Higher education institutions in South Africa are undergoing transformation because of increasing student numbers, government and the private sector relying on tertiary institutions to assist in solving problems in addition to the globalisation of knowledge. University staff is continuously faced major changes. Immense pressure is placed on academic institutions, including support staff. Support staff are constantly faced with increasing job demands and decreasing job resources. This imbalance and the increase of job stress over a prolonged period of time can lead to the devastating result of burnout. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between task characteristics, burnout, health and life satisfaction in a higher education institution in the North West Province. A cross-sectional design was used. The study population (N=334) consisted of support staff members of higher education institutions in the North West Province. The Job Demands-Resources Scale (JDRS), The Maslach Burnout Inventory - GS (MBI-GS), the Health subscale of the ASSET and The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) were used as measuring instruments. Descriptive statistics (for example, means, standard deviations and kurtosis) were used to analyse the data. Pearson correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to assess the relationships between job demands, job resources, burnout, physical health, psychological health and life satisfaction. The correlation coefficients indicated that exhaustion was positively related to psychological ill-health. Cynicism correlated negatively with growth opportunities. Multiple regression analysis showed that overload and growth opportunities predicted 26% of the variance for exhaustion and 29% of the variance in cynicism. Exhaustion predicted 24% of the variance for physical ill-health and 37% of the variance for psychological ill-health. Psychological ill-health predicted 16% of the variance of life satisfaction. Recommendations for future research and the organisation were made. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Factors related to women's gender role attitudes were assessed using data from a national survey in 1988 in which 3,507 members of the Young Women cohort were interviewed by phone. The demographic characteristics were education, age, marital status, and region of residence. Older women, married women, and those of Southern residence were hypothesized to have traditional gender role attitudes. These hypotheses were supported by the data (p &tn; .05, p &tn; .05, p &tn; .01, respectively). As hypothesized, those with high educational levels (p &tn; .01) had egalitarian attitudes. Four work related variables (labor force participation, hours worked at one's paid position, personal income, and earnings as percent of total family income) were hypothesized to relate to non-traditional gender role attitudes. Job dissatisfaction was hypothesized to relate to traditional gender role attitudes. Personal income (p &tn; .01) was related to non-traditional gender role attitudes. There was no relationship between labor force participation and hours worked at one's position and gender role attitudes. Percent of total family income (p &tn; .01) was related to traditional gender role attitudes, not egalitarian attitudes, and, as hypothesized, job dissatisfaction (p &tn; .05) was related to traditional gender role attitudes. Life dissatisfaction was hypothesized to relate to egalitarian attitudes; however (p &tn; .01) was associated with traditional, not egalitarian, gender role attitudes. When exploring practical reasons for women working, a negative relationship was found between Southern (p &tn; .01) residence and labor force participation (p &tn; .01) and practical reasons for women working. Higher educational levels (p &tn; .01) were positively related.

Då de äldre delarna av populationen förväntas bli en större andel av den svenska totalpopulationen är det av intresse att undersöka deras hälsotillstånd, där livstillfredsställelse tycks vara en viktig faktor för ett gott åldrande. Utomlands har ett starkt stöd för en korrelation mellan livstillfredsställelse och religiositet hittats. Ett delsyfte i denna studie var att undersöka om en sådan korrelation även kan hittas i sekulära Sverige. Utifrån att också en stark korrelation mellan livstillfredsställelse och sociala nätverk hittats både utomlands och i Sverige var nästa delsyfte att undersöka om de sociala nätverk som kan hittas via ett religiöst deltagande i till exempel en församling bättre kan förklara religionens effekt på livstillfredsställelse än just religiositeten själv. Deltagarna i studien var hämtade från en longitudinell studie kring åldrande och vård kallad "The Swedish National Study on Aging and Care" (SNAC). Resultaten kunde inte visa på någon korrelation mellan religiositet och livstillfredsställelse i Sverige. I och med detta utgick ansatsen till att förklara en sådan korrelation. Studien pekade på att effekten religiositet har på en svensk befolkning tycks skilja sig från den effekt den har på andra populationer. / As the elder parts of the population are expected to become a larger proportion of the Swedish total population there is an interest in investigating their state of health, for which life satisfaction seems to be an important factor. Strong support for a correlation between life satisfaction and religiousness has been found outside of Sweden. One aim of this study was to investigate if such a correlation could also be found in secular Sweden. A strong correlation between life satisfaction and social networks has also been found both in and outside of Sweden. Following this the next aim of the study was to investigate if the social network that can be found via religious participation in for example a congregation could better explain the effect of religion on life satisfaction than religiousness itself. The participants in the study were gathered from a longitudinal study about aging and care called "The Swedish National Study on Aging and Care"(SNAC). The results did not show any correlation between religiousness and life satisfaction in Sweden. The Study indicates that the effect religiousness has on the Swedish population seems to be different from the effect it has on other populations.

