analyses. Our findings generally point towards stronger SWB/achievement relations with a more specific and specificity-matching rather than a less specific and specificity-mismatched SWB measure, with SWB’s cognitive rather than its affective component, and with a grade- rather than test-based indicator of academic achievement. We discuss differences in our findings by type of SWB component as well as by level of domain-specificity, and we provide initial empirical evidence supporting the relevance of SWB’s subject-specific measures.

Internet Behavior and Satisfaction With Sleep, Health, Quality of Life and Physical Activity Self-Efficacy as Components of Subjective Well-Being: Findings From an Online Survey.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between internet use (constructive and health-related internet behavior, health app usages), physical activity self-efficacy, and subjective well-being (quality of life, health satisfaction, sleep satisfaction). Participants (N = 758) were recruited to participate in an online survey. One-way MANOVA and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the hypotheses. Results showed that internet use was negatively associated with sleep satisfaction, r(738) = -.127, p < .001. Individuals who use health-related apps for movement/fitness, t(689.900) = -3.354, p < .001, nutrition, t(300.075) = -2.434, p = .016, information for self-diagnosis, t(199.768) = -2.321, p = .021, and contact with doctors, t(90.630) = -2.035, p = .045, have higher PA self-efficacy than those who do not. Overall, there was a statistically significant difference in subjective well-being based on a participants' constructive internet use, F(28, 2590) = 1.97, p = .002, with quality of life (p = .006) and sleep satisfaction (p = .025) being statistically significant components of subjective well-being. This paper discusses the important theoretical and practical implications regarding the development of health-related apps and online well-being interventions which are significantly relevant to the well-being literature.

Dynamics of subjective student wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic

BACKGROUND: Because the COVID-19 pandemic has continued for a long time, it has become necessary to explore the dynamics of mental health phenomena during this period.&#x0D; AIM: To identify the dynamics of the emotional component of the subjective wellbeing of the personality of students in the psychological and pedagogical areas at various stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.&#x0D; MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study involved 911 students in the psychological and pedagogical areas at the University of Tyumen, Kurgan State University, and Ural Federal University. The research method used was the scale of subjective wellbeing by Perrudet-Badoux as adapted by M.V. Sokolova. Measurements were taken in April 2020, May 2021, October 2021, and January 2022.&#x0D; RESULTS: In April 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, the university students had the lowest indicators of the emotional component of the subjective wellbeing of the individual. A year later, in May 2021, there was an increase in subjective wellbeing, which, however, was not statistically significant. The trend of improvement in subjective wellbeing continued for six months to October 2021, when it became significantly higher than when the pandemic began. At the fourth measurement in January 2022, subjective wellbeing had stabilized, indicating that the students had adapted to the conditions of the pandemic.&#x0D; CONCLUSION: The emotional component of the subjective wellbeing of the personality of students was subject to dynamics of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the two years of the pandemic, university students have adapted to the stressful situation of the pandemic as reflected by the improvement and stabilization of the emotional component of subjective wellbeing.

Moderators of the Connection between Pro-social Behavior and Life Satisfaction

The principal aim of this article is to explore the mechanism of association between informal helping behavior and life satisfaction among Russians. It especially focuses on the potential moderating role of the close relationship between the agent and the beneficiary, as well as the values and demographic characteristics of the agent. To test the main hypotheses, multiple regression analysis is applied to online survey data (N=732) with respondents sampled from a large consumer panel. As expected, a significant positive relationship was observed between the cognitive component of subjective well-being and the self-reported frequency of helping both close ones and strangers, with the association being more pronounced in the former case. At the same time, the effect of pro-social action towards relatives and friends appeared to vary depending on the value orientation and age of the respondent: in older people (51+), as well as those who attach greater importance to the equal treatment of all people (high score on Universalism), helping relatives is not as closely associated with subjective well-being. As far as the positive effect of helping strangers on life satisfaction is concerned, no significant moderation effects were detected, which indicates its relative universality. The potential implications for kindness interventions and volunteer recruitment as well as the prospects for future research are discussed in the conclusion.

Happy Days: Resolving the Structure of Daily Subjective Well-Being, Between and Within Individuals

We address the long-standing confusion concerning the conceptualization and structure of subjective well-being (SWB) by examining daily variation in life satisfaction (LS), positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA). A total of 911 participants provided daily ratings of LS, PA, and NA over 14 days. Between- and within-individual variations in daily SWB were simultaneously modeled using dynamic structural equation modeling and random intercept cross-lagged panel modeling. Parameter estimates were highly consistent across approaches. Strong loadings from LS, PA, and NA were observed on latent SWB factors, both between and within individuals; cross-lagged predictive effects among SWB components were small and inconsistent across adjacent days within individuals. Findings provide compelling new evidence supporting a hierarchical conceptualization of SWB as an underlying (latent) sense of well-being reflected in daily experiences of LS, PA, and NA. Implications for studying stable (trait-like) and dynamic (time-varying) aspects of other multidimensional constructs in social and personality psychology are discussed.

