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The current study explored the contributions of the Salvation Army (TSA) to social organization in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Being one of the leading Church-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs), TSA plays a fundamental role in delivering social services to the DRC. To understand the organization's social activities in the African state, the researcher adopted a qualitative phenomenological research design to explore the lived experiences of the respondents on TSA's role as a social organization. A sample population of 10 participants (n=10) drawn from Kinshasa, DRC, was used, and in-depth interviews were adopted in collecting data. From the research, it was evident that the primary themes that emerged included shelter, disaster management, education, healthcare, and social growth and development. The research illustrated that TSA's services align with its principles and doctrines of helping humankind. TSA's goal is to alleviate the suffering of humanity by providing basic social services. Hence, TSA collaborates with other organizations, particularly the government, to address immediate social challenges affecting a particular community. The research concluded that TSA is a social organization driven by the desire to serve all people equally, whether believers or non-believers address social challenges impeding their well-being. TSA continues to play a pivotal role in alleviating the well-being of communities in impoverished Kinshasa, DRC.

Many philosophers have long presented happiness as a complex phenomenon that has been difficult to define. Different perspectives have been discussed as central to the idea of wellbeing and thus several different concepts of happiness have been presented. When different ideas have been presented regarding the components of a happy life, the idea of tranquility has in several cases been disputed. This paper is conducted in the field of well-being to study the role of tranquility in happiness. This is done by answering the question: Is tranquility acomponent of a happy life? In exploring this research question, the three main well-being theories in the field of happiness will be presented. These theories are hedonism, the objective-list theory, and the desire theory. It is evident through the study that tranquility is a part of all three welfare theories. However, the role of tranquility is varied within the different theories. In hedonism, tranquility is described as the ultimate form of pleasure - what we seek. In objective-list theory, tranquility becomes a metric for assessing the impact of other factors on well-being. Finally, we see that in desire theory, tranquility is the state of not crossing the threshold of attitudes. According to well-being theories, it appears that tranquility enables or creates an enjoyable state. Thus, it becomes clear that tranquility has a positive impact on people. Through this, a conclusion can be presented where tranquility is part of a happy life.

Graduate students in mental health service training programs are at risk of experiencing burnout. Using adult attachment theory as the guiding framework, this study examined a conceptual model which depicted the direct and indirect effect of attachment insecurity on burnout and the subsequent psychological distress via low self-compassion and emotion regulation difficulty with two cultural samples recruited from the U.S. and Taiwan, respectively. The final sample included 216 U.S. mental health graduate trainees and 201 Taiwanese trainees. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Findings from the final models best supported by the data revealed that in both cultural groups, attachment anxiety contributed to lower self-compassion which subsequently resulted in greater burnout and that emotion regulation did not play a mediational role in the models. Results also demonstrated cultural differences in several paths of the research model. For the U.S. sample, only higher attachment anxiety indirectly contributed to more psychological distress through low self-compassion and burnout was best positioned as an outcome variable similar to psychological distress, instead of being a mediator. For the Taiwanese sample, on the other hand, both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance demonstrated significant indirect effects on higher psychological distress through lower self-compassion and burnout was a 2nd tired mediator through which attachment anxiety indirectly contributed to higher psychological distress. These findings advanced our understanding of the role of adult attachment insecurity in the development of burnout and psychological distress for graduate trainees in mental health fields, as well as the possible cultural differences in the observed variables and their relations. Counseling implications, limitations, and future research directions were discussed.

The current study aimed to explore the direct effect of insecure adult attachment on subjective wellbeing and its indirect effect via racial-ethnic identity. Additionally, the present study examined the extent to which racial-ethnic socialization practices may moderate adult attachment and racial-ethnic identity link. The final sample included 213 emerging adults (M = 20.94; SD = 2.96) with diverse racial-ethnic backgrounds. PROCESS Model 4 and 1 were used to examine the direct and indirect effect of insecure attachment on subjective wellbeing via racial-ethnic identity variables and the interaction effect between insecure attachment and racial-ethnic socialization on racial-ethnic identity variables. Results indicated the direct effect of insecure attachment on subjective wellbeing but did not support hypotheses for the indirect effect of insecure attachment on subjective wellbeing via the racial-ethnic identity variables. Additionally, results indicated that overt socialization buffered the negative impact of attachment avoidance on racial-ethnic identity exploration. Furthermore, racial-ethnic identity variables and subjective wellbeing significantly differed across racial-ethnic groups and socioeconomic statuses. Findings provide insight on the distinct concepts of attachment and racial-ethnic identity as they highlight inter- and intra-personal components, respectively. Mental health professionals may utilize overt socialization to help clients develop a sense of purpose and meaning related to their identity. Limitations, future research directions, and counseling implications are discussed.

