Esta tese é composta por cinco estudos que tiveram como objetivo geral investigar a exposição à violência direta (ser a vítima) e indireta (ser testemunha) e suas relações com bem-estar subjetivo e sintomas de depressão, ansiedade e estresse em adolescentes de escolas públicas da cidade de Porto Alegre - RS. O primeiro capítulo apresenta uma revisão sistemática de literatura sobre exposição à violência na adolescência e suas relações com saúde mental. O segundo capítulo é um estudo de adaptação e validação da Escala de Depressão, Ansiedade e Estresse para Adolescentes (EDAE-A). O terceiro capítulo, estudo empírico, teve como objetivo investigar a prevalência de exposição de adolescentes à violência direta e indireta e sua associação com idade, sexo, reprovação escolar e configuração familiar. Já o quarto estudo, também empírico, investigou as relações entre exposição à violência direta e indireta, bem-estar subjetivo e sintomas de depressão, ansiedade e estresse. Por fim, o quinto capítulo apresenta o relato da experiência de devolução dos dados da pesquisa que teve como objetivo discutir violências(s) cotidianas. Participaram 426 adolescentes de escolas públicas, de 12 a 18 anos, que responderam a uma ficha de dados sociodemográficos e aos instrumentos Triagem de Exposição à Violência de Crianças na Comunidade, Escala de Depressão, Ansiedade e Estresse para Adolescentes (EDAE-A), Escala de Afetos Positivos (AP) e Afetos Negativos (AN) e a Escala Multidimensional de Satisfação de Vida para Adolescentes (EMSVA). Análises descritivas e inferenciais foram realizadas. Os resultados desta tese indicaram a alta prevalência de exposição direta e indireta dos adolescentes à violência e a associação com sintomas internalizantes. A adaptação e validação do instrumento EDAE-A possibilitaram a avaliação conjunta das variáveis depressão, ansiedade e estresse, demonstrando boas propriedades psicométricas. A construção do Índice de Bem-Estar Subjetivo, englobando a satisfação de vida e afetos positivos e negativos, deve ser mais bem explorada em pesquisas futuras. Finalmente, a intervenção focal realizada com os adolescentes demonstrou o quanto a violência é naturalizada no contexto escolar, indicando a necessidade de trabalhos preventivos e interventivos para essa população. Limitações e sugestões para novos estudos são descritas. / This thesis is comprised of five studies that had as main objective to investigate the exposure to direct violence (being victim) and indirect (being witness) and their relationship with subjective well-being and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress in adolescents from public schools of the city of Porto Alegre - RS. The first chapter presents a systematic review of literature on exposure to violence in adolescence and its relationship with mental health. The second chapter is a study of adaptation and validation of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale for Adolescents (DASS-A). The third chapter (a empirical study) aimed to investigate the prevalence of adolescent exposure to direct and indirect violence and its association with age, sex, school failure and family configuration. The fourth study (which is also empirical) investigated the relationship between exposure to direct and indirect violence, subjective well-being and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. Finally, the fifth chapter presents a report about the experience of informing the participants about the results of the research with the aim of discussing violence(s) in the daily life. The participants were 426 adolescents from public schools, 12-18 years old, who responded the sociodemographic form and the following instruments Screening of Exposure to Violence of Children in the Community; Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale for Adolescents (DASS-A); Positive Affects (PA) and Negative Affects (NA) and the Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Adolescents (MLSSA). Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed. The results of this thesis indicated a high prevalence of direct and indirect exposure of adolescents to violence and the association with internalizing symptoms. The adaptation and validation of instrument DASS-A allowed the joint assessment of the variables depression, anxiety and stress, demonstrating good psychometric properties. The construction of the Subjective Well-being Index, encompassing life satisfaction besides positive and negative affects, should be further explored in future research. Finally, the focal intervention realized with the adolescents demonstrated how much the violence is naturalized in the school context, indicating the necessity of preventive and interventional actions for this population. Limitations and suggestions for further research are described.