Evidence for changes in population-level subjective well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic from 30 waves of representative panel data collected in Austria between March 2020 and March 2022

ObjectivesThis study was conducted to describe how population-level subjective well-being (SWB) evolved throughout the pandemic. Study designThirty waves of panel data representative of the Austrian population aged ≥14 years were collected between March 2020 and March 2022. Participants were quota sampled from a pre-existing online panel based on key demographics closely mirroring the Austrian resident population. MethodsWe present wave-specific means of SWB throughout 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic next to the evolution of the pandemic (cases and deaths) and stringency of lockdown measures in Austria as well as estimate their bivariate correlations. ResultsThe analysed sample consisted of 3,293 participants contributing to a total of 46,168 observations. All components of SWB – negative affect, positive affect and life satisfaction – showed population-level fluctuation between March 2020 and March 2022. The magnitude of these changes was small. Population-level SWB correlated with the incidence rate of COVID-19 deaths (negative affect: r = 0.69, positive affect: r = −0.70, life satisfaction: r = −0.47), the Stringency Index (negative affect = 0.50, positive affect = −0.47, life satisfaction = −0.47) and less so with the incidence of COVID-19 cases (negative affect = 0.43, positive affect = −0.31, life satisfaction = −0.38). ConclusionsPopulation-level SWB fluctuated in accordance with rises and falls in COVID-19 cases and deaths as well as with the stringency of lockdown measures. This connection suggests that incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as public health measures to contain the pandemic affect population-level SWB and could thereby impact population health and productivity.

How important is subjective well-being for patients? A qualitative interview study of people with psoriasis

PurposeThis qualitative study aimed to investigate the importance of subjective well-being (SWB) as an outcome of psoriasis treatment from patient’s perspective. We focused on the affective component of SWB as assessed with the Daily Experience Sampling Questionnaire (DESQ), a validated daily diary.MethodsSemi-structured qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with in-patients of a dermatological rehabilitation clinic, after participants had completed the DESQ for up to seven days to get familiar with the concept of SWB. Patients were asked to reflect on the importance of SWB as treatment goal and on its relative importance as compared with other treatment outcomes. We also addressed whether SWB could be an indirect measure of benefit in that it reflects other important outcomes. Transcripts were analyzed using content analysis.ResultsEleven patients participated (24–63 years, mean 53 years, 8 male, 3 female). Participants uniformly confirmed that changes in SWB reflected treatment benefit. All but one considered SWB to be a central aspect of treatment benefit—either as the most important treatment goal or as an indirect benefit indicator. In particular, participants described positive associations of SWB with other outcomes, such as symptoms. They reported that both the disease and the medical treatment had an impact on their SWB, which was reflected in the DESQ.ConclusionOur findings suggest that SWB is a relevant indicator of treatment benefit for patients with psoriasis. Therefore, SWB measures, such as the DESQ, could be used to operationalize patient-relevant benefit of psoriasis treatment, complementing outcome measures currently used.

Temporal Associations between Religiosity and Subjective Well-Being in a Nationally Representative Australian Sample

ABSTRACT This study examined the between-person and within-person associations between 4 components of subjective well-being (i.e., general life satisfaction, satisfaction with life domains, positive affect, and negative affect) and 2 components of religiosity (i.e., religious salience and religious participation). Data were drawn from the Household, Income, and Labor Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, collected 5 times between 2004 and 2018. The Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model was used to analyze the data. Results showed weak between-person associations between the components of religiosity and subjective well-being. At the within-person level, the cross-lagged associations between religiosity and subjective well-being variables were trivial and nonsignificant. This indicates a lack of robust temporal associations between religiosity and subjective well-being when measured at intervals of a few years.

