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Dans le contexte pandémique de la COVID-19, les personnes aînées se sont retrouvées confinées et isolées, et ce, même dans le cadre d’un milieu de vie collective. Cet article fait état d’une étude de la portée sur les bienfaits d’un chœur intergénérationnel pour personnes aînées et les stratégies à considérer pour sa mise en place. L’analyse de 16 études sur ce sujet a permis de se familiariser avec les résultats, les recommandations et les pistes de recherche en lien avec le bien-être et le sens de satisfaction que retirent les personnes aînées qui participent à un chœur, de même que des interventions en chant choral à privilégier. De plus, cette activité qui est peu couteuse et bénéfique est considérée comme une intervention de nature préventive qui contribue au bien-être des personnes aînées et à leur prise en charge pour un vieillissement en santé. Par ailleurs, les résultats suggèrent de continuer à documenter l’efficacité des stratégies proposées pour les améliorer ou les adapter afin de maximiser les effets positifs d’une telle activité sur le bien-être physique, social, émotionnel et cognitif des personnes aînées.
Existential happiness is happiness that one has a basic life at all. Having a basic life, as I understand it, involves being the subject of experiences and being an agent in some minimal sense. As I argue, existential happiness is a fitting response to having a basic life. To make this argument, I look at two possible accounts of the fittingness of existential happiness: the value of a basic life and attachment to the constitutive elements of one’s life. I also consider a few possible sources of existential happiness, including encounters with death, counterfactual thinking, and hedonically positive feelings of awe directed toward one’s own consciousness.
To examine feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a novel group-based telemedicine psychoeducation programme aimed at supporting psychological well-being among adolescents with Fontan-palliated CHD.
Study design:
A 5-week telemedicine psychoeducation group-based programme (WE BEAT) was developed for adolescents (N = 20; 13–18 years) with Fontan-palliated CHD aimed at improving resiliency and psychological well-being. Outcome measures included surveys of resilience (Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale), benefit finding (Benefit/Burden Scale for Children), depression, anxiety, peer relationships, and life satisfaction (National Institutes of Health Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System scales). Within-subject changes in these outcomes were compared pre- to post-intervention using Cohen’s d effect size. In addition, acceptability in the form of satisfaction measures and qualitative feedback was assessed.
Results:
Among eligible patients reached, 68% expressed interest in study participation. Of those consented, 77% have been scheduled for a group programme to date with 87% programme completion. Twenty adolescents (mean age 16.1 ± SD 1.6 years) participated across five WE BEAT group cohorts (range: 3–6 participants per group). The majority (80%) attended 4–5 sessions in the 5-session programme, and the median programme rating was a 9 out of 10 (10 = most favourable rating). Following WE BEAT participation, resiliency (d = 0.44) and perceptions of purpose in life increased (d = 0.26), while depressive symptoms reduced (d = 0.36). No other changes in assessed outcome measures were noted.
Conclusions:
These findings provide preliminary support that a group-based, telemedicine delivered psychoeducation programme to support psychological well-being among adolescents with CHD is feasible, acceptable, and effective. Future directions include examining intervention effects across diverse centres, populations, and implementation methods.
This Element explores the connection between God and happiness, with happiness understood as a life of well-being or flourishing that goes well for the one living it. It provides a historical and contemporary survey of philosophical questions, theories, and debates about happiness, and it asks how they should be answered and evaluated from a theistic perspective. The central topics it covers are the nature of happiness (what is it?), the content of happiness (what are the constituents of a happy life?), the structure of happiness (is there a hierarchy of goods?), and the possibility of happiness (can we be happy?). It argues that God's existence has significant, positive, and desirable implications for human happiness.
Thriving families and friendships are close interpersonal relationships with significant impact on experiences of mattering and well-being across the lifespan. This chapter explores the social ecology of thriving through interpersonal relationships with family and friends. The focus is on how relationships are shaped by their types of constellations as well as interdependent processual, contextual, and political drivers. The chapter concludes that valuing families and friends as the basic units of thriving ultimately might have ripple effects on intergenerational solidarity and promote social cohesion and reciprocal support in the wider society.
