1. |
- Sun, Sun, et al.
(author)
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Subjective well-being and its association with subjective health status, age, sex, region, and socio-economic characteristics in a Chinese population study
- 2015
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In: International Journal of Happiness Studies. - Stockholm : Karolinska Institutet, Dept of Public Health Sciences. - 1573-7780 .- 1389-4978.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study analyse how subjective well-being (SWB) in a Chinese population varies with subjective health status, age, sex, region and socio-economic characteristics. In the Household Health Survey 2010, face-to-face interviews were carried out in urban and rural counties in eastern, middle and western areas of China (n = 8,000, aged 15–102 years). To measure subjective health status, a global self-rated health question, the EQ-5D descriptive system, and a visual analogue scale of health status was included. To measure SWB, a validated Chinese version of a question on self-reported happiness, adopted from the World Values Survey, was included. SWB increased with socio-economic status (income and education), and was lower among unemployed individuals and divorced individuals. SWB also increased strongly with subjective health status. When health status was divided into different dimensions using the EQ-5D, the anxiety/depression dimension was the most important dimension for SWB. The reported SWB was also higher in rural counties than in urban counties in the same area, after controlling for socio-economic characteristics and subjective health status
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2. |
- Andrén, Daniela, Associate Professor, 1968-
(author)
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Valuing Depression Using the Well-Being Valuation Approach
- 2023
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 24:1, s. 107-140
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The continuously dramatic rise of the number of people suffering from depression is attracting an increasing demand for effective ways of preventing depression. Besides the need for new interventions, there is also a continuous call for a more robust framework for economic evaluation of public interventions. Taking into account people's preferences for public goods is not straightforward to quantify, and therefore, in addition to designing a new technique for valuing nonmarket goods and services, it is equally important to use valuation methods that are not yet established as traditional. One less commonly used method to assess the cost of depression in monetary terms is the well-being valuation method or the life satisfaction approach, which requires answers to only a few questions that are significantly less time demanding for the respondents than more traditional approaches. We added a well-being question to a contingent valuation web-survey that describes hypothetical interventions aimed to prevent depression in Sweden and estimated that the loss in life satisfaction for individuals who experienced depression varies between approximately 350 and 45,000 euros per year. The monetary compensation would be, on average, higher for individuals who experienced own depression than for those who know someone near, family or friend, who experienced depression, for men than for women, and for middle-aged than for younger and older individuals, respectively.
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3. |
- Backman, Ylva
(author)
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Circles of Happiness: Students’ Perceptions of Bidirectional Crossovers of Subjective Well-Being
- 2016
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 17:4, s. 1547-1563
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The mental well-being of the world’s adolescents has decreased in the last 20–30 years. Such a trend is visible also in Sweden, a country otherwise considered a positive example in terms of child well-being. In Sweden, students in lower secondary school are especially exposed. From a salutogenic orientation, this study qualitatively explored 200 Swedish students’ (grades 5–9) perceptions of the role of happiness in school. Students perceived happiness as both promoting and being promoted by five aspects: learning, school engagement, appreciation of subjects or lesson content, others’ happiness, and prosocial behavior. Hence, five perceived bidirectional crossovers of subjective well-being were found. These were compared to the findings of previous research about the determinants and effects of happiness. The students’ perceptions both add new direction for future research and align in several respects with decades of earlier research.
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4. |
- Baranowska-Rataj, Anna, 1980-, et al.
(author)
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Does lone motherhood decrease women’s happiness? : evidence from qualitative and quantitative research
- 2014
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Netherlands. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 15:6, s. 1457-1477
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper contributes to the discussion on the effects of single motherhood on happiness. We use a mixed-method approach. First, based on in-depth interviews with mothers who gave birth while single, we explore mechanisms through which children may influence mothers’ happiness. In a second step, we analyze panel survey data to quantify this influence. Our results leave no doubt that, while raising a child outside of marriage poses many challenges, parenthood has some positive influence on a lone mother’s life.Our qualitative evidence shows that children are a central point in an unmarried woman’s life, and that many life decisions are taken with consideration of the child’s welfare, including escaping from pathological relationships. Our quantitative evidence shows that, although the general level of happiness among unmarried women is lower than among their married counterparts, raising a child does not have a negative impact on their happiness.