O objetivo desta dissertação é apresentar relações entre ruminação e reflexão com sexo, Neuroticismo/ajustamento emocional (vulnerabilidade, desajustamento psicossocial, depressão e ansiedade) e bem-estar subjetivo (BES) (satisfação de vida, afeto positivo e afeto negativo) e testá-las empiricamente. Participaram deste estudo 361 universitários que responderam coletivamente em sala de aula questionários de auto relato. Verificou-se que ruminação está relacionada com afeto negativo, depressão, ansiedade e vulnerabilidade. As implicações teóricas e clínicas destes resultados são discutidos a luz da literatura da área. / The aim of this thesis is to present relationships among rumination and reflection with sex, neuroticism (vulnerability, psychological maladjustment, depression and anxiety) and subjective well-being (SWB) (life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect) and test them empirically. For this, 361 undergraduate students answered self-report questionnaires in groups. The results showed that rumination is related with negative affect, anxiety, depression and vulnerability. Theoretical and clinical implications of these results are discussed.

Estudos anteriores sugeriram que as compras de experiências, tais como viagens e shows, deixam as pessoas mais felizes do que compras materiais, como, por exemplo, roupas e eletrônicos. E, por esta razão, sugerem que as pessoas passem a alocar mais a sua renda discricionária em tais tipos de compra. Entretanto, acredita-se que isto não é verdade para todos os indivíduos. O nível de felicidade com cada tipo de compra, provavelmente, varie de acordo com o estado motivacional das pessoas. À luz da teoria de self-regulation, hipotetizase que a felicidade derivada das compras depende da adequação entre as diferentes orientações motivacionais (prevention x promotion) e o tipo de compra (experiência x material). Em um estudo experimental, manipulou-se o tipo de compra e o regulatory focus, e se descobriu que os participantes com promotion focus, realmente, são mais felizes com as compras de experiência, no entanto, os participantes com prevention focus são tão felizes com as compras materiais quanto com as de experiência. Em um segundo estudo experimental, testou-se como os participantes com diferentes estados motivacionais alocam sua renda discricionária de modo a se sentirem mais felizes. Dado os resultados, sugere-se que os participantes com promotion focus são os que devem melhorar sua forma de investir para ficarem mais felizes, estes sim devem seguir a recomendação à experiência. Ainda, quando o trade-off entre os tipos de compra (experiência e material) estava saliente, os participantes com prevention focus, na seqüência, avaliaram as experiências mais favoravelmente do que quando o trade-off não estava saliente. / Experiential consumption - which is made with the primary intention of acquiring a life experience - usually yields greater happiness than material purchases. However, it might not be true for all individuals. The level of happiness in each type of purchase may vary according to one's motivational state. Building on research on subjective well-being and regulatory focus it is being put forward a hypothesis that happiness derived from purchases depends on the fit between self-regulation (individual differences) and the type of purchase (experiential versus material). In the first experimental study, the regulatory focus (prevention vs. promotion) and type of purchase (experiential vs. material) have been manipulated. The data shows that the promotion-focused participants indeed were happier with the experiential purchases than with the material ones. However, the prevention-focused participants were as happy with the material purchases as with the experiential purchases. In the second experimental study, it has been tested how the participants with different regulatory foci allocate their discretionary income as to feel happier. According to the results, its been suggested that in order to spend their income more judisciously, the promotion-focused participants should choose the experiential form of purchase and the prevention-focused participants should continue to invest in both types of purchases. Further, when the trade-off between the material and experiential purchases was made salient, experiences were subsequently evaluated more favorably than when the trade-off was not salient.

