No description available.

A large majority of the people throughout the world own a smartphone and access social media on a daily basis. Because of this digital attachment, the author sought to understand to what extent this use has impacted the users' emotional well-being and offline interpersonal relationships. A sample size of 627 participants completed a mixed-methods survey consisting of Likert scale and short answer questions regarding social media use, emotional well-being and interpersonal relationships. Results revealed that the more time an individual spent on social media the more likely they were to experience a negative impact on their overall emotional well-being and decreased quality in their relationships. Emotional well-being also mediated the relationship between time spent using social media and the quality of that user's relationships, meaning that the more time a person spent on social media the more likely their emotional well-being declined which then negatively impacted their relationships. The top three responses for negative effects of social media use on emotions were frustration, depression, and social comparison. The top three responses for negative effects of social media use on interpersonal relationships were distraction, irritation, and decreased quality time with their significant other in offline settings. An analysis of these, and other, results, along with relative implications, are discussed.

This dissertation illuminates health inequalities by focusing on two motivational goods. One is expecting good things to happen: being optimistic, in other words. Another is feeling good, in terms of emotional well-being. While previous research has demonstrated the value of these psychological resources to understanding social inequality, basic questions remain about how and why these resources bring about health inequalities. In Chapter Two, I use data from the 2005 Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) to examine interactions between optimism and autonomy at work as they relate to psychological distress and positive emotion. I utilize my results to shed light on how autonomy matters to mental health: findings are consistent with autonomy as a lack of oppression or as a "strong" social situation, rather than autonomy as an opportunity to thrive. In Chapter Three, I test hypotheses about optimism in the context of relationship- and work-based crises, using data from the 2004 General Social Survey. I find that dispositional optimism is associated with increases in self-esteem and health; its effect on these outcomes intensifies around the time of relationship crises and is stronger for women than for men. In Chapter Four, I draw and build upon a capital activation perspective to argue that emotional well-being activates education. Using a representative panel sample of middle-aged adults (MIDUS: 1995-2005), I indeed find that emotional well-being activates education, leading to especially favorable gains in health, sense of control and voluntary association involvement - or, more strikingly, to no effect of education at low levels of well-being. Moreover, an auxiliary fixed-effects analysis of activation (based on the MIDUS 1995 Identical Twins sample) replicates these findings. In total, I find that capital activation is a powerful source of social stratification that rivals the importance of capital itself.

Many studies have been conducted on military families in order to determine the effect of parent absence and frequent family moves on the academic adjustment and emotional well-being of children. Research has shown that environmental factors, such as parents coping abilities, social support, length of deployment, frequency of moves, and preparation for deployments or moves can influence the effects children experience due to deployments and relocations. Children of military families can be resilient and successful in school during deployment and moves. / text

It is well known that adolescence is a difficult stage of development, involving various aspects of development, namely biological, cognitive, social and emotional development. More recent research indicates that the turbulence and stress in adolescence are exaggerated to a great extent (Berk, 2006); yet the youth of today seem increasingly unhappy. Eating disorders, depression and suicide are some of the problems that occur more frequently in adolescence than before adolescence (Barlow & Durand, 2005). Adolescence may also involve that youth become reluctant to spend time with their parents and that they become more likely to engage in arguments with their parents. Research indicates that both parents and adolescents report that they feel less close to each other during this time (Steinberg & Morris, 2001). The purpose of this study was to investigate what adolescents' experiences were of their relationship with their parents, what influence the parent-adolescent relationship (as perceived by the adolescent) has on adolescent emotional-well-being, as well as to determine whether or not adolescents' emotional well-being can be predicted by the parent-adolescent relationship. A quantitative cross-sectional survey research design was used for the purpose of this study. The selected sample included grade 9 to l I learners at various secondary schools who fitted the selection criteria (N = 257). Data collection took place by means of various validated questionnaires to measure the parent-adolescent relationship: The Family Satisfaction Scale (Olson & Wilson, 1982), The Parent- adolescent Communication Scale (Barnes & Olson, 1982), The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) of Armsden and Greenberg (1987). To measure adolescent emotional well-being, The Emotional Intelligence Scale (E LS) of Schutte et al. ( 1998), The Fortitude Questionnaire (FORQ) of Pretorius ( 1997), The Affectometer (AFM) of Kammann and Flett ( l 983), The General Hea lth Questionnaire (GHQ) of Goldberg and Hillier ( 1979) and a biographical questionnaire were used to gather demographic information. There were a total of 152 questions, and it took 30-45 minutes to complete. Data analysis was done by means of descriptive stati stics, reliabi lity and validity indices, correlation indices and t-tests; and Cohen's practical effect size was used to investigate significant differences. The results of the study indicate that the majority of adolescents in the research group rate their relationship with their parents positively, although significant differences were found between genders with regard to family satisfaction and between cultures with regard to parent-adolescent communication. The results also seem to indicate that higher manifestations of aspects of emotional well-being are experienced by the African youth than the white participants; and that a healthy parent-adolescent relationship can have a positive influence on adolescent emotional well-being. The parent-adolescent relationship served as a predictor of adolescent emotional well-being, while attachment anger and family cohesion were found to be the strongest predictors of this. / Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