Wellness, fairness, and worthiness are central concerns in the pursuit of thriving. Wellness is a positive state of affairs, in multiple domains of life, derived from the satisfaction of subjective and objective needs. Fairness can be defined as the practice of justice. Fairness is multifaceted, entailing, among others, distributive, procedural, and corrective justice. Worthiness can be defined as a sense of mattering, which derives from feeling valued and having opportunities to add value. There is evidence that wellness is highly influenced by both fairness and worthiness. We submit that the extent to which diverse groups suffer or thrive depends on the presence or absence of wellness, fairness, and worthiness in their lives. We explore this hypothesis through the lived experience of four groups: LGBTQAI+, Muslim women in Indonesia, Black girls in high school and Black women navigating predominantly White higher education institutions in the United States.
Though it is derived from individual thriving, community thriving cannot be reduced to the aggregate of individual experiences. Rather, community thriving is defined as the function of a community’s sustainability and its effectiveness at producing well-being outcomes. An overview of community concepts related to thriving, thus defined, is offered, and the implications of well-being, fairness, and worthiness in a community context are detailed. The chapter concludes with specific historical illustrations and steps readers can take to enhance the thriving of their own communities.
Social prescribing is growing rapidly globally as a way to tackle social determinants of health. However, whom it is reaching and how effectively it is being implemented remains unclear.
Aims
To gain a comprehensive picture of social prescribing in the UK, from referral routes, reasons, to contacts with link workers and prescribed interventions.
Method
This study undertook the first analyses of a large database of administrative data from over 160 000 individuals referred to social prescribing across the UK. Data were analysed using descriptive analyses and regression modelling, including logistic regression for binary outcomes and negative binomial regression for count variables.
Results
Mental health was the most common referral reason and mental health interventions were the most common interventions prescribed. Between 72% and 85% of social prescribing referrals were from medical routes (primary or secondary healthcare). Although these referrals demonstrated equality in reaching across sociodemographic groups, individuals from more deprived areas, younger adults, men, and ethnic minority groups were reached more equitably via non-medical routes (e.g. self-referral, school, charity). Despite 90% of referrals leading to contact with a link worker, only 38% resulted in any intervention being received. A shortage of provision of community activities – especially ones relevant to mental health, practical support and social relationships – was evident. There was also substantial heterogeneity in how social prescribing is implemented across UK nations.
Conclusions
Mental health is the leading reason for social prescribing referrals, demonstrating its relevance to psychiatrists. But there are inequalities in referrals. Non-medical referral routes could play an important role in addressing inequality in accessing social prescribing and therefore should be prioritised. Additionally, more financial and infrastructural resource and strategic planning are needed to address low intervention rates. Further investment into large-scale data platforms and staff training are needed to continue monitoring the development and distribution of social prescribing.
We compared Ed Diener’s Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), which was designed as a purely cognitive measure of global life satisfaction, with the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales 3.1, which provides self-report measures of Panksepp’s six primary emotions (excluding LUST), in two English-speaking samples: a main sample and a hold-out validation sample. Our data showed robust negative correlations between higher satisfaction with life and lower FEAR, lower SADNESS/Separation Distress, and positive associations (albeit less strong) between higher satisfaction with life and higher PLAY and SEEKING in both samples. The relationships between the SWLS and at least four of Panksepp’s primary emotions suggest Diener’s SWLS is not purely cognitive and includes a strong affective component. In addition, detailed analysis of the negative correlation between the SWLS and the ANPS 3.1 SADNESS scale provides insight into the importance of the low arousal end of the SADNESS/Separation Distress brain system and supports the idea of a continuum of psychological states from high SADNESS including loneliness and depression to low SADNESS psychological states characterized by social comfort, self-confidence, and social strength.
In this chapter, we are interested in how AI may enhance our well-being – or do the opposite. A defintion of well-being and promotion of core vlaues will be discussed. It will then survey AI technologies and assess whether they enhance or diminish human well-being, using the different meanings of well-being
Climate distress describes a complex array of emotional responses to climate change, which may include anxiety, despair, anger and grief. This paper presents a conceptual analysis of how acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) is relevant to supporting those with climate distress. ACT aims to increase psychological flexibility, consisting of an open and aware orientation to one’s experiences, and an engaged approach to living, guided by personal values. We discuss the pertinence of each of these processes for adapting to the challenging reality of climate change. By embracing climate distress as a natural human experience and promoting value-guided action, ACT offers a promising approach that brings co-benefits to individuals and wider society.