ABSTRACT Job satisfaction and life satisfaction have been two of the most researched social constructs for many decades. This study looks into the relationship that exists between job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and work–family conflict among salaried and self-employed male and female employees. It adds to existing literature by using Social Role Theory as a basis for explaining the variation in these relationships among males and females, and also makes the argument that gender is a propelling force in explaining the perceived conflict and its effect on life and job satisfaction. It also adds to existing literature by evaluating the above phenomenon among employed and self-employed males and females thereby bridging a significant gap in the literature on work-family conflict. The study makes use of data from the International Social Survey Program. Analyzing this data has led to a better understanding of the role of gender as a significant factor related to variations in work–family conflict. Also this paper reveals to us that the effect of work-family conflict is considerably lesser for self-employed individuals when compared to their salaried counterparts for both men and women. Other Key findings include the changing role of women in the society and the effect of children in a working household on work-family conflict, job and life satisfaction. INDEX WORDS: Job Satisfaction, Life Satisfaction, Work–Family Conflict, Employed and Self-Employed Males and Females

Introduction: Health, and well-being of older Canadians have been extensively studied. Less is known about health and well-being of older Canadians with disability. Study Objectives: 1) describe social participation patterns of older Canadian adults with disability; 2) determine the most commonly reported barriers for their participation in leisure and social activities; and 3) examine the independent effect of participation in leisure and social activities on their general health and life satisfaction. Methods: A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Surveys (PALS) was performed. Results: A significant independent effect of participation in leisure and social activities on the positive general health and positive life satisfaction of older Canadians with disability, for both men and women, was confirmed. Conclusions: Participation in leisure and social activities is a potential venue to enhance health, and well-being of older Canadian adults with disability. / October 2016

The sociocultural influence of ethnicity on peer victimization among youth has received little attention in the research literature. Individual ethnicity within school ethnic composition may influence the frequency of victimization and the effect of victimization on adolescents’ well being. The current study investigated these issues using a data set of 5,581 sixth grade students attending 37 schools located in four sites. Multilevel models examined the extent to which individual ethnicity within school ethnic composition influenced the frequency and impact of overt and relational victimization on changes in life satisfaction. Ethnic differences were found in the frequency of victimization, but these differences did not vary across schools that differed in ethnic composition. Individual ethnicity, but not school ethnic composition, influenced the impact of relational victimization on life satisfaction. These findings shed light on the influence of ethnicity on victimization experiences and have implications for the role of ethnicity in adolescents’ development.

The diploma thesis is focused on evaluating changes in quality of life in overweight and obese persons. The theoretical part discusses quality of life, various aspects of obesity and the most relevant psychological context. The empirical part includes two studies: 1. Study in overweight / obese persons undergoing physical activity intervention - walking, lasting up to 1 year, and covering 24 female participants. The intervention resulted in a significant effect on the quality of life, assessed using the following instruments: IWQOL-Lite, OWLQOL and WRSM. 2. Study in overweight / obese persons undergoing STOB basic intervention lasting 12 weeks, and covering 17 female participants. The intervention resulted in a significant effect on the quality of life, assessed using the following instruments: IWQOL-Lite, OWLQOL and WRSM. Changes in self-esteem and self-efficacy were also assessed in this population using the instruments: RSE and GSE, respectively. Statistical significance was not achieved in either of these cases, although a trend toward change could be seen according to RSE and GSE, respectively. Keywords: Life satisfaction; quality of life; obesity; physical activity intervention; STOB