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5. |
- Baranowska-Rataj, Anna
(author)
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What would your parents say? : the impact of cohabitation among young people on their relationships with their parents
- 2014
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Berlin/Heidelberg. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 15:6, s. 1313-1332
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Most European countries have seen a retreat from marriage, which is increasingly preceded or replaced by cohabitation. A question that arises in light of this trend is how the diffusion of non-marital cohabitation may affect the quality of family relations. This article investigates how cohabitation among young people affects their level of satisfaction with their relationship with their parents. We analyse data from the recently released Generation and Gender Survey for Poland, a country with a limited degree of social acceptance of cohabitation, a high degree of attachment to the institution of marriage, and a familialistic culture. Since young adults who choose to cohabit are a rather specific group, we use statistical methods that allow us to control for both the observed and the unobserved characteristics of cohabiters. We find that young people who cohabited in their first union rated their level of satisfaction with their parental relationship lower than their peers who were married. Thus, at least in the context of a country where informal partnerships are not yet fully socially accepted or institutionally supported, the role of cohabitation in intergenerational relations may not be neutral.
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6. |
- Berggren, Niclas, et al.
(author)
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Do Equal Rights for a Minority Affect General Life Satisfaction?
- 2018
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 19:5, s. 1465-1483
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While previous research examines how institutions matter for general life satisfaction and how specific institutions embodying equal rights for gay people matter for the life satisfaction of gays, we combine these two issues to analyze how the latter type of institutions relates to general life satisfaction. The question is how people in general are affected by laws treating everyone equally irrespective of sexual orientation. We find that legal recognition of partnership, marriage and adoption rights, as well as an equal age of consent, relate positively to general life satisfaction. Consequently, same-sex marriage and similar reforms come at no “welfare” cost to society at large—if anything, the opposite appears to hold. We further build on previous research showing positive effects of economic freedom on happiness and on tolerance towards gay people and interact our rights measure with economic freedom. This reveals that the positive effect on general happiness of equal rights mainly appears in countries with low economic freedom. This likely follows because minority rights are perceived to indicate openness to much-desired reforms in other areas.
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7. |
- Bergman, Lars R., et al.
(author)
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Stability of Typical Patterns of Subjective Well–Being in Middle–Aged Swedish Women
- 2007
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 10:3, s. 293-311
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Typical patterns of general subjective well-being (SWB) were searched for in a representative longitudinal sample of Swedish women (N = 272) at age 43 and 49. Cluster analysis at each age separately resulted in a six-cluster solution at both ages. The two solutions were similar, indicating structural stability across 6 years. Five of the six clusters also showed significant individual stability. Among these clusters, a generalized positive typical pattern and two generalized negative typical patterns were found, one characterized by very high negative affect and one characterized by very low global life satisfaction. A cluster characterized by above average positive and negative affect was also found as well as one characterized by low positive affect. A strong relationship was found between membership in an extreme cluster and the values in certain SWB-related variables, supporting the validity of the typical patterns found. Further, it was shown that cluster membership contributed to the prediction of some validation variables above the prediction achieved by using only SWB components entered as continuous variables, suggesting the presence of interactions and nonlinearities in the SWB area.
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8. |
- Berlin, Martin, 1984-, et al.
(author)
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Beyond Income : The Importance for Life Satisfaction of Having Access to a Cash Margin
- 2015
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 16:6, s. 1557-1573
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We study how life satisfaction among adult Swedes is influenced by having access to a cash margin, i.e. a moderate amount of money that could be acquired on short notice either through own savings, by loan from family or friends, or by other means. We find that cash margin is a strong and robust predictor of life satisfaction, also when controlling for individual fixed-effects and socio-economic conditions, including income. Since it shows not to matter whether cash margin comes from own savings or with help from family members, this measure captures something beyond wealth.
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9. |
- Brockmann, Hilke, et al.