Subjective well-being among psychotherapists during the coronavirus disease pandemic: A cross-cultural survey from 12 european countries

ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to examine the amount of the total variance of the subjective well-being (SWB) of psychotherapists from 12 European countries explained by between-country vs. between-person differences regarding its cognitive (life satisfaction) and affective components (positive affect [PA] and negative affect [NA]). Second, we explored a link between the SWB and their personal (self-efficacy) and social resources (social support) after controlling for sociodemographics, work characteristics, and COVID-19-related distress. MethodsIn total, 2915 psychotherapists from 12 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Finland, Great Britain, Serbia, Spain, Norway, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and Switzerland) participated in this study. The participants completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), the International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short Form (I-PANAS-SF), the General Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. ResultsCognitive well-being (CWB; satisfaction with life) was a more country-dependent component of SWB than affective well-being (AWB). Consequently, at the individual level, significant correlates were found only for AWB but not for CWB. Higher AWB was linked to being female, older age, higher weekly workload, and lower COVID-19-related distress. Self-efficacy and social support explained AWB only, including their main effects and the moderating effect of self-efficacy. ConclusionsThe results highlight more individual characteristics of AWB compared to CWB, with a more critical role of low self-efficacy for the link between social support and PA rather than NA. This finding suggests the need for greater self-care among psychotherapists regarding their AWB and the more complex conditions underlying their CWB.

Quiet ego, perceived social support, and subjective well-being in mothers having children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder

BackgroundThis research aimed to examine the relationship of quiet ego and perceived social support with the subjective well-being of mothers having children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and to find out the predictors of subjective well-being among these mothers. Where multiple resource factors beneficial for the well-being of these mothers are studied worldwide, this study investigates and highlights importance of the scarcely studied concept of quiet ego in a precisely defined study sample. MethodCorrelational research design was used and mothers (N = 70; Mage = 36.20, SD = 5.70) were selected using purposive sampling strategy from different special schools and centres of Lahore, Pakistan. The questionnaires used in the study were, Quiet Ego Scale (Wayment et al., 2015), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988), Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) and Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (Diener et al., 2009) ResultsResults showed a significant positive relationship of quiet ego, and all the aspects of social support, with subjective well-being. After controlling for the effect of control variables, social support from the significant other emerged as significant unique predictor of both cognitive and affective components of subjective well-being while friends’ support significantly predicted affect balance only ConclusionsThe importance of internal and external protective factors highlighted in this study can be employed by professionals as a part of their counselling or therapeutic interventions while dealing with such mothers, as well as for the awareness of their families and society, at large.

Assessing the cognitive component of subjective well-being: Revisiting the satisfaction with life scale with classical test theory and item response theory

Life satisfaction is generally regarded as the cognitive component of subjective well-being, as opposed to positive and negative affect, which are regarded as the affective components. This topic has been extensively studied worldwide and has been linked to a variety of outcomes related to the work context as well as psychological well-being. In this study, we examine the psychometric properties of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), one of the most widely used measures of life satisfaction, using three different approaches: classical test theory, Rasch analysis and Mokken analysis. Combining these three approaches provides a more comprehensive validation of an instrument. In this study, schoolteachers (n = 355) completed the SWLS, the trait scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Beck Hopelessness Scale and the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale. The three approaches confirmed the reliability, validity and unidimensional nature of the SWLS, thus supporting its continued use as a measure of life satisfaction in the South African context.

THE SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING PSYCHOLOGICAL RESOURCES OF PARENTS, RAISING CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

The urgency of the subjective well-being problem due to the families,raising a child with special needs, is underlined in the given article. Insuch families, not all of the parents are adequately respond to emergingproblems, their personal and professional self-realization is complicated by objective and subjective factors, leading to signs of burnout and a feeling of loss of subjective well-being. The study of this problem is not only theoretical, but also it brings purely practical significance, namely, for the purpose of providing psychological assistance, updating the personal resources of parents who feel subjectively disadvantaged. Subjective well-being depends on what a person determines for himself as a priority, valuable, what he strives for, and what psychological resources he or she uses. It is revealed that at the present stage of the science development, the study of the problem, connected with subjective well-being and resource capacity of the individual, has not received a holistic study. The article defines the main approaches for the subjective well-being and its understanding of an individualwell being, such as: hedonistic and eudemonistic; the personality-psychological and socio-psychological factors of the subjective well-being of the parents are analyzed; the subjective and objective approaches to understanding the well-being concept of parents raising a child with special needs are highlighted. The subjective approachconsiders all the internal conditions which give a sense of wellbeing and which parents can directly influence (self acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environ mental mastery, purpose in life, personal growth). The objective approach is presented by social and materialwell-being as components of subjective well-being, since it is notalways possible to influence these components directly. The author proposes a generalized classification of the subjective wellbeing psychological resources according to parents raising a child with special needs (personal, family, social resources and resilience). The ways of increasing this phenomenon through successful socio-psychological adaptationare highlighted; following the rules that will help maintain a positive life; parents’ self-realization in all spheres of life. Prospects for further study of the indicated problem are outlined.

