Psychological Well Being

Psychological well-being has been generally associated with vigorous aerobic activity and structured aerobic activity in adolescents and children. Low-income children are at greater risk than the general population for experiencing high environmental stress and increased mental health problems. This study investigated the effects of a structured physical fitness program on psychological well-being in low-income Hispanic children. A total of 66, 33 girls, 33 boys, in Grade 4 were randomly assigned to either an Aerobic intensity ( n = 34) or a Control intensity physical activity program ( n = 32) for 6 wk. Psychological well-being was defined as scores on trait anxiety, depression, and self-esteem, measured, respectively, by the Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and Rosenberg Self-esteem scale. Analysis showed the children in the Aerobic intensity program significantly ( p< .05) improved their cardiovascular fitness as measured by the PWC170 test. After the progra...

Cancer in a parent has a devastating effect on the psychological well-being of the children. In this comparative study, we examined the hypothesis that children who have a parent suffering from cancer experience greater difficulty in terms of psychological adaptation than children with a parent suffering from another chronic pathology. A group of 52 children of parents with cancer was

This research examined the contributions of active and passive coping for health problems, and meaning-based coping, to positive psychosocial functioning in a sample of 100 individuals in residential care with a mean age of 83.11 years old. Study participants resided in skilled care, intermediate care, or assisted living facilities. Based on interview data collected on site in participants' residential settings, hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that active and passive coping and meaning-based coping had separate influences on measures of positive psychosocial functioning. Active coping was correlated with higher positive affect, whereas passive coping was associated with higher negative affect and self-acceptance. Positive reappraisal, a meaning-based coping strategy, was uniquely associated with higher positive affect, positive social relations, and self-acceptance. Positive religious coping was not independently associated with positive psychosocial function...

Introduction: The multidimensional psychological well-being model proposed by Ryff (RPWB) represents the widely used instrument to assess the human positive functioning by six interrelated dimensions. Previous studies have shown controversial results regarding the latent structure and factorial validity of the model. It was emphasized that, it is necessary to use particular methodological procedures that are appropriate for the treatment of ordinal variables. The aim of the research was to explore the dimensions of psychological well-being of RPWB, within the Italian context. Method: 602 adolescents attending high schools in the Florence area took part in the study. The data gathered with the Italian version of RPWB, were analyzed using polychoric correlations. Exploratory Factor Analyses, on the 54-, 42-, and 18-item versions, were conducted using the Maximum likelihood method for the extraction of factors, the Direct Oblimin for the rotation along with hierarchical analysis of obl...

Aims: To identify the characteristics of optimistic parents of children with cancer. To examine the relationship between optimism, anxiety, depression, life satisfaction, coping and subjective health perception in parents of children with cancer and parents of healthy children.Methods: One hundred parents of children with cancer were recruited during attendance at Oncology Out-patient Clinics at a UK Regional Cancer Centre. A comparison group of 117 parents of healthy children was also recruited. All parents completed a questionnaire, providing demographic and medical information relating to the child, dispositional optimism, psychological distress, life satisfaction, coping and subjective health perception.Results: Parents of children with cancer had higher levels of anxiety, depression, optimism, satisfaction with life and subjective health perception than the comparison group. Optimism was significantly correlated with satisfaction with life, subjective health perception, anxiety and depression in both groups.Conclusion: The findings highlight the importance of optimism in relationship to psychological distress in parents of children with cancer. Interventions targeting parents' optimism are recommended as a potential source of coping with adversity within this population. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The present meta-analysis integrates the results from 168 empirical studies on differences between caregiving spouses, adult children, and children-in-law. Spouses differ from children and children-in-law significantly with regard to sociodemographic variables; also, they provide more support but report fewer care recipient behavior problems. Spouse caregivers report more depression symptoms, greater financial and physical burden, and lower levels of psychological well-being. Higher levels of psychological distress among spouses are explained mostly--but not completely--by higher levels of care provision. Few differences emerge between children and children-in-law, but children-in-law perceive the relationship with the care recipient as less positive and they report fewer uplifts of caregiving.

This study uses longitudinal data on a sample of 10th graders to investigate the associations between self-esteem, family challenge, and 2 indicators of adolescent achievement: high school grades and extracurricular involvement. Research on self-esteem and on family challenge has linked both of these factors to achievement in adolescents, but studies have not simultaneously examined the effects of these factors on achievement. The present study finds that family challenge and self-esteem are correlated with one another, and examines the effects of each of these factors on achievement while controlling on the other factor. Controlling on self-esteem, family challenge was positively associated with grades in school, and was marginally associated with extracurricular participation. Controlling on family challenge, we did not find self-esteem to be predictive of grades or extracurricular involvement in longitudinal analyses, but we did find some evidence for a relationship in the opposite direction, with grades in 10th grade predicting self-esteem in 12th grade. Results also suggest differences in academic achievement and extracurricular participation by race/ethnicity. Implications of these findings for the role of family challenge and self-esteem in the positive development of adolescents are discussed.

