International Journal of Wellbeing (IJW)
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Exploring the contribution of animal companionship to human wellbeing: A three-country study
Get PDFWhile it is often assumed that animal companions unilaterally contribute to the wellbeing of their human companions, research has to date been equivocal. At best it appears to be that animal companionship may add an extra dimension to human lives, and thus human wellbeing. In this paper we report on a quantitative study conducted in 2021 that surveyed 2090 people with animal companions living in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participants responded to measures asking about their wellbeing and psychological distress, their connectedness to other humans, and their interactions with and attachment to animals. Regression analysis found that relationships with humans was associated with reduced psychological distress (β = -.594, p = .001), while relationships with animals (β = .205, p = .001), particularly cats (β = .077, p = .001), was associated with increased psychological distress. Regression analysis also found that relationships with other humans (β = .522, p = .001), interactions with animals (β = .142, p = .001), and bonds with animal companions (β = .128, p = .001) were associated with increased wellbeing. We conclude by considering the groups for whom relationships with animals are most likely to offer unique benefits, and suggest the importance of continuing to examine why it is that relationships with animals are both intertwined with, yet distinct from, human-human relationships
Metrics for education for flourishing: A framework
Get PDFThe present paper puts forward a framework for the development, use, and selection of metrics concerning education for flourishing, intended to assist with the assessment of educational efforts to promote student flourishing. These metrics pertain to education policies and practices aimed at both traditional cognitive and epistemic aims and aspects of flourishing that extend beyond those aims, and to both present and subsequent flourishing. Various methodological considerations are discussed and three sets of individual and systems-level metrics are put forward. Both the individual and the systems-level metrics are structured around three broad, interrelated categories: (i) present flourishing; (ii) academic achievement; and (iii) social, emotional, and character-related capacities. We focus on metrics that are constitutive of and/or causally efficacious for present and subsequent flourishing and that also fall within the purview of what an educational system can reasonably alter. Discussion is given to the uses, implications, and limitations of this framework and how it might be helpful in advancing efforts at education for flourishing
Suggested metatheory for positive psychology: The organismic systems theory
Get PDFPositive psychology has been criticized among other things for its lack of a metatheory that would explicate its underlying philosophical assumptions and epistemology as well as give direction for methodology and the forming of constructs, models and theories. This article sets out to suggest a metatheory for positive psychology, combining the systems approach (systems-informed positive psychology, Kern et al., 2019) together with the organismic theory inherent in philosophy of science, biology, neurology and psychology. The suggested metatheory is called organismic systems theory (OST), explicating the following assumptions for PP: 1) active individual (actualizing tendency), 2) functional tendency, 3) integration, 4) emergence, 5) dynamism, 6) self-organization, 7) interconnectedness, 8) holism, 9) subjectivity, 10) boundaries, and 11) adaptation. The systems approach is considered compatible with the organismic approach with their combination suggested to provide the field with a good theory that combines psychological-level inquiry with more general systems-level inquiry. The epistemology and implications of this metatheory for positive psychology are discussed
Embodied superpower: A qualitative study of the experience of highly sensitive wellbeing practitioners
Get PDFPurpose: Research has identified that approximately 20-31 percent of the global population can be considered highly sensitive––carrying the trait of sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS). SPS, associated with increased sensitivity and responsiveness to internal, environmental, and social stimuli, is often considered to be a vulnerability. Despite this, it has been shown to have the potential of becoming an asset to people. However, a gap exists in the research literature regarding the experience of highly sensitive wellbeing practitioners and how they can best manage their high sensitivity to the benefit of themselves and others. Design: A qualitative approach explored how highly sensitive wellbeing practitioners experience and deal with SPS in the context of working with clients. Method: In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with ten practitioners, drawn from a number of wellbeing professions. Results: The qualitative grounded theory analysis revealed the overarching theme of experiencing SPS as an ‘embodied superpower’ and a complex, interwoven dynamic interplay between four major themes: appreciation, challenges, journey, and client work. The results show that, if managed well, SPS can indeed be a valuable asset to practitioners. Implications: As the first of its kind to investigate this topic in a systematic, scientific manner, the study has significance in exploring SPS, especially in relation to embodiment theory. Findings have implications for highly sensitive wellbeing practitioners, contributing to the understanding of their trait and offering practical suggestions on how to best manage it