CURRENT STATE OF SCIENTIFIC VIEWS ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF PERSONALITY

Psychological well-being is traditionally considered in the contextof the problem of quality of life as its subjective component, thesystemic quality of a person, which it acquires in the process oflife; generalized and relatively stable experience, which is of particularimportance for the individual; a person’s own attitude to hispersonality, life and processes that are important to him in termsof learned normative ideas about the external and internal environment;tolerance, as an integral psychological indicator of humanlife, reflecting the value aspects of his attitude to various spheres ofhis life, through a meta-implicative model of motivation to choose,which includes ideas about the well-being of the individual in relationshipswith the environment; the complex interplay of cultural,social, psychological, physical, economic, and spiritual factors. Sciencehas studied the social and ontogenetic aspects of subjectivewell-being. However, despite the importance of this issue, sciencelacks a theoretical understanding of the subjective well-being offuture psychologists, the links between the internal components ofsubjective well-being and its main psychological determinants arenot identified. Thus, the theoretical and empirical data accumulatedby modern psychological science on the subjective well-being of theindividual can serve as a starting point in the initiated research.The purpose of the article is to give a generalized phenomenonof the current state of views on the psychological well-being ofthe individual on the basis of a theoretical analysis of modernresearch in psychological science.The article is devoted to the analysis of the problem of personalwell-being, which is the object of study of psychology, sociology,philosophy and other sciences that study various aspectsof human life. Well-being is considered in terms of its internalstructure — cognitive, emotional and motivational-behavioralcomponents. Well-being depends on the presence of clear goals,the success of the implementation of action plans and behavior,the availability of resources and conditions to achieve goals.Well-being — a concept that expresses a person’s own attitude tohis personality, life and processes that are important in terms oflearned normative ideas about the external and internal environmentand characterized by a sense of satisfaction.

The Disability Paradox? Trajectories of Well-Being in Older Adults With Functional Decline.

Objectives: The 'disability paradox' (DP) suggests that most older adults maintain subjective well-being (SWB) despite functional decline. However, this may depend the SWB component: positive affect (PA), negative/depressed affect (NA/DA) or life satisfaction (LS). We assessed trajectories of these components in older adults with substantial functional decline. Methods: Data originated from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam (N = 2545) observed during 1992-2008. Using latent class growth analysis, we distinguished a group with substantial functional decline and examined their SWB trajectories and individual characteristics. Results: The DP occurred more frequently for DA (Men:73%, Women:77%) and LS (Men:14%, Women:83%) than for PA (Men:26%, Women:17%). Higher perceived control (mastery) emerged as the most consistent factor associated with higher odds of the DP. Discussion: We provide a nuanced view of the DP, shifting the question from whether it exists to for which dimension of SWB and for whom it is more or less apparent.

Emotional Intelligence and Well-being in Adolescents: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

IntroductionAdolescent´s subjective well-being (SWB) can be improved through the training of emotional intelligence (EI).ObjectivesThe goal of this study is to determine the general link between EI and SWB in adolescents, to analyze the affective (AWB) and cognitive components (CWB) of SWB, and to investigate the moderating effect of EI models on both types of SWB.MethodsWe searched PsycINFO and WOS from inception to December 2020. Eligible studies reported an association between EI and SWB in adolescents aged from 10 to 19 years using instruments that directly measure SWB. Two meta-analyses were conducted, one for the relationship between EI and AWB and the other for EI and CWB.ResultsA total of 41 studies were included, of which 37 were pooled in the meta-analyses. We obtained a significant positive relationship between EI and AWB (estimated effect size = 0.35) and between EI and CWB (0.29). Concerning EI models, self-report ability showed an estimated effect size of 0.33 for AWB and 0.28 for CWB. For the self-report mixed model, we found an estimated effect size of 0.42 for AWB and 0.38 for CWB.ConclusionsEstablishing a quantitative relationship between SWB and EI makes it possible to implement both clinical and educational prevention measures. Introducing EI training in educational and clinical settings can increase SWB, which could significantly impact the prevention of emotional disorders in adolescents.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Cross-cultural validity of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index and Euthymia Scale: A clinimetric analysis