Key learning aims
(1) To understand the concept of climate distress and its various emotional responses.
(2) To explore the relevance of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in addressing climate distress and promoting psychological well-being.
(3) To examine the importance of psychological flexibility in coping with climate change.
(4) To analyse the role of ACT in embracing climate distress as a natural human experience.
(5) To investigate how ACT can encourage pro-environmental behaviours and climate change mitigation efforts.
The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form (ERQ-S) is a brief 6-item self-report measure of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. It is a short form of the most widely used emotion regulation measure in the field, but currently there are limited data on the performance of the ERQ-S. The aim of this study was to introduce a Polish version of the ERQ-S, examine its psychometric properties and provide Polish norms to aid score interpretation. Our sample was 574 Polish-speaking adults aged 18–69 from the general community in Poland. We examined the ERQ-S’s factor structure and measurement invariance with confirmatory factor analysis. We assessed the concurrent validity of the questionnaire via relationships with psychopathology symptoms and well-being. As expected, the Polish version of the ERQ-S demonstrated strong factorial validity with a theoretically congruent 2-factor structure (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression factors), which was invariant across gender, age and education categories. The ERQ-S’s concurrent validity and internal consistency reliability were good. As expected, cognitive reappraisal was significantly associated with lower psychopathology symptoms and higher well-being, whereas the opposite pattern was present for expressive suppression. Overall, the Polish version of the ERQ-S has strong psychometric properties and good clinical relevance.
This article uses the well-being valuation (WV) approach to estimate and monetize the well-being impacts of informal care provision on caregivers. Using nationally representative longitudinal data from the UK, the British Household Panel Survey, we address two challenging methodological issues related to the economic valuation of informal care: (i) the anticipatory nature of informal care; and (ii) the sensitivity of income estimates used in valuation. We address the anticipatory issue by focusing on well-being impacts associated with caring for a relative who had recently suffered a serious accident. We use the fixed effects filtered (FEF) estimator to estimate a “time-invariant income” coefficient free from individual fixed effects bias, which helps to partially improve the quality of the income estimate as an alternative to using instrumental variables. This estimate is used in the calculation of shadow prices of informal care. Our estimates suggest that, focusing on the first year of unanticipated care provision, those experiencing the well-being losses from providing unanticipated informal care would be willing to pay approximately £13,167 on average to avoid it.
This article explores the potential for the greater infusion of well-being concerns into the teaching of history in UK HEIs. Drawing upon results from a survey of over 100 current undergraduates in one UK History department, alongside a scoping study of well-being provision provided by history departments or their equivalent in about ninety UK HEIs, this article considers ways in which well-being can be promoted through the teaching and learning strategies of historians. The article discusses the meaning of the term ‘well-being’ and asks why historians have sometimes been reluctant participants in the ‘eudaemonic turn’. The negativity bias of history as an endeavour, and the potential for understanding the past to enhance or diminish an individual's sense of well-being is discussed, as is the value of historicising the concept of well-being itself. The case for integrating well-being as a key element in the degree-level study of history is made, and the article concludes by urging all HEI history practitioners to consider the value of curricular infusion and mapping the design and delivery of their modules onto the New Economics Foundation's ‘five ways to well-being’.
Natural disasters, such as the eruption of the “Tajogaite” volcano on the Spanish island of La Palma, might have a high impact on the mental health of those who experience them. This study aims to evaluate the mental state of La Palma’s population on the acute phase of the event as well as two and seven months later. The main hypothesis was that levels of anxiety will decrease in time, while depression and perceived stress levels will remain stable. Levels of depression, anxiety, perceived stress and psychological well-being were measured, as well as their relationship and certain demographic variables such as age, gender and residential situation. Results showed that anxiety and perceived stress significantly decreased with time, but depression and well-being remained stable. Moreover, higher levels of depression could be partly explained by higher anxiety and perceived stress, previous pharmacological treatment, and lower levels of well-being. Also, being a woman, higher levels of perceived stress, living in a region affected by the eruption, and previous pharmacological treatment significantly predicted higher anxiety; being a woman, higher levels of anxiety and lower levels of well-being significantly predicted higher perceived stress. Finally, higher levels of well-being could be partly explained by lower levels of depression and perceived stress, and not living alone. This study was able to identify particularly vulnerable groups during natural disasters, such as the eruption of a volcano. This is important to provide early psychological care to those who need it in these situations.