(author)
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Why Managerial Women are Less Happy Than Managerial Men
- 2018
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 19:3, s. 755-779
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Women with managerial careers are significantly less satisfied with their life than their male counterparts. Why? In a representative German panel dataset (GSOEP) we find biological constraints and substitutive mechanisms determining the subjective well-being of female managers. Women’s terminated fertility has a negative impact on women’s life satisfaction between the ages of 35 and 45, when managerial careers usually take off. Money and spare time can compensate for this biological difference. But to maintain an equivalent level of happiness, women need to be compensated by much more income for each hour of spare time given up than men do. So, in order to reach better gender equality in leadership positions, women must be either paid higher incomes (on average around 10%) or must be incentivized with more spare time than men. In the conclusion, we speculate on a new mix of carrots and sticks for advanced careers in order to boost female representation in leadership positions.
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10. |
- Brown, Nicholas, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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Easy as (Happiness) Pie? : A Critical Evaluation of a Popular Model of the Determinants of Well-Being
- 2020
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 21:4, s. 1285-1301
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- An underlying principle behind much of the research in positive psychology is that individuals have considerable leeway to increase their levels of happiness. In an influential article that is frequently cited in support of such claims, Lyubomirsky et al. (Rev Gen Psychol 9:111–131, 2005. https://doi-org.proxy.lnu.se/10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111) put forward a model (subsequently popularized under the name of the “happiness pie”) in which approximately 50% of individual differences in happiness are due to genetic factors and 10% to life circumstances, leaving 40% available to be changed via volitional activities. We re-examined Lyubomirsky et al.’s claims and found several apparent deficiencies in their chain of arguments on both the empirical and the conceptual level. We conclude that there is little empirical evidence for the variance decomposition suggested by the “happiness pie,” and that even if it were valid, it is not necessarily informative with respect to the question of whether individuals can truly exert substantial influence over their own chronic happiness level. We believe that our critical re-examination of Lyubomirsky et al.’s seminal article offers insights into some common misconceptions and pitfalls of scientific inference, and we hope that it might contribute to the construction of a more rigorous and solid empirical basis for the field of positive psychology.
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11. |
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12. |
- Bujacz, Aleksandra, et al.
(author)
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Not All Are Equal : A Latent Profile Analysis of Well-Being Among the Self-Employed
- 2020
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 21:5, s. 1661-1680
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study uses a person-centered approach to distinguish between subpopulations of self-employed individuals using multidimensional well-being indicators. Data were obtained from European Social Survey including a sample of 3461 self-employed individuals from 29 European countries. The analysis has empirically identified six distinct profiles named 'unhappy', 'languishing', 'happy', 'satisfied', 'passionate', and 'flourishing'. The profiles were associated with significant differences in well-being, health and work-related variables. The results highlight the heterogeneity of the self-employed population, and describe the complex-both hedonic and eudaimonic-character of the well-being concept in this population.
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13. |
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14. |
- Daukantaité, Daiva, et al.
(author)
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Optimism and subjective well-being: Affectivity plays a secondary role in the relationship between optimism and global life satisfaction in the middle-aged women. Longitudinal and cross-cultural findings
- 2012
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 13:1, s. 1-16
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The focus of the present study lies on optimism and its relationships to the components of subjective well-being, i.e. global life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect. We investigated the direct and indirect (via affectivity) effects of optimism on global life satisfaction in the Swedish middle-aged women at two time points (age 43 and 49), and in the Lithuanian middle-aged women. For this purpose, structural equation modelling was used and the fit indices were compared between two cognitive-affective models. The best fitting model suggests that the direct effect of optimism on global life satisfaction is stronger than that via affectivity. The result was found both in the Swedish sample at two time points and in the Lithuanian sample where the indirect effect was very low and insignificant. The indirect effect via negative affectivity was significant in the Swedish samples at both time points while the indirect effect via positive affectivity was low but significant only in the Swedish sample at age 43. In further analyses we studied the stability of optimism and the components of general SWB in the Swedish sample over a six-year period and a mean difference in optimism in two samples of women, Swedish and Lithuanian. Data analyses showed varying stability of the studied concepts with the highest stability coefficient being for negative affect and the lowest being for global life satisfaction. Cross-cultural analysis of mean difference in optimism showed that the Swedish women at age 43 reported significantly higher optimism as compared to their Lithuanian counterparts.