A presente tese teve por objetivo avaliar diferentes aspectos do construto sentido de vida (SV) e suas relações com variáveis biossociodemográficas e outros construtos psicológicos positivos (otimismo, esperança, satisfação com a vida, felicidade subjetiva, autoestima e autoeficácia) em uma ampla amostra nacional. Para atingir os objetivos propostos, foram desenvolvidos um artigo teórico e seis artigos empíricos. O primeiro artigo apresentou o construto SV, e discutiu as potencialidades e limitações dos principais instrumentos existentes na literatura para avaliação do construto sentido de vida. Posteriormente, foram elaborados três estudos empíricos de adaptação e validação de instrumentos psicológicos para o contexto brasileiro. Os três instrumentos validados foram: 1) Questionário de Sentido de Vida (QSV); 2) Questionário de Fontes de Sentido e de Sentido de Vida (QFSSV); e 3) Escala de Felicidade Subjetiva (EFS). O quinto artigo da tese avaliou como diferentes categorias de sentido interagem com variáveis biossociodemográficas, fontes de sentido e com características psicológicas positivas. O sexto artigo investigou como o construto “busca por sentido” se relaciona com as diferentes categorias de sentido. Além disso, buscou-se compreender se a busca por sentido poderia moderar a relação entre as diferentes categorias de sentido com os índices de bem-estar subjetivo, mensurado pelos construtos satisfação com a vida e felicidade subjetiva. Por fim, o último artigo empírico investigou como diferentes características biossociodemográficas e psicológicas influenciam a intenção das pessoas em participar de futuras etapas desta pesquisa. A amostra total empregada foi de 3,034 sujeitos (63,9% mulheres), com idades variando entre 18 e 91 anos (M = 33,9, DP = 15,01), oriundos de 22 diferentes estados do Brasil. Do total da amostra, 91,4% responderam aos instrumentos em uma plataforma virtual, enquanto 8,6% o fizeram no método papel e caneta. Os três instrumentos adaptados para o contexto brasileiro apresentaram adequadas propriedades psicométricas, sugerindo sua possibilidade de uso em estudos futuros. Os resultados também demonstraram a existência de diferentes categorias de sentido de vida (realização existencial, indiferença existencial, crise existencial, conflito existencial), e que sujeitos inseridos nestas categorias apresentam importantes diferenças no que se refere a suas características biossociodemográficas e psicológicas. Foi descoberto, também, que a busca por sentido é maior entre os que apresentam conflito existencial, embora esteja positivamente relacionada com os níveis de crise existencial. Os resultados desta tese apontam para a necessidade da continuidade dos estudos acerca da temática. Esta tese pretende contribuir para a área da Psicologia Positiva ao fornecer três novos instrumentos psicométricos para uso no contextobrasileiro, e ao apresentar resultados anteriormente não discutidos na literatura da área do sentido de vida. / This dissertation aimed to evaluate different aspects of the construct “meaning in life” (MIL) and its relations with sociodemographic and other positive psychological constructs (optimism, hope, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, self-esteem and self-efficacy) in a large Brazilian sample. To attain the proposed goals, one theoretical and six empirical articles were developed. The first theoretical article presented the MIL construct and discussed the benefits and limitations of the main existing scales designed to evaluate the MIL construct. Further, three validation articles of psychological measures were developed. The three questionnaires were: 1) Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ); 2) Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire (SoMe); and 3) Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS). The fifth article of the dissertation aimed to show how different categories of meaning interacted with sociodemographic variables, sources of meaning and positive psychological characteristics. The sixth article sought to evaluate to what extent the construct “search for meaning” relates to the different categories of meaning. Furthermore, we aimed to assess if search for meaning moderates the relation among the different categories of meaning with subjective well-being. Finally, the last empirical paper evaluated how different sociodemographic and psychological variables influence the intention in participating in the future waves of the present study. Participants were 3.034 subjects (63.9% women) with ages varying from 18 e 91 years old (M = 33.9; DP = 15.01), originated from 22 different Brazilian states. From the total, 91.4% answered the questionnaires in a web-based platform, whereas 8.6% answered in the paper-and-pencil method. The three adapted instruments presented adequate psychometric properties, and suggests its possible use in future studies. The results also showed the existence of different categories of meaning (meaningfulness, existential indifference, existential crisis, existential conflict), and that people inserted in these categories present important differences in their bio-psychossocial and psychological variables. It was also shown that search for meaning is higher among those in the existential conflict group, although search for meaning is positively related to crisis of meaning. The results of this study point to the need for further studies on the subject. This dissertation seeks to contribute to the Positive Psychology field by offering three different psychometric scales to use in the Brazilian context, and to present empirical results not previously achieved, contributing to the knowledge on the MIL literature.

