World benevolence beliefs and well-being across the life span.

Do people's worldviews change across the life course? Beliefs in the benevolence (goodness) of the world and their relations with age and well-being were examined in a 2-year study of a nationally representative sample (N = 2,138) ranging in age from 18 to 101 years. Multilevel modeling analyses controlling for demographics, mental health history, prior experience with stressful life events, and other key beliefs indicated that benevolence beliefs were positively associated with well-being and that these associations were stronger with increasing age. Analyses also demonstrated that individuals' benevolence beliefs increased during the study, were positively associated with age, and increased with the experience of bereavement, although they declined with the experience of other negative events. Age-related worldview change may be a part of life-span adaptation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic identity and personal well-being of people of color: A meta-analysis.

This article summarizes research examining the relationship between the constructs of ethnic identity and personal well-being among people of color in North America. Data from 184 studies analyzed with random effects models yielded an omnibus effect size of r = .17, suggesting a modest relationship between the 2 constructs. The relationship was somewhat stronger among adolescents and young adults than among adults over age 40. No differences were observed across participant race, gender, or socioeconomic status, which findings support the general relevance of ethnic identity across people of color. Studies correlating ethnic identity with self-esteem and positive well-being yielded average effect sizes twice as large as those from studies correlating ethnic identity with personal distress or mental health symptoms. Ethnic identity was thus more strongly related to positive well-being than to compromised well-being. Overall, the corpus of research reviewed consisted of correlational designs; limited scholarship has addressed causal mechanisms, mediating factors, or psychological functions of ethnic identity across different social contexts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between acculturation orientations and work-related well-being: Differences between ethnic minority and majority employees.

Today's organizations are becoming more and more ethnically diverse. It is important to understand what constitutes the well-being of ethnic minority employees. This study explored the extent to which acculturation orientations (assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization) were related to the well-being of 79 ethnic minority and 124 ethnic majority employees working in two different organizations. In line with predictions based on social identity theory and the acculturative stress paradigm, results showed that an integration orientation relates positively to work-related well-being, whereas a marginalization attitude relates negatively to well-being. Moreover, the relationship between acculturation orientations and work-related well-being is much stronger for ethnic minority employees than it is for ethnic majority employees. The findings underline the need to take cultural issues into account when studying well-being in culturally diverse organizations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identity salience and the influence of differential activation of the social self-schema on advertising response.

The authors examined how identity primes and social distinctiveness influence identity salience (i.e., the activation of a social identity within an individual's social self-schema) and subsequent responses to targeted advertising. Across 2 studies, individuals who were exposed to an identity prime (an ad element that directs attention to the individual's social identity) and who were socially distinctive (minorities in the immediate social context) expressed systematically different evaluations of spokespersons and the advertisements that featured them. Specifically, Asian (Caucasian) participants responded most positively (negatively) to Asian spokespeople and Asian-targeted advertising when the participants were both primed and socially distinctive. No main effects of identity primes or social distinctiveness were found. The implications of these findings for identity theory, advertising practice, and intervention communications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The influence of chronically and temporarily accessible information on life satisfaction judgments.

The authors examined the influence of temporarily and chronically accessible information on life satisfaction judgments. Meta-analyses revealed high retest-reliability of life satisfaction judgments and weak effects of the item order of domain and global satisfaction judgments. Study 1 (N=225) failed to replicate a widely cited finding of strong item-order effects. In Studies 2 (N=100), 3 (N=200), and 4 (N=222), chronically accessible information was a strong predictor of life satisfaction judgments, whereas item order had a relatively small effect. Study 5 (N=651) demonstrated that the results generalize to single item measures and judgments of shorter time periods. The results suggest that life satisfaction judgments are more heavily based on chronically accessible than temporarily accessible information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Where people live and die makes a difference: Individual and geographic disparities in well-being progression at the end of life.