The well-being benefits of virtual art galleries: Examining the roles of emotion, immersion, and individual differences
Get PDFA wealth of research suggests that engaging with visual art and visiting art museums is beneficial to flourishing; however, less is known about the potential benefits of digital forms of engagement. An emerging literature provides preliminary evidence of the benefits of digital art engagement, but additional research on mechanisms and potential moderators of the benefits is necessary. The present study examines the impacts of repeated visitation to a virtual art gallery to address three questions: 1) Do well-being, emotion, and immersion differ between those in a digital art gallery versus those reading about art?; 2) Do personality and interest in art influence virtual art gallery visit qualities (i.e., emotion and immersion)?; and 3) Do visit qualities and individual differences predict well-being? A sample of 890 U.S. adults was recruited from Prolific. The findings suggest that: 1) People in a virtual gallery show greater well-being, immersion, and aesthetic emotion than those reading about art; 2) Openness to experience is most strongly linked with visit qualities; and 3) Immersion, positive and aesthetic emotion, extraversion, and neuroticism are associated with well-being. This work suggests that repeated engagement with art in a digital format has benefits and that future research should continue to examine the underlying mechanisms and ways digital art experiences can be best designed to be effective well-being interventions
What’s the difference between measures of wellbeing, quality of life, resilience, and coping? An umbrella review and concept map of 155 measures of positive mental health
Get PDFThe multitude of definitions, models, and measures of positive mental health has hindered academic precision and therefore the ongoing scientific evolution of this important area. This umbrella review aimed to synthesize the theoretical landscape of positive mental health, by reviewing measures that were designed to capture overarching, multi-dimensional concepts of positive and adaptive states of mental health (i.e., wellbeing, quality of life, and resilience/coping), and interrogating their underlying dimensions (e.g., vitality, autonomy) and design features (e.g., response scales, item valence). Our search identified 155 measures of positive mental health with a total of 410 constituent dimensions. Using thematic analysis, we consolidated these 410 original dimensions into a set of 21 themes. These themes were transformed into a concept map to illustrate their inter-relationship with the overarching concepts of positive mental health as identified in this review. Our results point to a lack of consensus on the underlying dimensions and measurement approaches for investigating positive mental health, with singular measures failing to capture its breadth, resulting in an unwieldy situation for ongoing scientific inquiry.
Public significance statement: In the absence of consensus on definitions or models of positive and adaptive states of mental health, an unwieldy, and untenable number of measures have been created - many devoid of a clear conceptual framework. The current review summarizes the measurement landscape of positive mental health and presents a preliminary synthesis of 410 dimensions scientists claim to capture this elusive construct. The current review can help inform future measurement and theory development and further guide researchers toward precise, replicable, durable mental health research
Getting outside of ourselves: Towards an other-oriented model of psychological health
Get PDFThis paper examines key assumptions about the benefits of self-oriented care and other-oriented care that have been guiding considerable amounts of research and applications in psychology. More specifically, the paper questions the importance of what can be referred to as the ‘Oxygen Mask Assumption,’ the belief that it is often best to take care of oneself to better take care of others. Based on mounting evidence of the benefits of prosocial behaviour, both for the giver and the receiver, this paper proposes an explicitly other-oriented model of wellbeing. The paper first outlines the Oxygen Mask Assumption and research demonstrating the importance of self-oriented care and the implicit model guiding much of this research. This is followed by examining recent research on the benefits of prosocial behaviour, and the introduction of an other-oriented model of wellbeing. Predictions based on both models are evaluated in light of current research. Theoretical and practical implications of adopting an other-oriented model are discussed
Are Danes really happier than Swedes and Australians? A comparative analysis of subjective well-being measurement issues in Denmark, Sweden, and Australia