Orientador: Maria Jose D'Elboux Diogo / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-11T14:27:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Sposito_Giovana_M.pdf: 1801574 bytes, checksum: 30f7553ff7c5515f566223191d815805 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar as relações entre bem-estar subjetivo (BES), independência funcional, avaliada por meio da Medida de Independência Funcional (MIF), e medidas de mobilidade e flexibilidade dos membros inferiores (força muscular, velocidade de marcha e equilíbrio) através do instrumento Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) em idosos em acompanhamento ambulatorial, em função de grupos etários e de gênero. É um estudo de natureza transversal, exploratório, integrante do Projeto Temático intitulado ¿Qualidade de vida em idosos: indicadores de fragilidade e de bem-estar subjetivo¿. Fizeram parte do estudo 125 idosos com 60 anos ou mais, de ambos os sexos com predomínio do sexo feminino, em acompanhamento ambulatorial, que não apresentaram déficits cognitivos que dificultassem a comunicação. Foram empregadas análise estatística descritiva nas variáveis sóciodemográficas, análise de comparação e de correlação entre os resultados do BES com os do SPPB e os da MIF e análise de regressão logística univariada e multivariada nos itens de saúde percebida (SP) e saúde percebida comparada (SPC) enquanto integrantes do BES. Constataram-se escores inferiores do SPPB e da MIF em mulheres e idosos com idade mais avançada. A pontuação do BES foi melhor nos idosos mais jovens. Para as correlações entre os escores obtidos da análise do BES com o SPPB e com a MIF foi observada maior significância para os idosos de 80 anos ou mais, sendo estes mais satisfeitos com a vida, mesmo com menor funcionalidade. A análise de regressão logística univariada e multivariada considerando a SP como variável dependente mostrou relação significativa com a idade, os idosos mais velhos apresentaram maiores chances de terem melhor SP que os idosos mais novos. No entanto, ao considerar SPC como a variável dependente, constatou-se relação significativa com os idosos que apresentaram desempenho físico de moderado a bom e idosos com melhor funcionalidade apresentaram maiores chances de terem melhor SPC do que os idosos com desempenho físico mais baixos. Os resultados evidenciam que idosos mais velhos são mais satisfeitos com a vida e têm melhor SP do que os idosos mais jovens, o que pode confirmar que os mecanismos de enfrentamento e adaptação estão presentes no decorrer da vida / Abstract: The aim of this study was to look into the correlation between subjective well-being (SWB) and functional independence in elderly outpatients. The study was designed to be cross-sectional and exploratory in nature and is part of the project ¿Qualidade de vida em idosos: indicadores de fragilidade e de bem-estar subjetivo¿ (¿Quality of life at old age: frailty and subjective well-being indicators¿). In order to assess the level of functional independence, we used the Functional Independence Measurement (FIM), while the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) was applied for lower extremity mobility and flexibility measurements, such as muscle strength, gait speed, and balance. The scores were obtained by age group and gender. Subjects consisted of 125 male and female outpatients from the age of 60 without any cognitive deficits which could impair communication, with a predominance of women. We applied descriptive statistical analysis to social-demographic variables, comparative and correlational analysis between the results for SWB and SPPB and between those for SWB and FIM, and univariate and multivariate logistic regression to the self-perceived health (SPH) and compared self-perceived health (CSPH) items of SWB. Lower SPPB and FIM scores were found among women and older seniors. Younger seniors achieved better SWB scores. When correlating SWB scores to SPPB and to FIM scores, significance was found for 80+ subjects, who were more satisfied with life in spite of their lower levels of functionality. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses with SPH as the dependent variable revealed significant correlation to age, in which older seniors were found more likely to have better SPH than younger seniors. However, with CSPH as the dependent variable, significant correlation was found among seniors of moderate to good physical performance, and more functional seniors were found more likely to have superior CSPH than those of poorer physical performance. These findings imply that older seniors are more satisfied with life and have better SPH than their younger counterparts, which seems to indicate that coping and adaptive mechanisms increase over life / Mestrado / Mestre em Gerontologia