Life-span psychological research has long been interested in the contextual embeddedness of individual development. To examine whether and how regional variables relate to between-person disparities in the progression of late-life well-being, we applied three-level growth curve models to 24-year longitudinal data from deceased participants of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (N = 3,427; age at death = 18 to 101 years). Results indicated steep declines in well-being with impending death, with some 8% of the between-person differences in both level and decline of well-being reflecting between-county differences. Exploratory analyses revealed that individuals living and dying in less affluent counties reported lower late-life well-being, controlling for key individual predictors, including age at death, gender, education, and household income. The regional variables examined did not directly relate to well-being change but were found to moderate (e.g., amplify) the disparities in change attributed to individual variables. Our results suggest that resource-poor counties provide relatively less fertile grounds for successful aging until the end of life and may serve to exacerbate disparities. We conclude that examinations of how individual and residential characteristics interact can further our understanding of individual psychological outcomes and suggest routes for future inquiry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of multiple attachments on well-being: A model for African Americans attending historically black colleges and universities.

Numerous studies have examined the relationship between attachment and well-being among college students. However, within this literature, at least two issues remain unaddressed. First, African American students have been inadequately sampled. Second, most of these studies have only examined the associations between parental attachment and well-being. The small variance in well-being for which parental attachment accounts suggests that there are additional factors, such as other forms of attachment, that are predictive of well-being. This study sought to determine the extent to which multiple types of attachment would predict emotional and social well-being among African Americans by examining the fit of a hypothesized attachment model. The model demonstrated a close fit to the data, and several significant paths were evidenced. The implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identity fusion: The interplay of personal and social identities in extreme group behavior.

The authors propose that when people become fused with a group, their personal and social identities become functionally equivalent. Two hypotheses follow from this proposition. First, activating either personal or social identities of fused persons should increase their willingness to endorse extreme behaviors on behalf of the group. Second, because personal as well as social identities support group-related behaviors of fused persons, the 2 forms of identity may combine synergistically, fostering exceptionally high levels of extreme behavior. Support for these hypotheses came from 5 preliminary studies and 3 experiments. In particular, fused persons were more willing to fight or die for the group than nonfused persons, especially when their personal or social identities had been activated. The authors conclude that among fused persons, both the personal and social self may energize and direct group-related behavior. Implications for related theoretical approaches and for conceptualizing the relationship between personal identities, social identities, and group processes are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond the hedonic treadmill: Revising the adaptation theory of well-being.

According to the hedonic treadmill model, good and bad events temporarily affect happiness, but people quickly adapt back to hedonic neutrality. The theory, which has gained widespread acceptance in recent years, implies that individual and societal efforts to increase happiness are doomed to failure. The recent empirical work outlined here indicates that 5 important revisions to the treadmill model are needed. First, individuals' set points are not hedonically neutral. Second, people have different set points, which are partly dependent on their temperaments. Third, a single person may have multiple happiness set points: Different components of well-being such as pleasant emotions, unpleasant emotions, and life satisfaction can move in different directions. Fourth, and perhaps most important, well-being set points can change under some conditions. Finally, individuals differ in their adaptation to events, with some individuals changing their set point and others not changing in reaction to some external event. These revisions offer hope for psychologists and policy-makers who aim to decrease human misery and increase happiness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with increased uncertainty in the field of work and family life.

Globalization, demographic aging, and individualization and pluralization of life courses have led to individuals' increasing uncertainty regarding their future. The effects of social change on the lives of individuals, however, may depend on coping processes. The authors analyzed whether perceived uncertainty due to social change, problem-focused coping, and distancing from demands would be related to depressive symptoms in 1,975 German adolescents and adults. A higher number of perceived demands in the areas of work and family life (e.g., perceived increase of difficulties with finding adequate jobs and of instability of one's intimate relationship) were associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. In addition, higher levels of problem-focused coping were related to fewer depressive symptoms, whereas higher levels of distancing from demands were related to more depressive symptoms. Problem-focused coping buffered the effect of family-related demands but not of work-related demands on depressive symptoms. Finally, distancing from demands buffered the effects of family-related demands but amplified the effects of work-related demands on depression. In sum, the present study supports the main effects model and the interaction effects model of coping. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Processes and content of narrative identity development in adolescence: Gender and well-being.