BACKGROUND: This study focuses on a very sensitive and underestimated topic of drug addiction among medical staff. There is necessary interdisciplinary approach, focusing on psychosocial and environmental factors involved in the etiology of addiction among medical staff. The profession of paramedical staff demands to work with people and responsibility for their lives, so it is important that this work must be performed by a person in mental and physical well-being for performing adequate quality of care. Despite the awareness and exploration of burnout syndrome, the occurrence is still a current issue. Manifested mainly as a reaction to the working stress (Kebza, Šolcová, 2004). This working stress may penetrate also into the overall quality of life (Křivohlavý, 2013). Frequent helper in the stages of burnout syndrome is drinking alcohol, which shows the effects of antidepressants, which can be progress to alcoholism in certain situations (Ühlinger, 2009). OBJECTIVES: The research objective of this study is to determine the relation between alcohol consumption, occurrence of burnout syndrome and subjective evaluation of life quality among paramedical staff working in the hospital. METHODS: The study was performed by quantitative form and realized through standardized psychological instruments:...

Aim Satisfaction with life is a measure of protection in older adults. There lies the importance of providing quality instruments. The aim of the study was to evaluate the invariance of the life satisfaction scale (SWLS) in two samples of older adults in Spain and Peru. Method The participants were 857 older adults in Spain (mean age = 68.23 years, SD = 5.93) and 336 older adults in Peru (average age = 72.42, SD = 7.07). All multi-group confirmatory factor analyzes were estimated in Mplus 8.0. Results The results indicate the presence of a strict invariance of the one-dimensional structure of the SWLS in samples of older adults in Spain and Peru, which allows for meaningful comparisons of latent means and covariances. Comparison of latent means showed small differences in the construct between the cultural groups. Conclusions The SWLS is a valid instrument for intercultural comparisons between Spanish and Peruvian population. The measurement invariance assessment contributes to a better understanding of life satisfaction in populations from different cultural contexts. / Objetivo La satisfacción con la vida es una medida de protección en los adultos mayores. Aquí radica la importancia de tener instrumentos de calidad para medirla. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la invarianza de la Escala de Satisfacción con la Vida (SWLS) en 2 muestras de adultos mayores de España y Perú. Método Los participantes fueron 857 adultos mayores españoles (edad media: 68,23 años y DT: 5,93) y 336 adultos mayores peruanos (edad media: 72,42 años y DT: 7,07). Todos los análisis factoriales multi-muestra se estimaron en Mplus 8.0. Resultados Los resultados indican la presencia de una invarianza estricta de la estructura unifactorial de la SWLS en muestras de adultos mayores de España y Perú, lo que permite realizar comparaciones adecuadas, tanto de medias latentes como de relaciones con otras variables. La comparación de las medias latentes mostró pequeñas diferencias en el constructo entre las 2 culturas. Conclusiones La SWLS es una escala válida para realizar comparaciones transculturales entre poblaciones peruanas y españolas. La evaluación de la invarianza de medida contribuye a entender mejor la satisfacción vital desde contextos culturales diferentes.

Student Number : 9910820A - MA research report - School of Human and Community Development - Faculty of Humanities / The literature review presents a discussion of the various aspects within organisational climate as it relates to a call centre environment. It also examines past research on the notions of job satisfaction, life satisfaction and self-esteem pertaining to call centre agents. The literature review places particular emphasis on the affect organisational climate has on call centre agents. The present research takes the form of a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, ex-post facto design, on a sample of two-hundred and nineteen (N=219) call centre agents from four South African call centres. The Job Content Questionnaire was used to measure the organisational climate (Karasek, 1985), Taylor and Bowers (1972) General Satisfaction scale measured call centre agent’s job satisfaction, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) assessed the global cognitive beliefs of call centre agent’s life (Pavot and Diener, 1993), and Rosenberg’s (1989) Self-Esteem Scale was used to measure call centre agent’s self-esteem. Descriptive statistics and correlations were used to analyse the data and answer the research questions. Results from the analytical procedures suggested that call centre agents were given more decision latitude, there was a perception of general social support within the organisation, work roles were clearly defined and self-esteem was not significantly associated to the work environment. Thus, implying that the organisational climate of call centres may not be as bleak as past literature has suggested.