Opposing scenarios about age-related increases and decreases in intraindividual variability are found in the literature: Whereas accumulating evidence indicates that cognitive functioning is characterized by an age-related increase of short-term variability, age-related decreases in variability could be expected in affective states on the basis of theories of emotion regulation and self development. We examined age… Continue reading Intraindividual variability in positive and negative affect over 45 days: Do older adults fluctuate less than young adults?
Keyword: Well-being
Understanding and Improving the Mental Health of Populations
This chapter reviews survey research on mental health of populations conducted over the last fifty years, with an emphasis on surveys that assess the mental health of whole populations. After a brief examination of the early history of mental health surveys immediately after World War II, the chapter examines two quite different but complementary approaches… Continue reading Understanding and Improving the Mental Health of Populations
Does a Helping Hand Mean a Heavy Heart? Helping Behavior and Well-Being Among Spouse Caregivers
Being a caregiver for an ill or disabled loved one is widely recognized as a threat to the caregiver's quality of life. Nonetheless, research indicates that helping behavior, broadly construed, promotes well-being. Could helping behavior in a caregiving context promote well-being as well? In the present study, we used ecological momentary assessment to measure active… Continue reading Does a Helping Hand Mean a Heavy Heart? Helping Behavior and Well-Being Among Spouse Caregivers
Social network types and well-being among South Korean older adults
OBJECTIVE: The social networks of older individuals reflect personal life history and cultural factors. Despite these two sources of variation, four similar network types have been identified in Europe, North America, Japan, and China: namely 'restricted', 'family', 'friend', and 'diverse'. This study identified the social network types of Korean older adults and examined differential associations… Continue reading Social network types and well-being among South Korean older adults
Gender Differences in Economic Support and Well-Being of Older Asians
Zeroing on the dark side of the American Dream: A closer look at the negative consequences of the goal for financial success
Recent research has demonstrated that aspiring to the American Dream of financial success has negative consequences for various aspects of psychological well-being. The present longitudinal study examining the relation between the goal for financial success, attainment of that goal, and satisfaction with various life domains found that the negative impact of the goal for financial… Continue reading Zeroing on the dark side of the American Dream: A closer look at the negative consequences of the goal for financial success
Social Support and Employee Well-Being
Seeking to explain divergent empirical findings regarding the direct effect of social support on well-being, the authors posit that the pattern of supportive exchange (i.e., reciprocal, under-, or over-reciprocating) determines the impact of receiving support on well-being. Findings generated on the basis of longitudinal data collected from a sample of older blue-collar workers support the… Continue reading Social Support and Employee Well-Being
Explaining the variable effects of social support on work-based stressor-strain relations: The role of perceived pattern of support exchange
Seeking to explain mixed empirical findings regarding the buffering effect of social support on work-based stress-strain relations, we posit that whether an increase in the level of support received buffers or exacerbates the harmful effects of workload on employee health and well-being is contingent upon the general pattern characterizing an employee supportive exchanges across his/her… Continue reading Explaining the variable effects of social support on work-based stressor-strain relations: The role of perceived pattern of support exchange
Constructing Community Indicators of Child Well-Being
Psychological predictors of mortality in old age
Used Cox regression models to examine associations between 17 indicators of psychological functioning (intellectual abilities, personality, subjective well-being, and social relations) and mortality. The sample consisted of 516 participants (aged 70-103 yrs) in the Berlin Aging Study assessed between 1990 and 1993. By 1996, 50% had died. 11 indicators were identified as mortality risk factors… Continue reading Psychological predictors of mortality in old age