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15. |
- Demir, Melikşah, et al.
(author)
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Friendship, need satisfaction, and happiness
- 2010
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 11:2, s. 243-259
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Friendship quality is an important predictor of happiness, however, what might account for the association between the two? Two studies investigated satisfaction of basic psychological needs as a mediator of the relationship between friendship quality and happiness. Study 1 (n = 424) found support for the model for best friendship. Second study (n = 176) replicated the first study and showed that needs satisfaction in best and two closest friendships mediated the relationship between the quality of all friendships and happiness. The findings suggest that one reason why the quality of friendships is related to happiness is because friendship experiences provide a context where basic needs are satisfied.
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16. |
- Engberg, Elina, et al.
(author)
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Parental Happiness Associates With the Co-occurrence of Preschool-Aged Children’s Healthy Energy Balance-Related Behaviors
- 2022
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Nature. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 23:4, s. 1493-1507
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We examined whether parental happiness associate with preschoolers’ healthy energy balance-related behaviors (EBRBs) and with the co-occurrence of multiple healthy EBRBs. This cross-sectional study included 647 pairs of parents (88% mothers) and children (mean age 4.7, SD 0.9 years). Parents completed the Subjective Happiness Scale. In addition, ActiGraph accelerometers measured children’s physical activity, and parents reported screen time and food consumption on behalf of their children. We defined four healthy EBRBs: meeting physical activity guidelines; meeting screen time guidelines; a higher consumption of vegetables, fruits and berries; and a lower consumption of sugary foods, treats and drinks. Parental happiness scores did not associate with children’s healthy EBRBs when each behavior was analyzed separately. However, parents with higher happiness scores were more likely to have a child with 2 or 3–4 healthy EBRBs than a child with 0–1 healthy EBRBs. To conclude, parents who are happier have children with multiple healthy EBRBs. Targeting parental wellbeing should be considered when promoting children’s healthy EBRBs.
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17. |
- Fors Connolly, Filip, 1981-, et al.
(author)
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Mediators of Differences Between Employed and Unemployed in Life Satisfaction and Emotional Well-being
- 2022
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science+Business Media B.V.. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 23, s. 1637-1651
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Previous research has shown that the unemployed has lower life satisfaction than the employed but that their emotional well-being may not differ. The aim is to investigate the role of mediators with bearings on these differences between the employed and unemployed in emotional well-being compared to life satisfaction. Participants were 3,463 employed and 452 unemployed living in five Western countries. They answered questions in an online survey. The results showed that the employed had both higher life satisfaction and emotional well-being. Mediation analysis replicated previous results in that the relationship between unemployment and life satisfaction was mediated by financialsatisfaction. The relationship with emotional well-being was mediated by satisfaction with time use which was higher for the employed than the unemployed. Financial satisfaction was also a mediator of the relationship with emotional well-being, both directly and through satisfaction with time use. Although the unemployed felt lower time pressure than the employed, this factor was not a strong mediator of the relationship with emotional well-being, neither directly nor through satisfaction with time use. A possible explanation for the differences in the results for emotional well-being is that a negative mood is less associated with work than found in previous research.
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18. |
- Fors, Filip, 1981-, et al.