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é contribuir com a literatura de bem-estar subjetivo ao sugerir a aplicação da metodologia de pseudopainel para as \"happiness equations\", nome pelo qual ficaram conhecidas as equações de bem-estar com variável dependente \"satisfação com a vida\" ou \"felicidade\". Utilizando a base de dados WVS - pesquisa internacional realizada com periodicidade irregular de 1981 a 2008 em mais de 50 países - e seguindo a metodologia sugerida por Deaton (1985), foram rastreadas \"células\" de indivíduos ao longo dos últimos 20 anos para estimação dos determinantes do bem-estar. As células foram formadas pela interação entre geração, gênero e país de nascimento. A grande vantagem do modelo de pseudopainel é que permite controlar para efeitos fixos não-observáveis de células, que são prováveis fontes de viés. Os resultados apontam que os principais determinantes do bem-estar subjetivo individual e intergeracional são: saúde, porque o bem-estar subjetivo tem associação inegável ao bem-estar físico; renda individual ou agregada, porque os bens materiais trazem utilidade, mesmo considerando o efeito adaptação e as crescentes aspirações; emprego, porque além dos ganhos monetários o trabalho também conduz a um maior status social e autoestima; religião, porque a reflexão, a introspecção e a crença em um ser superior confortam em momentos de dificuldade, ajudam a aceitar as adversidades e dão esperança e sentido à vida; senso de liberdade, porque, na maioria das situações, as pessoas preferem ter a sensação de controle sobre suas escolhas e extraem utilidade do processo de decisão. Por fim, tendo em vista a discussão recente na literatura sobre a perda de bem-estar na transição dos países ex-socialistas para o capitalismo, o modelo de pseudopainel foi adaptado para estimar o impacto dessa mudança em diferentes gerações. Os resultados apontam que as gerações mais antigas foram aquelas que mais sofreram perda de bem-estar. O comportamento da satisfação com a vida após os anos 90 nesses países, mesmo considerando diversos outros fatores sócio-econômicos, assumiu um \"formato de V\": repentino declínio com gradual recuperação, que se estende até os dias de hoje. / The main concern of this work is to contribute to the recent discussion of subjective well-being (SWB) by suggesting a pseudopanel approach for the Happiness Equations. Using the WVS database and following the methodology suggested by Deaton (1985), cohorts of individuals were screened over the past 20 years to estimate the determinants of SWB. Cohorts were aggregated as an interaction of generation, gender and country of birth. It is important to point out that the pseudopanel estimation has several advantages, because it makes possible to control for unobservable cohort\'s fixed effects - which are likely sources of bias. Results indicate that the main determinants of SWB are: health, because subjective well-being has undeniable association to physical well-being; individual or aggregated income, because material goods bring utility, even considering the adaption effect and growing aspirations; employment, because beyond monetary gains, work also ensures self-steem and a higher social status; religion, because reflection, introspection and the belief in a Higher Self bring comfort in hard times, help to overcome adversities and bring hope and meaning to life; sense of freedom, because, in most situations, people prefer to have a sense of control over their choices and also extract utility of the decision process. Finally, considering the recent discussion in the literature about the loss of welfare of former socialist nations in transition to capitalism, the pseudopanel model was adapted to estimate the effect of this change in different generations. Results indicate that older generations were the one who suffered the most significant loss in terms of SWB. The behavior of life satisfaction in these countries assumed a V-shaped format: sudden decline with gradual recovey, which extends up until 2008.

O bem-estar subjetivo, ou felicidade, consiste na maneira como as pessoas avaliam suas próprias vidas, tanto de forma afetiva como cognitiva. Este juízo terá grande importância nas diversas esferas da vida, influenciando o desempenho social e profissional da pessoa. De forma agregada, níveis maiores, ou menores, de bem-estar subjetivo possuem impactos tanto no sistema político quanto na economia. Este estudo aplicou três diferentes questionários de mensuração de bem-estar subjetivo: o Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, com 29 itens; a Escala Geral de Felicidade, com 4 itens e uma escala única em uma amostra de 498 pessoas que trabalham no comércio de Ribeirão Preto e duas cidades vizinhas, e conduziu as análises destes instrumentos. Além destas análises, foram estudadas as diferenças entre os diversos indivíduos que compõem a amostra, no intuito de investigar se idade, sexo, etnia, estado civil, escolaridade, número de filhos, atividade profissional (comerciantes / comerciários), emprego efetivo / temporário, renda, religião, atividade sócio política e saúde poderiam influenciar o nível de bem-estar subjetivo. Algumas destas características mostraram-se significativas. / The subjective well-being, or happiness, consists on the way people see their own lives, in affective or cognitive way. This judgment is very important in the different ambits of life, influencing the social and professional aspects of people. In different levels, the subjective well-being has impact on political and economical systems. This study used three different questionaries to measure the subjective well-being: Oxford Happiness Questionnaire with 29 items; Subjective Happiness Scale, with 4 items, and a single scale with 498 subjects who work in Ribeirão Preto commerce including two other cities. Structural analyses of Oxford Happiness Questionnaire and Subjective Happiness Scale were done. Besides these analyses, we assessed the difference among several subjects from the study group, aiming to investigate if age, gender, ethics, civil status, educational level, number of children, professional activity (salespeople), temporary job or regular job, income, religion, political participation, and health, could influence their level of subjective well-being. Some of these characteristics are significant.