Adolescence is a complex and critical period in psychosocial development. The interruptive process of hospitalisation may adversely affect the developmental period of adolescence and impact on psychological well being. As a result of increased attention to adolescents with cancer, the psychosocial management of this client group has become an integral component of cancer care. The unique needs of adolescents and the need to provide dedicated hospital facilities have been documented over the past four decades. However, despite the availability of policies and guidelines that stress the need for specific Adolescent Units, the vast majority of adolescents continue to be nursed inappropriately in adult or paediatric environments. Twenty-seven research articles are reviewed and the psychosocial factors that affect the quality of the hospital experience of the adolescent with cancer are identified. Relevant literature is reviewed and critiqued in order to provide an evidence-based approach to quality nursing in adolescent care.Die Zeit des Erwachsenwerdens ist eine schwierige und kritische Phase im Rahmen der psychosozialen Entwicklung eines Menschen. Der Einschnitt, den ein Aufenthalt in einem Krankenhaus darstellt, kann sich daher negativ auf diesen Entwicklungsprozess auswirken und das psychische Wohlbefinden beeinträchtigen. Als Folge des erhöhten Augenmerks auf Jugendliche, die an Krebs erkrankt sind, ist die psychosoziale Betreuung dieses Personenkreises zu einem integralen Bestandteil der allgemeinen Krebsversorgung geworden. Im Laufe der vergangenen 40 Jahre sind die speziellen Bedürfnisse von Heranwachsenden ebenso dokumentiert worden wie die Notwendigkeit, geeignete Einrichtungen im Krankenhaus für sie vorzusehen. Doch obwohl politische Grundsätze und Richtlinien vorliegen, die den Bedarf an speziellen abteilungen für jugendliche hervorheben, werden die meisten Jugendlichen weiterhin völlig unangemessen zusammen mit Erwachsenen oder Kindern stationär versorgt.Für diesen Artikel sind 27 Forschungsstudien überprüft worden. Dabei wurden diejenigen psychosozialen Faktoren ermittelt welche die quolität von spitalerfahrungen von an Krebs erkrankten Jugendlichen im Krankenhaus beeinflussen Außerdem wurde die einschlägige Literatur gesichtet und einer kritischen Prüfung unterzogen, um einen wissenschaftlich abgesicherten Ansatz zu qualitativ hochstehender Krankenpflege und Versorgung Heranwachsender zu begründen.

Given the increasing interest in quality of life research in cancer survivorship, psychometric properties of the Quality of Life-Cancer Survivors (QOL-CS) were explored in a group of childhood cancer survivors. The QOL-CS is a 41-item visual analog scale composed of four multi-item sub-scales (physical well-being, psychological well-being, social well-being, spiritual well-being) and two sub-components (fears, distress). This instrument was incorporated in a mailed survey completed by 177 respondents. The underlying factor structure and internal reliability of the instrument were explored. A preliminary assessment of the external validity of the factor structure was undertaken. Results of a factor analysis were theoretically consistent with elements assessed in the QOL-CS, although misclassification of several items was noted and discussed. Internal-consistency reliability was very good (Cronbach's alpha = 0.80-0.89) for five of the six factors. Moderate (0.30 < r < 0.45) ...

ABSTRACT There are theoretical foundations in sociology for two seemingly incompatible positions: (1) children should have a strong negative impact on the psychological well-being of parents and (2) children should have a strong positive impact on the psychological well-being of parents. Most empirical analyses yield only a modest relationship between parenthood and psychological well-being. Usually, but not always, it is negative. In this study we consider the relationship between parental status and several dimensions of psychological well-being. Our analysis is based on data from a large national survey. It suggests that children have positive and negative effects on the psychological well-being of parents. The balance of positive and negative effects associated with parenthood depends on residential status of the child, age of youngest child, marital status of the parent, and the particular dimension of psychological well-being examined. When compared with nonparents, parents with children in the home have low levels of affective well-being and satisfaction, and high levels of life-meaning; parents with adult children living away from home have high levels of affective well-being, satisfaction, and life-meaning. The widowed appear to benefit most from parenthood and the divorced appear to experience the greatest costs.

This paper examines the patterns and meanings of innovation in the activities of a group of retirees with an eye toward understanding the place and value of innovation in the aging process. Starting with a consideration of continuity theory, as a perspective that simply describes typical patterns of activity, and activity theory that prescribes expansion of activities as a key to well-being, this paper highlights the characteristics, meanings and perceived benefits of a wide variety of innovative activities. The study utilized in-depth semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 20 male and female retirees involved in a “Learning and Retirement” program. Innovations that both preserve a sense of self (internal continuity) as well as those that allow one to strike out in entirely new direction are described, and, using a process of constant comparison, their motivational dynamics are explored. Given previous arguments that activity can be indiscriminate and disintegrative in some circumstances, we nevertheless suggest that innovation can be growth producing and liberating, even in later life, while at the same time generally protecting a sense of internal continuity.