BackgroundThe assessment of psychological well-being and euthymia represents an emerging issue in clinical psychology and psychiatry. Rating scales and indices such as the 5-item version of the World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) and the Euthymia Scale (ES) were developed but insufficient attention has been devoted to the evaluation of their cross-cultural validity. This is the first study using Clinimetric Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (CLIPROM) criteria to assess cross-cultural validity and sensitivity of five different versions of the WHO-5 and ES. MethodsA multicenter cross-sectional study involving a total of 3762 adult participants from different European (i.e., Italy, Poland, Denmark) and non-European (i.e., China, Japan) countries was conducted. Item Response Theory models (Mokken and Rasch analyses) were applied. ResultsMokken coefficients of scalability were found to range from 0.42 to 0.84. The majority of the versions of the WHO-5 fitted the Rasch model expectations. Paired t-tests revealed that the Italian and Danish WHO-5 versions were unidimensional. Person Separation Reliability indices showed that the Polish, Danish, and Japanese ES versions could reliably discriminate between subjects with different levels of euthymia. LimitationsA convenience sampling was used, thus limiting the generalizability of study findings. In addition, no measures of negative mental health were administered. ConclusionsWHO-5 can be used in international studies for cross-cultural comparisons since it covers transcultural components of subjective well-being. Findings also suggest that the ES can be used as a cross-cultural screening tool since it entailed the clinimetric property of sensitivity.

Diagnostic methodology of the cognitive aspects of subjective well-being

Introduction. Subjective well-being is one of the indicators of personal effectiveness and conditions of socio-psychological adaptation of the individual to uncertain situations, unstable social relations. There is a need to develop both new conceptual models of this phenomenon and means for psychological diagnosis. Subjective well-being is a complex experience based on a positive perception of the activity results and assessment of their current state as successful, which is reflected in integrative assessments and experiences of "happiness", "life satisfaction", "high quality of life". The author's model of subjective well-being identifies 3 components: 1) emotional, which performs a regulatory function; 2) cognitive, which implements the evaluation function; 3) behavioral, which performs an adaptive function. Aim. The purpose of the study is to develop a methodology for diagnosis of the subjective well-being cognitive component. Methods. The internal structure of the method "KOSB-3" was checked using Factor analysis (the method of principal components with the rotation of the matrix Varimax normalized ("STATISTICA 10.0")). The discrimination level of statements was determined by the Ferguson test, and the level of internal consistency of statements that form a single scale was tested by the Cronbach's alpha test (SPSS Statistics 19.0). Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-being and «Life satisfaction» (N. Melnikova) are the questionnaires that used to check convergent validity:. Results. The performed procedures have confirmed the high validity and reliability of the developed diagnostic methodology. The final version of the methodology includes 3 scales and an indicator of the overall level of satisfaction with life. There are "General satisfaction with personal life", "Dissatisfaction with oneself and frustration in life", and "Satisfaction with other people relationships". The scales of the methodology were standardized on a student sample (N=256). Test norms were formed in Stanine score, which allow determining the level of an individual result. Conclusions. The developed methodology "KOSB-3" is suitable for measuring the cognitive aspects of subjective well-being. The technique can be used as a psychodiagnostic tool for the study of adolescents (16-25 years old).

Effects of a laughter program on body weight and mental health among Japanese people with metabolic syndrome risk factors: a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundWhile there have been several intervention studies on the psychological effects of laughter, few have examined both the psychological and physical effects. This study investigates the effects of a laughter program on body weight, body mass index (BMI), subjective stress, depression, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Japanese community-dwelling individuals using a randomized controlled trial with a waitlist.MethodsOverall, 235 participants (37 men and 198 women) aged 43–79 years (mean 66.9, median 67.0) were randomized into laughter intervention and control groups (n = 117 and n = 118, respectively) to participate in a 12-week laughter program. Body weight, subjective stress, subjective well-being, and HRQOL were measured at the baseline, with a 12-week follow-up. The laughter program intervention’s effects on these factors were analyzed using an analysis of covariance adjusted by age, sex, risk factors, medication, and area. Furthermore, Pearson’s correlation and a general linear model analyzed the relationship between participants’ BMI and psychological index changes.ResultsThe comprehensive laughter program significantly improved the mean body weight (p = 0.008), BMI (p = 0.006), subjective stress (p = 0.004), subjective well-being (p = 0.002), optimism (p = 0.03), and physical component summary (PCS) scores of HRQOL (p = 0.04). A similar tendency occurred for the mean changes in BMI and subjective stress score by area, sex, and age. Moreover, there was a significant and negative correlation between the change in BMI and PCS change (p = 0.04).ConclusionThe comprehensive 12-week laughter intervention program, mainly comprising laughter yoga, significantly improved physical and psychological functions such as body weight, BMI, subjective stress, subjective well-being, and HRQOL among predominantly elderly Japanese community-dwelling individuals with metabolic syndrome risk factors. Moreover, PCS improved among participants who reduced BMI after the intervention. These results suggest that the laughter program may help reduce body weight in participants with metabolic syndrome risk factors by reducing stress and improving HRQOL and mental health factors, such as subjective well-being and optimism.Trial registrationRegistered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry UMIN-CTR000027145 on 27/04/2017.