(author)
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The Bigger the Better? Business Size and Small-Business Owners’ Subjective Well-Being
- 2021
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 22, s. 1071-1088
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Business growth is often portrayed as an important outcome for small-business owners. Few empirical studies have however examined whether there is a positive relationship between business size and different dimensions of small-business owners’ subjective well-being. In a large cross-sectional sample (n = 1089) of small-business owners from Sweden, we investigate the relationship between business size and the two main components of subjective well-being, life satisfaction and emotional well-being. By means of structural equation modelling, we determine the importance of business size for subjective well-being by focusing on potential advantages (financial satisfaction) and disadvantages (time pressure) related to business size. The results show that there is no overall relationship between business size and life satisfaction, but a weak negative relationship between business size and emotional well-being. However, in a subsequent mediation analyses we find that these findings largely can be explained by the fact that financial satisfaction and time pressure relate to subjective well-being in opposite directions and thus cancel each other out. The results of the mediation analysis also reveal differences across the two components of subjective well-being. We here find that financial satisfaction is more important for small-business owners’ life satisfaction while time pressure is more important for their emotional well-being.
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19. |
- Gamble, Amelie, 1951, et al.
(author)
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The relationships between life satisfaction, happiness, and current mood.
- 2012
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 13:1, s. 31-45
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present research proposes and tests a conceptualization of happiness as a situation-dependent evaluation of hedonic experiences, specifically the valence and activation of current mood, as well as being related to cognitive judgments of life satisfaction. In Experiment 1 86 undergraduates rated their life satisfaction (five scales forming the Satisfaction With Life Scale), happiness on five rating scales, and valence and activation of current mood, each on three rating scales, before and after attending a lecture. The results showed that happiness was related to life satisfaction mediated by valence of current mood. The change in happiness from before to after attending the lecture was only influenced by the change in valence of the current mood. In Experiment 2 which used scenarios to induce valence and activation of current mood in four randomized groups with a total of 135 undergraduates, happiness was related to preference for current mood rated on three scales which in turn was directly affected by both the valence and activation induction. Valence was in the mood-induction scenarios related to the expected rate of goal pursuit and activation to incidental events. Experiment 3 demonstrated for another 59 undergraduates that happiness remained related to preference for a positive mood despite that its relation to a positive mood was reversed in an incongruent situation.
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20. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(author)
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Adolescents’ psychological well-being and memory for life events : Influences on life satisfaction with respect to temperamental dispositions
- 2009
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 10:4, s. 407-419
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of the present study was to explore how the number of recalled life events (positive and negative) predicts psychological well-being (PWB) and how PWB predicts life satisfaction (LS). In addition, participants were categorized into one of four different affective temperaments (self-actualizing, high affective, low affective, and self-destructive). One hundred and thirty-five high school students participated in completing the SWLS (LS), PWB (short-version), PANAS (to create affective temperaments), and the life events recollection task. Results indicated that adolescents with high positive affect also had high PWB; adolescents with low affective profiles also had high PWB. Positive and negative life events predicted PWB for self-destructive temperaments, whereas positive life events predicted PWB for low affective temperaments. PWB predicted LS for all temperaments except the self-actualizing group. In conclusion, the temperament combinations may allow the individual to achieve PWB and LS. Even more importantly, self-acceptance may foster LS regardless of temperament and may have more impact on LS than life events.
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21. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(author)
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Adolescents’ Temperament and Character: A Longitudinal Study on Happiness
- 2012
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-7780 .- 1389-4978. ; 13:5, s. 931-946
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Personality is considered a major determinant of adults and adolescents Subjective Well-Being (SWB); mainly due to its relation to emotional reactivity, emotional intensity, and to the duration of emotional reactions. However, personality as presented above involves almost only differences in automatic emotional reactions and habits (i.e., temperament). Nevertheless, temperament together with learning experiences from different life events is responsible for what people make of themselves intentionally (i.e., character). The present study examines the relation between temperament and character to SWB at two points in time over a year in an adolescent sample (N = 109). Adolescents reported personality (The Temperament and Character Inventory; TCI) and SWB at the beginning of the school year (T1). Subjective Well-Being was then again measured at the end of the school year (T2). Temperament (Harm Avoidance and Novelty Seeking) and character (Self-Directedness) predicted SWB at T1. However, only Self-Directedness predicted SWB at T2 and also small but significant changes in SWB at the end of the school year. The inclusion of character in SWB research is discussed.