Yes / Most studies investigated the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) for healthcare and educational purposes, but little is known on the effectiveness of VR in social interaction. Our aim was to examine whether VR would be similar to in-person interaction in reducing loneliness. A total of 73 participants participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to in-person or VR condition and interacted for 15 minutes about a tourist landmark. Participants completed a set of questions that measured belonging – acceptance and exclusion, positive and negative affect, wellbeing, trust, and mood before and after the interaction. Results showed that in both conditions, loneliness was significantly lower, with higher wellbeing, higher positive and lower negative affect, feeling happier and had more fun post task. Trust was higher in the VR condition post task but not for in-person. Our regression analyses showed that having higher wellbeing was a significant predictor in reducing loneliness for in-person condition and that being older and higher belonging – acceptance were significant predictors on feeling lonelier for the VR condition. In sum, our results demonstrated some success in reducing loneliness in VR but may not be sufficient to develop lasting friendship. / The full-text of this article will be released for public view at the end of the publisher embargo on 07 Nov 2024.

Much research has shown that regular physical activity influences both physiological and psychological health. More specifically, physical activity positively impacts wellbeing, across physical, emotional and social wellness. Furthermore, group-based physical activity has been linked to increasing adherence to an exercise protocol as well as improving social connectedness. For college students, collegiate recreation facilities are the main providers of physical activity services and programming for the campus population to utilize. In the collegiate recreation literature, several university studies have pointed out that students who participate in their recreational facilities and programs have benefited from positive feelings of wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact that Virginia Tech Recreational Sports' group-based fitness programming has on Virginia Tech students' overall wellbeing. Wellbeing was defined by six dimensions: career (or sense of purpose), social, financial, community, physical and emotional. This study used a concurrent explanatory mixed methods design, composed of a brief cross-sectional survey and focus groups. This work simultaneously contributes to collegiate recreation by providing evidence that students who utilize facilities and programs have higher perceptions of wellbeing as well as highlighting suggested strategies for improvement including resource limitations and communication barriers. Finally, in terms of group fitness and wellbeing, this thesis provides preliminary evidence that those who participate in collegiate group exercise programs have higher perceptions of physical and social wellbeing. / Master of Science / Regular physical activity influences both physical and mental health. More specifically, physical activity positively impacts wellbeing, across physical, emotional and social wellness. Furthermore, group-based physical activity has been linked to increasing adherence to an exercise protocol as well as improving social connectedness. For college students, collegiate recreation facilities are the main providers of physical activity services and programming for the campus population to utilize. In the collegiate recreation literature, several university studies have pointed out that students who participate in their recreational facilities and programs have benefited from positive feelings of wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact that Virginia Tech Recreational Sports' group-based fitness programming has on Virginia Tech students' overall wellbeing. Wellbeing was defined by six dimensions: career (or sense of purpose), social, financial, community, physical and emotional. This study used a concurrent explanatory mixed methods design, composed of a brief cross-sectional survey and focus groups. This work simultaneously contributes to collegiate recreation by providing evidence that students who utilize facilities and programs have high perceptions of wellbeing as well as highlighting suggested strategies for improvement related to access, programs, variety and communication. Finally, in terms of group fitness and wellbeing, this thesis provides preliminary evidence that those who participate in collegiate group exercise programs have higher perceptions of physical and social wellbeing.

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Sociala medier är omtalat för att ha en negativ påverkan på unga kvinnor. Denna studie undersökte hur unga kvinnor upplever att sociala medier påverkar deras psykiska välbefinnande samt hur de hanterar eventuella negativa effekter. Elva halvstrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med unga kvinnor, 18 till 29 år som använder sociala medier och materialet analyserades tematiskt. Resultatet påvisade att den främsta positiva aspekten var hur sociala medier kan bidra till att underhålla och bibehålla relationer samt bli en inspirationskälla, vilket bidrog till glädje. Samtidigt fanns en baksida som innebar negativa jämförelser både gällande kropp och det sociala livet, vilket kunde bidra till negativa tankar och känslor. Flera hanteringsstrategier identifierades som hjälpsamma för att minska negativa upplevelser. Individens nuvarande tillstånd och situation påverkar om dessa hanteringsstrategier används och hur effektiva de är för att minska ångestkänslor. Denna studie kan bidra med kunskap och lärdom om hur unga kvinnors välbefinnande kan påverkas av sociala medier.