Body image is often defined as your thoughts and feelings about your body; these thoughts and feelings have far-reaching consequences.
This book provides scientifically-based information to help you improve your body image, but also offers real people’s stories, common questions and their answers, myth-busting, and activities to help you develop a greater understanding of your body image.
Having a positive body image doesn’t mean feeling good about yourself every second of every day, but it does mean that you respect and care for your body.
The 2021 State of the World’s Children Report (UNICEF 2021) makes it clear that mental health is a human right and a global good. Research in a variety of fields, including DOHaD, suggests that infancy is a critical period in both brain formation and the formation of positive relational networks that are the grounds for development and adult well-being. Strong evidence that mental health is adversely affected by poor socio-economic conditions suggests the need for carefully directing resources towards structural conditions. At the same time, positive attachment relations within caregiver–child dyads can offset some environmental insults and futures of ill health. The field of infant mental health (IMH) pays attention to the formation of these relationships in the earliest periods of life. This chapter describes efforts to localise universalist models of infant well-being in South Africa, a low-resource setting. These include a new masters’ level training programme and diagnostic tools that can help to sensitise health practitioners to infant well-being. The discussion offers one route to reframing Euro-American models for local contexts while retaining the insights that strong relational capacities can generate resilience in difficult contexts. Its emphasis on historical context, local meaning, and social environment is instructive for DOHaD scholarship.
The historical relationship between semiotics and healthcare is explored in Chapter 3. The authors look specifically at the link between education and healthcare communications that is established by the use of emoji in such communications. The semioliterate nature of healthcare and its implications for respective education are explored, particularly as these relate to early diagnoses based on physical signs and symptoms. Parallels are then drawn between the semioliterate qualities of emoji in the Petcoff study (Chapter 2) and the potentiality of emoji as an effective doctor-to-patient healthcare communicative tool. The chapter concludes by considering how the emoji code can be inserted into traditional healthcare professional education settings, so as to show students how effective it can be in practitioner–patient interactions.
Growing numbers of students now seek mental health support from their higher education providers. In response, a number of universities have invested in non-clinical well-being services, but there have been few evaluations of these. This research addresses a critical gap in the existing literature.
Aims
This study examined the impact of introducing non-clinical well-being advisers on student mental health and help-seeking behaviour at a large UK university.
Method
Survey data collected pre–post service introduction in 2018 (n = 5562) and 2019 (n = 2637) measured prevalence of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7), and low mental well-being (Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale), alongside student support-seeking behaviour. Logistic regression models investigated changes in outcome measures. Administrative data (2014–2020) were used to investigate corresponding trends in antidepressant prescribing at the onsite health service, student counselling referrals and course withdrawal rates.
Results
Adjusted models suggested reductions in students’ levels of anxiety (odds ratio 0.86, 95% CI 0.77–0.96) and low well-being (odds ratio 0.84, 95% CI 0.75–0.94) in 2019, but not depression symptoms (odds ratio 1.05, 95% CI 0.93–1.17). Statistical evidence showed reduced student counselling referrals, with antidepressant prescribing and course withdrawal rates levelling off. Student perception of the availability and accessibility of university support improved.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest a non-clinical well-being service model may improve student perception of support, influence overall levels of anxiety and low well-being, and reduce clinical need. The current study was only able to examine changes over the short term, and a longer follow-up is needed.
The desire-satisfactionist defense of the existence of posthumous harm faces the problem of changing desires. The problem is that, in some cases where desires change before the time of their objects, the principle underlying the desire-satisfactionist defense of posthumous harm yields implausible results. In his prominent desire-satisfactionist defense of posthumous harm, David Boonin proposes a solution to this problem. First, I argue that there are two relevantly different versions of the problem of changing desires, and that Boonin's proposed solution addresses only one of them. Second, I argue that modifying the underlying principle is a better approach to overcoming the problem of changing desires since it addresses both versions of the problem. I defend this approach against objections by showing that the problems raised are problems for the principle as a general theory of harm, not for the principle as part of the desire-satisfactionist defense of posthumous harm.