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Descriptors:
Intervention; Psychology; Well Being; Visualization; Motivation; Statistical Analysis; Correlation; Program Effectiveness; Social Indicators

Abstract:
This study examined the effects of mental imagery ability (MIA) on the efficacy of two positive psychology interventions (PPIs) to enhance well-being. Participants (N = 210) were randomly assigned to either: Three Good Things (TGT), Best Possible Selves (BPS), or a control group and completed well-being questionnaires pre and post intervention. ANCOVA results partially supported the hypothesis that the interventions would significantly increase well-being (measured by the WEMWBS, PA and NA) compared to the control group. Correlations partially supported the prediction that greater effort and motivation towards the PPI would relate to greater increases in well-being. MIA was not found to influence the efficacy of the PPIs, hence, refuting the final hypothesis that participants with high MIA would report greater post-intervention increases in well-being than participants with low MIA (measured by imagery vividness and controllability scales). Well-being was positively correlated with MIA suggesting that improving MIA might facilitate an increase in well-being regardless of PPI use. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Psychometrics; Test Reliability; Test Validity; Life Satisfaction; Well Being; Measures (Individuals); High School Students; Serbocroatian; Social Indicators; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
The main purpose of this study was to evaluate psychometric properties of the Serbian version of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS). The research was carried out on a sample of 408 high school students (250 females, 158 males), with the mean age 16.6. The Serbian version of the MSLSS has demonstrated good psychometric properties. The internal consistency coefficients (Cronbach's alpha) for the MSLSS domain and total scores were adequate. Support for the validity of the MSLSS was provided by the pattern of correlations with various positive and negative indicators of well-being. However, it has been suggested that shortening the scale from 40 items to 25 items could provide more accurate measure of adolescents' life satisfaction for the future research. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Poverty; Social Isolation; Social Indicators; Error of Measurement; Computation; Statistical Analysis; Sampling; Accuracy

Abstract:
If estimates are based on samples, they should be accompanied by appropriate standard errors and confidence intervals. This is true for scientific research in general, and is even more important if estimates are used to inform and evaluate policy measures such as those aimed at attaining the Europe 2020 poverty reduction target. In this article I pay explicit attention to the calculation of standard errors and confidence intervals, with an application to the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). The estimation of accurate standard errors requires among others good documentation and proper sample design variables in the dataset. However, this information is not always available. Therefore, I complement the existing documentation on the sample design of EU-SILC and test the effect on estimated standard errors of various simplifying assumptions with regard to the sample design. It is shown that accounting for clustering within households is of paramount importance. Although this results in many cases in a good approximation of the standard error, taking as much as possible account of the entire sample design generally leads to more accurate estimates, even if sample design variables are partially lacking. The effect is illustrated for the official Europe 2020 indicators of poverty and social exclusion and for all European countries included in the EU-SILC 2008 dataset. The findings are not only relevant for EU-SILC users, but also for users of other surveys on income and living conditions which lack accurate sample design variables. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Prosocial Behavior; Religious Factors; Volunteers; Donors; Helping Relationship; Measures (Individuals); Social Indicators

Abstract:
This paper examines how the Daily Spiritual Experiences Scale (DSES) relates to range of prosocial behaviors, using a large, nationally representative U.S. data set. It finds that daily spiritual experiences are a statistically and substantively significant predictor of volunteering, charitable giving, and helping individuals one knows personally. Daily spiritual experiences better predict helping to distant others than to friends and family, indicating that they may motivate helping by fostering an extensive definition of one's moral community. The relationship between the DSES and helping is not moderated by sympathy and is robust to the inclusion of most religiosity measures. However, the relationship becomes non-significant for most helping behaviors when measures of meditation, prayer, and mindfulness are included in a regression equation. The DSES is particularly effective in predicting helping behaviors among people who do not belong to a religious congregation, indicating that it may measure spiritual motivations for helping among people who are not conventionally religious. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Self Esteem; Psychological Patterns; Late Adolescents; College Students; Life Satisfaction; Social Support Groups; Structural Equation Models; Gender Differences; Social Indicators; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
This study examined both the mediation effects of loneliness and self-esteem for the relationship between social support and life satisfaction. Three hundred and eighty nine Chinese college students, ranging in age from 17 to 25 (M = 20.39), completed the emotional and social loneliness scale, the self-esteem scale, the satisfaction with life scale and measure of social support. Structural equation modeling showed full mediation effects of loneliness and self-esteem between social support and life satisfaction. The final model also revealed a significant path from social support through loneliness and self-esteem to life satisfaction. Furthermore, a multi-group analysis found that the paths did not differ across sexes. The findings provided the external validity for the full mediation effects of loneliness and self-esteem and valuable evidence for more complicated relations among the variables. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Foreign Countries; Living Standards; Development; Human Resources; Natural Resources; Physical Environment; Measurement; Comparative Analysis; Social Indicators