The present study examined narrative identity in adolescence (14–18 years) in terms of narrative content and processes of identity development. Age- and gender-related differences in narrative patterns in turning point memories and gender differences in the content and functions for sharing those memories were examined, as was the relationship between narrative patterns and self-esteem. The narrative patterns focused on were meaning-making (learning from past events) and emotionality of the narratives, specified as overall positive emotional tone and redemptive sequencing. Results showed an age-related increase in meaning-making but no gender differences in the degree of meaning-making. Results further showed that gender predicted self-esteem and that boys evidenced higher self-esteem. Emotionality also predicted self-esteem; this was especially true for redemption and for boys. In terms of telling functions, girls endorsed more relational reasons for telling memories than did boys. Results are discussed in terms of potential gendered and nongendered pathways for identity development in adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychosocial adjustment among cancer survivors: Findings from a national survey of health and well-being.

Objective: The current study examined whether cancer survivors showed impairment, resilience, or growth responses relative to a sociodemographically matched sample in four domains: mental health and mood, psychological well-being, social well-being, and spirituality. The impact of aging on psychosocial adjustment was also investigated. Design: Participants were 398 cancer survivors who were participants in the MIDUS survey (Midlife in the United States) and 796 matched respondents with no cancer history. Psychosocial assessments were completed in 1995–1996 and 2004–2006. Main Outcome Measures: Outcomes including self-report measures of mental health and mood, psychological well-being, social well-being, and spirituality. Results: Findings indicated that cancer survivors demonstrated impairment relative to the comparison group in mental health, mood, and some aspects of psychological well-being. Longitudinal analyses spanning pre- and postdiagnosis clarified that while mental health declined after a cancer diagnosis, poorer functioning in other domains existed prior to diagnosis. However, survivors exhibited resilient social well-being, spirituality, and personal growth. Moreover, age appeared to confer resiliency; older survivors were more likely than younger adults to show psychosocial functioning equivalent to their peers. Conclusion: While younger survivors may be at risk for disturbances in mental health and mood, cancer survivors show resilience in other important domains of psychosocial adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The experiential modes of time in adolescence: The action mode, the timeless now, and nostalgia.

In this article, the author will describe three modes of time embedded in adolescence, ones that reflect the different phases of adolescence and the ongoing negotiation of separation/individuation. The first mode is the action mode, a mode specific to early adolescence where time is rapid, moving fast and furious with little room for thought or reflection. Action precedes thought; the present overshadows the past and future. In the second mode, described as the timeless mode, one related to middle adolescence, the moment or situation is drawn out and the dramatics of the exchange move into the foreground. Here, it is as though the moment is suspended in time. There is a timeless quality to the experience of others and the surrounding world. The third mode is nostalgia, an experience of time related somewhere between middle and late adolescence in which the adolescent reflects back on the idealized parents of the past in relation to his or her own child self. The past is romanticized in relation to the present. The conflict with holding onto the child self and its attendant longings, wishes, and needs bumps up against the burgeoning young man or woman inside the adolescent. There is a wish to hold on and the urge to let go, or to find some compromise in sustaining the tension between the present and past. A clinical example is used to illustrate each respective mode, its aim and purpose, and the process of integration across the past, present, and future. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dismissing the past: Not unique to Gen-X. Comment on Strenger (2004).