It is well known that adolescence is a difficult stage of development, involving various aspects of development, namely biological, cognitive, social and emotional development. More recent research indicates that the turbulence and stress in adolescence are exaggerated to a great extent (Berk, 2006); yet the youth of today seem increasingly unhappy. Eating disorders, depression and suicide are some of the problems that occur more frequently in adolescence than before adolescence (Barlow & Durand, 2005). Adolescence may also involve that youth become reluctant to spend time with their parents and that they become more likely to engage in arguments with their parents. Research indicates that both parents and adolescents report that they feel less close to each other during this time (Steinberg & Morris, 2001). The purpose of this study was to investigate what adolescents' experiences were of their relationship with their parents, what influence the parent-adolescent relationship (as perceived by the adolescent) has on adolescent emotional-well-being, as well as to determine whether or not adolescents' emotional well-being can be predicted by the parent-adolescent relationship. A quantitative cross-sectional survey research design was used for the purpose of this study. The selected sample included grade 9 to l I learners at various secondary schools who fitted the selection criteria (N = 257). Data collection took place by means of various validated questionnaires to measure the parent-adolescent relationship: The Family Satisfaction Scale (Olson & Wilson, 1982), The Parent- adolescent Communication Scale (Barnes & Olson, 1982), The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) of Armsden and Greenberg (1987). To measure adolescent emotional well-being, The Emotional Intelligence Scale (E LS) of Schutte et al. ( 1998), The Fortitude Questionnaire (FORQ) of Pretorius ( 1997), The Affectometer (AFM) of Kammann and Flett ( l 983), The General Hea lth Questionnaire (GHQ) of Goldberg and Hillier ( 1979) and a biographical questionnaire were used to gather demographic information. There were a total of 152 questions, and it took 30-45 minutes to complete. Data analysis was done by means of descriptive stati stics, reliabi lity and validity indices, correlation indices and t-tests; and Cohen's practical effect size was used to investigate significant differences. The results of the study indicate that the majority of adolescents in the research group rate their relationship with their parents positively, although significant differences were found between genders with regard to family satisfaction and between cultures with regard to parent-adolescent communication. The results also seem to indicate that higher manifestations of aspects of emotional well-being are experienced by the African youth than the white participants; and that a healthy parent-adolescent relationship can have a positive influence on adolescent emotional well-being. The parent-adolescent relationship served as a predictor of adolescent emotional well-being, while attachment anger and family cohesion were found to be the strongest predictors of this. / Thesis (M.A. (Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Visual art is important for humans. Most people have an interest in visiting art museums, and they spend both time and money on artworks. Appreciating visual art can have an effect on several psychological states, such as pleasure, emotions of wonder, awe, and the sublime. However, the question of what constitutes an aesthetic experience and what mechanisms that are involved in experiencing visual art, are still not fully understood. The discipline neuroaesthetics, which is a subfield of cognitive neuroscience, investigates the biology behind aesthetic experience and aesthetic appreciation. The aim of this thesis is to give an overview of the neural processes involved in experiencing visual art, and to explore how it could be related to components of emotional well-being. As such, neuroimaging studies addressing aesthetic experience and emotional processing are reviewed and discussed. This thesis found a relationship between the neural processes that operate behind a broad range of positive valanced emotions and aesthetic experience. The findings show that experiencing visual art that are aesthetically appreciated by the viewer, induces feelings of hedonic niceness or pleasant well-being and is associated with increased activity in the reward circuit. How aesthetic appreciation affects our emotional and cognitive states respectively and enhances our physiological and psychological well-being remains to be investigated. Understanding the underlying neurobiological processes involved when experiencing visual art is important due to its implications on positive health and well-being.

No description available.

The overall aim of this thesis was to investigate quality of life, coping and emotional distress (i.e. anxiety and depression) among newly diagnosed ALS patients. An additional aim was also to investigate relatives’ experiences of the care for the patient and the support they received for themselves during the disease progression. The most nominated areas of importance for the patient’s overall QoL were family, friends and own physical health. Most patients rated their QoL as good, which did not change at subsequent measurement, despite their physical function having changed for the worse during disease progression. Some patients had symptoms of clinical anxiety and depression during the first year after diagnosis. The total quality of life score did not correlate with physical function but with depression early on after diagnosis. Most patients used support and independence as strategies to cope with the disease during the first six months after diagnosis. There were few changes early on after the diagnosis, and the patients used several different strategies. The results show that the use of coping strategies remained stable over time. Both physical function and emotional distress correlated significant with different coping strategies, with some variation during the disease progression. Relatives experienced the care of their loved one as positive and based on the patient’s needs and desires. The treatment, knowledge, support and help from the staff were important for the relatives’ feeling of security. Different factors influence the use of support for themselves. The relatives did not think of their own needs, but their focus was rather on the patient. The results of the thesis highlight the importance of providing support both to patients and their relatives during the disease progression. With early and regular evaluation on quality of life, coping and emotional well-being among the patients, the health professionals may be able to support the patients based on their specific needs, which probably will increase their quality of life.

This study looked at how children who are exposed to the impact of HIV/AIDS in their immediate families are affected and what coping strategies they employ. Research was conducted in Lusaka, Zambia, involving eight female and eight male Zambian children between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, as research participants. Separate gender specific focus group discussions were held, after which the recorded proceedings were transcribed and analysed using thematic content analysis. The study found that children experience socioeconomic difficulties, psychosocial deprivations, and insecurity as a result of parental death or illness. However, they are still able to find ways to survive and cope with their difficulties. State and private sector efforts have focussed primarily on addressing the socioeconomic needs of these children as this has been understood to be the most critical. The psychological impact of HIV/AIDS on children in Zambia, and the resultant needs that arise, will need to be tackled as a matter of priority.