Abstract:
The resource-infrastructure-environment (RIE) index was proposed as an alternative measure of progress which was then employed to: (1) compare the aggregate (single summary) index findings between Australia (mid-industrialised nation), Mexico (emerging economy), and the US (highly industrialised nation); and (2) compare the RIE index against the gross domestic product (GDP), human development index (HDI) and genuine savings (GS) measure. This paper builds on the previous work by assessing the seven themes and 21 dimensions which comprise the RIE index for the three aforementioned nations, as well as the associated policy implications. The results identified Australia's strength in the human resource and infrastructure themes. For Mexico, strong contributions came from the natural and generated resource themes as well as the physical environment theme, while the US performed strongly in the infrastructure themes. The comparative results of the US and Mexico illustrated that it is possible to achieve high levels of progress without an excessive reliance on high levels of production and income. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Psychological Patterns; Income; Risk; Disadvantaged; Measurement; Social Indicators

Abstract:
We compute the Gini indexes for income, happiness and various simulated utility levels. Due to decreasing marginal utility of income, happiness inequality should be lower than income inequality. We find that happiness inequality is about half that of income inequality. To compute the utility levels we need to assume values for a key parameter that can be interpreted as a measure of relative risk aversion. If this coefficient is above one, as many economists believe, then a large part of happiness inequality is not related to pecuniary dimensions of life. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Politics; Social Indicators; Statistical Analysis; Research Problems

Abstract:
Political indicators are widely used in academic writing and decision making, but remain controversial. This paper discusses the problems related to the aggregation functions they use. Almost always, political indicators are aggregated by weighted averages or summations. The use of such functions is based on untenable assumptions (existence of homogeneous substitution rates, total compensation, and strict monotonicity). We show through concrete examples how these hidden assumptions are likely to produce results that are basically an artifact of ad hoc decisions, which additionally contradict very fundamental notions common to all credible political theories. We suggest, also through example, that some--necessarily partial--solutions are possible. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Self Esteem; Well Being; Psychological Patterns; Life Satisfaction; Social Indicators; Models; Structural Equation Models; Individual Characteristics; Groups

Abstract:
A model indicating that the relationship between collective self-esteem and indicators of subjective well-being, happiness and life satisfaction, was mediated by personal self-esteem was tested by structural equation modeling. The model, including all participants, fitted well to the data. The results suggested that the relationship of collective self-esteem to happiness was fully mediated by personal self-esteem, whereas a partial mediation was the case for life satisfaction. When tested in four groups of attachment styles, however, the results indicated a full mediation for fearful, preoccupied and dismissing groups, but a partial mediation for the secure group. The results are discussed in the "pursuing self-esteem" framework. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Well Being; Life Satisfaction; Family Life; Social Life; Models; Case Studies; Least Squares Statistics; Structural Equation Models; Social Indicators

Abstract:
In this article, we propose a model to estimate the direct and indirect effects of the relationship between subjective well-being and satisfaction in various domains of life using a partial least squares path modelling approach in a structural equation model framework. A drawback of these models is that they assume homogeneous behaviour over the observed set of units. To address this issue, Trinchera (Ph.D. thesis, University of Naples, 2007) and Esposito Vinzi et al. ("Appl Stoch Models Bus Ind" 28:439-458, 2008) proposed an algorithm, called the response-based unit segmentation in partial least squares (REBUS-PLS) path modelling, to detect sources of heterogeneity in both measurement and structural models. The REBUS-PLS allows researchers to identify classes of units with similar behaviours (with respect to the postulated model) and to estimate one model for each identified class (so-called "local models"). Applying the REBUS-PLS algorithm to our case study, we detected three main classes of units with similar behaviours and estimated three local models. We found, for example, that in the estimated model for the entire sample, the relationship between satisfaction with family and social life and subjective well-being is statistically significant. However, this result was not confirmed in all of the estimated local models. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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