Get PDFThis study examines the reliability of cross-national subjective well-being (SWB) survey data, by corroborating the persistently high SWB-rankings of Denmark through a comparison to Sweden and Australia, two countries with similar or superior social, economic, and health indicators. Our research focuses on both the affective and the cognitive component of SWB, with a special emphasis on the affective component. We investigate four potential measurement issues that could contribute to Denmark’s elevated SWB scores: linguistic inconsistencies in survey translations, variations in answering scale usage, recall bias of affect, and positivity bias in life satisfaction judgments. To address these concerns, we utilize multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, analyse emotion-focused anchoring vignettes, examine affect items across varying time frames, and contrast overall life satisfaction assessments with those of domain-specific satisfaction. Despite accounting for various potential measurement issues, our results reveal that Danes consistently report higher SWB than their Swedish and Australian counterparts, although the differences are small for several of the measures. This finding implies that the SWB survey-data is reliable in this case, and that Denmark's high SWB rankings are not attributable to measurement biases but may indeed signify genuinely high levels of SWB. This paper adds to the growing body of literature on cross-national SWB comparisons and might provide insights for researchers aiming to compare well-being across countries
Aesthetic flourishing: Scientists’ experiences of beauty, wonder, and awe as indicators of higher wellbeing
Get PDFThe majority of existing empirical literature examining both the mental and physical health of academic scientists has focused almost exclusively on the negative outcomes of adverse working conditions and occupational stressors, especially burnout and attrition. Comparatively less attention has been given to potentially protective aspects of wellbeing. This disparity is possibly due to the fact that ‘wellbeing’ itself is less clearly defined. The wellbeing conceptual space has typically been divided into areas of hedonia and eudaimonia, but there have been recent interdisciplinary calls for consideration of higher or ‘self-transcendent’ aspects of wellbeing, which draw on primarily positive psychology and industrial/organizational sociology but also philosophy, theology, and the arts (Belzak et al., 2017; Huta & Ryan, 2010; Thrash, 2021; Varga, 2021). In contrast to hedonic and eudaimonic aspects, self-transcendent wellbeing seems to be related to higher goods (e.g., unity, truth, goodness, and beauty), as well as higher states (e.g., inspiration, insight, and awe), that indicate a form of flourishing beyond simple happiness or even self-actualization (Maslow, 1971; Thrash, 2021; Varga, 2021). In an effort to empirically differentiate these aspects of wellbeing, the present study measured and compared particular constructs—needs satisfaction, meaningfulness, aesthetic experiences—respectively prototypical of hedonic, eudaimonic, and self-transcendent wellbeing in a sample of biologists and physicists. We find that when controlling for both hedonic (basic needs satisfaction) and eudaimonic (vocational identity) wellbeing indicators, frequency of aesthetic experience (indicating self-transcendent wellbeing) still had a significant unique effect positively predicting human flourishing, with an effect size of greater magnitude than that of the eudaimonic predictor. These results suggest an empirically differentiable underexplored higher aspect of wellbeing above and beyond traditional markers of hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing
Brief computerised self-help interventions, the “Miracle Question,” and the moderating effects of openness-to-experience
Get PDFBrief, self-help positive psychology interventions (PPIs) have certain advantages over longer, guided interventions (e.g. higher completion rates). The “Miracle Question(s)” – the most famous intervention in solution-focused therapy and coaching – appears to be a promising brief, self-help PPI. However, very little experimental research on the “Miracle Question” has been conducted. The present study investigated the effects of a brief self-help MQ intervention on several aspects of wellbeing, including hope, expectancy, goal clarity and affect. The MQ intervention was compared against both a problem-focused and neutral coaching approach. Three online experiments were conducted with participants aged 18-76 across the world. Two experiments focused on “life problems” whilst the third focused on problems in interpersonal relationships. Results suggested that all three interventions raise expectancy in the context of life (but not relationship) problems. However, as hypothesised, the relative effects of such interventions may depend on openness-to-experience. At high[low] levels of openness-to-experience, the MQ technique was more[less] effective than the problem-focused or neutral coaching interventions, at least for some aspects of wellbeing. The study sheds much-needed light on the MQ technique and on brief self-help interventions. Widely recommended as a means of enhancing wellbeing, the MQ technique may not be universally effective (in a self-help format) and requires further investigation. On the other hand, the study suggests that brief self-help computerized PPIs may indeed be enthusiastically adopted, especially when compared with longer interventions