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22. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973
(author)
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La Vie en Rose: High Levels of Well-Being and Events Inside and Outside Autobiographical Memory
- 2014
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 15:3, s. 657-672
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present study examined adolescents' interpretation and memory for stimuli inside and outside autobiographical memory in relation to high and low levels of Subjective (SWB) and Psychological Well-Being (PWB). Participants (69 high school pupils), identified as being either the 5 % upper or the 5 % lower scorers from 687 pupils who self-reported SWB and PWB, were asked to recall and list the most positive and negative life events during the past year. Words in a short story were used to assess events outside autobiographical memory. The high well-being groups remembered more positive than negative life events. Conversely to the other groups, the high PWB group interpreted positive and negative life events equally and had no preference for recognition of positive words. The number of words rated as positive predicted false recognition of positive words among the high well-being groups. Thus, suggesting important cognitive differences and similarities related to SWB and PWB.
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23. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(author)
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On Lions and Adolescents : Affective Temperaments and the Influence of Negative Stimuli on Memory
- 2010
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 11:4, s. 477-495
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The present study investigated the relation between reaction to negative stimuli and memory for stimuli. The relation was further investigated using as a framework individuals' affective temperaments (AFTs). Eighty adolescents participated in the study. The AFTs are based on selfreported affect and categorizes individuals in four temperaments: self-actualizing, high affective, low affective and self-destructive. Reaction to negative stimuli was measured by interpretation of specific words in a short story. Two days later, participants were presented with a list of words and asked which of them were present in the short story. Individuals' AFTs were expected to predict the promotion of pleasure or the prevention of displeasure. On a general level, reaction to negative stimuli predicted memory for negative, positive and neutral words. At an individual level, self-actualizers and high affectives' negative reaction predicted the memory of positive words (i.e., promotion). In contrast, low affectives' negative and positive reaction predicted the memory of neutral words (i.e., prevention).
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24. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(author)
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Quantifying the Semantic Representations of Adolescents' Memories of Positive and Negative Life Events
- 2013
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 14:4, s. 1309-1323
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We quantified the semantic content in adolescents’ descriptions of positive and negative life events and studied how these descriptions are related to the assessment Subjective Well-Being (SWB) at two points in time. The semantic content of the descriptions was quantified by Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). LSA is a computational method based on algorithms stemming from computational linguistics, where a high dimensional semantic representation of words can be generated from co-occurrence of words in huge text corpora. We investigated if the semantic content of written autobiographical memories of positive and negative life events predicted traditionally ranked measures of SWB, i.e., self-reports of Positive and Negative Affect, and thus created semantic measures of SWB. Such measures can be used to investigate the relationship between semantic content and SWB, which could only indirectly be accomplished by the ranked data. Pupils wrote down positive or negative life events during the last three months and self-reported SWB. Four weeks later, participants were presented with their own description and asked to report current SWB. The results showed that the semantic representation predicted SWB and experimental conditions. The agreement between semantic and ranked measures supports the validity of the semantic scores. We argue that our proposed method for studying SWB provides new and essential information about well-being by the quantification of a richer set of information from adolescents’ own memories.
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25. |
- Garcia, Danilo, 1973, et al.
(author)
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The Affective Temperaments and Well- Being: Swedish and Iranian Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction and Psychological Well- Being
- 2013
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In: Journal of Happiness Studies. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1389-4978 .- 1573-7780. ; 14:2, s. 689-707
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim was to investigate the role of the affective temperament model (AFTs) in distinguishing variations in well-being among adolescents from Sweden (n = 222) and Iran (n = 120). Participants self-reported positive (PA) and negative affect (NA), life satisfaction (LS) and psychological well-being (PWB). The model categorizes participants in four different temperaments using the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS): self-actualizing (high PA and low NA), high affective (high PA and high NA), low affective (low PA and low NA), and self-destructive (low PA and high NA). Across cultures, self-actualizing adolescents reported higher LS and PWB. The PWB sub-scale of self-acceptance was positively related to LS regardless of temperament profile or cultural background. Nevertheless, Iranian adolescents with self-destructive profiles reported higher LS than high affective Iranians. The AFTs model is suggested to offer something unique by taking into account the interaction of PA and NA.
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