This thesis considers how work has changed in post-industrial society. It shows that while insecure or stressful work can be reliably linked with poor health, individual outcomes depend upon a range of micro- and macro-level moderators. Bad jobs are invariably harmful, but context matters. It begins by charting the shift in advanced economic nations from industry and agriculture to service sector and knowledge-based employment. Most accounts of post-industrialisation share common flaws. Namely, the tendency for technological determinism; the depiction of discontinuous, all-encompassing social transformation; and the dislocation from individual experience. Such failings, however, do not negate the micro-level impact of these changes. This thesis focuses on two: job insecurity and work intensity. Recent decades have witnessed a destandardisation of employment relations and an intensification of working conditions. These changes have important consequences for well-being, whether or not they collectively constitute a new form of society. The methodological theme is one of moderation. Successive analytical chapters show how the consequences of insecure or stressful work depends upon (a) family arrangements, (b) economic climate, (c) labour market policies, (d) job resources and (e) national characteristics such as culture or trade union density. The analyses combine European survey data and contextual information using a range of quantitative methods, including multilevel modelling, structural equation modelling and latent class analysis. While the empirical chapters contribute to their respective literatures, they also feed into broader arguments regarding the synthesis of micro- and macro-level perspectives. Work invariably impacts upon health, but a simultaneity of moderating influences results in a diversity of outcomes. These findings underline the contextual sensitivity of work-related policy.

The current study aimed to replicate and extend recent research by Ng, Huebner, and Hills (2015) by investigating the longitudinal, bidirectional relationship between life satisfaction and academic achievement among adolescents. Specifically, students’ baseline (Time 1) life satisfaction was examined as a predictor of academic achievement (as measured by GPA, FCAT-reading DSS scores, attitudes toward school, and goal valuation) one year later (Time 2). The same four academic achievement variables at Time 1 were also examined as a predictor of life satisfaction one year later at Time 2. Positive affect and negative affect were examined as moderators of those relationships. An archival data set that included data from 425 high school students was analyzed. In contrast to findings from prior research, results of four regression analyses indicated that life satisfaction was not a significant predictor of later academic skills (i.e., GPA, FCAT-reading DSS) or academic engagement (i.e., goal valuation, attitude towards school), although there was bivariate support for a link between Time 1 life satisfaction and later academic engagement. When academic variables were considered as predictors of later life satisfaction, there was bivariate support for the relationship between Time 1 GPA and Time 2 life satisfaction. In contrast to hypotheses, regression analyses failed to support a significant relationship between initial academic skills and later life satisfaction. However, moderated regression analyses indicated that academic skills (i.e., GPA, FCAT-reading DSS) predict later life satisfaction for students with greater initial emotional well-being (i.e., low negative affect, high positive affect). In regard to academic engagement, there was bivariate support for a small relationship between initial academic engagement and later life satisfaction, but regression analyses and moderated regression analyses failed to support that relationship. Analyses indicate that initial positive affect was a significant predictor of later life satisfaction and later goal valuation, which supports Frederickson’s (2009) broaden and build theory of positive emotions. Findings of the current study highlight the importance of promoting positive emotions among students, in part as a means to improve life satisfaction and cognitive engagement in school. The current study also provides support for offering mental health services to students with relatively high GPAs and standardized test scores who also experience symptoms of internalizing disorders (i.e., low positive affect, high negative affect). Finally, findings from the current study taken in conjunction with findings reported by Ng et al. (2015) suggest that middle school may be the optimal time for interventions aimed at improving students’ subjective well-being.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / The construct of subjective well-being within child well-being and quality of life research has become increasingly prominent in recent years. Central to such developments is the question of to what extent children’s subjective experiences of well-being can be compared cross-culturally. Given the paucity of empirical research on the topic of cross-cultural comparisons, the importance of validating current measures of subjective well-being has been emphasized by many researchers as critical in contributing to the international dialogue. The aim of the current study was to test a measure of subjective well-being (the Personal Well-being Index – School Children) amongst a sample of children from Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Given the diversity of experience between children from different language groups in South Africa, the study further aimed to determine the extent to which the measures are comparable across two language groups (Afrikaans and English). Data from the Children’s World Survey were used; and include a sample of 1004 children randomly selected from 15 schools within the Cape Town Metropole. Located within the goodness of fit theoretical framework, confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the overall fit structure and multi-group factor analysis, with Scalar and Metric invariance constraints. The results show appropriate fit structure for the overall model, with Scalar and Metric factor invariance tenable across language groups. The overall findings suggest that the Personal Well-being Index – School Children is appropriate for use with English and Afrikaans children in Western Cape Province, South Africa, and that scores between these groups can be compared by regressions, correlations, and means.