This commentary critiques C. Strenger's (see record 2004-21113-001) "Nobrow: Identity Formation in a Fatherless Generation", an article suggesting that connection to the past has less psychic reality for Gen-Xers than for earlier sociological cohorts and offering a therapeutic approach for this group that claims greater sensitivity to current cultural upheaval. The clinical example is questioned as to its generalizability, and the technique presented is deemed neither innovative nor exemplary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic Enclaves and the Dynamics of Social Identity on the College Campus: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The effects of membership in ethnic organizations and fraternities and sororities on intergroup attitudes were examined using a 5-wave panel study at a major, multiethnic university. The results showed that these effects were similar for both minority and White students. Membership in ethnic student organizations for minorities and Greek organizations for Whites was anteceded by the degree of one's ethnic identity, and the effects of membership in these groups were similar, although not identical, for both White and minority students. These effects included an increased sense of ethnic victimization and a decreased sense of common identity and social inclusiveness. Consistent with social identity theory, at least a portion of these effects were mediated by social identity among both White and minority students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Links between social network closure and child well-being: The organizing role of friendship context.

Third grade children (N = 404) and their mothers completed questionnaires and participated in interviews designed to identify children's friendships across multiple contexts, determine levels of social network closure for these friendships, and assess child well-being. Cluster analyses revealed distinct patterns in the contexts in which children's friendships were maintained. Closure was highest for children whose friendship clusters heavily represented relatives as friends and lowest when friends were from schools and the broader community. Intermediate levels of closure were observed for the clusters of neighborhood friends and friends from church and school. Both friendship cluster and, to some extent, ethnicity moderated associations between closure and indicators of well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceived trajectories of life satisfaction across past, present, and future: Profiles and correlates of subjective change in young, middle-aged, and older adults.

Despite longitudinal stability in subjective well-being across adulthood, many adults perceive self-related change. This study was aimed at identifying differential subjective change profiles in life satisfaction rated for the present, the past, and the future and to examine their associations with sociodemographic variables and changes in adaptive functioning. The authors addressed this aim using Midlife in the United States survey data from 2 measurement occasions (N = 3,631; age at Time 1: 24-75). A cluster analysis was used to identify a continuous high subgroup and an incremental subgroup at both occasions. A 3rd subgroup was labeled present low at Time 1 and decremental at Time 2. Although the average pattern across individual variables suggested stability, up to 60% of individuals fit profiles depicting perceived change, and some individuals changed subgroup membership over time. After controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, subgroups differed in level and change in biopsychosocial measures of adaptive functioning, with sense of control and social relationship quality showing stronger associations than personality and physical health. Results indicate that a person-centered approach to assessing life satisfaction provides a rich and dynamic picture of individual differences in subjective well-being across the adult life span. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding the positive social psychological benefits of sport team identification: The team identification-social psychological health model.

This article presents a theoretical model designed to account for the positive relationship between identification with a local sport team and social psychological health. This model, labeled the Team Identification-Social Psychological Health Model, predicts that team identification facilitates well-being by increasing social connections for the fan. Two forms of social connections are developed through team identification: enduring and temporary. Although the enduring and temporary social connections are expected to result in improved well-being, it is predicted that this relationship will be moderated by threats to social identity and efforts to cope with the threats. The social connections resulting from team identification are expected to impact both state (via increases in temporary social connections) and trait well-being (via enduring connections). Finally, because research indicates that group and team identification are more closely related to social well-being than personal well-being, temporary and enduring social connections are predicted to have their greatest impact on social psychological health. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Toward a theory of discontinuous career transition: Investigating career transitions necessitated by traumatic life events.

Career researchers have focused on the mechanisms related to career progression. Although less studied, situations in which traumatic life events necessitate a discontinuous career transition are becoming increasingly prevalent. Employing a multiple case study method, we offer a deeper understanding of such transitions by studying an extreme case: soldiers and Marines disabled by wartime combat. Our study highlights obstacles to future employment that are counterintuitive and stem from the discontinuous and traumatic nature of job loss. Effective management of this type of transitioning appears to stem from efforts positioned to formulate a coherent narrative of the traumatic experience and thus to reconstruct foundational assumptions about the world, humanity, and self. These foundational assumptions form the basis for enacting future-orientated career strategies, such that progress toward establishing a new career path is greatest for those who can orientate themselves away from the past (trauma), away from the present (obstacles to a new career), and toward an envisioned future career positioned to confer meaning and purpose through work. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)