This project investigated the spiritual well-being (SWB) of psychotherapists in training and their physiological reactions to religious questions posed by a mock client. Electrodermal activity served as an index of physiological arousal interpreted as anxiety. Thirteen psychotherapists in training at the University of North Texas were recruited. They participated in a simulated intake session with a mock client who asked the psychotherapist neutral questions, personal-other questions (POQs), and personal-religious questions (PRQs). It was discovered that the level of SWB did not affect subjects' anxiety responses to PRQs. There also was no difference in subjects' anxiety responses for POQs between high and low SWB therapists. However, psychotherapists did experience some anxiety associated with questions related to their counseling experience and expertise.

Det är viktigt hur kontorsmiljöer utformas så att de kan skapa förutsättningar för lärande, välbefinnande och hälsa på arbetsplatsen. Syftet med aktivitetsbaserade kontor (ABkontor) är att ge de anställda möjligheten att välja den kontorsplats som bäst lämpar sig för den uppgift som ska utföras. Det innebär att ingen har en egen plats att gå till. Även om den här kontorstypen blir alltmer populär finns det begränsat med forskning som undersökt vilken effekt ABkontor har på kommunikation, stöd, hälsa och välbefinnande, särskilt ur ett lärandeperspektiv. Syftet med den här studien var att undersöka om det finns skillnader mellan män och kvinnor i hur de skattar hälsa, välbefinnande och hur nöjda de är med olika förutsättningar för informellt lärande i ABkontor, samt om det finns ett samband mellan förutsättningar för informellt lärande på arbetsplatsen och upplevd hälsa och välbefinnande. Ett frågeformulär skickades ut till 174 arbetare på ett av Trafikverkets kontor och svarsfrekvensen var 53 %. Analyserna visar att det inte fanns någon signifikant skillnad mellan män och kvinnor i hur tillfredsställda de är med de olika förutsättningarna, generellt så skattades tillfredställelse högt. Ett signifikant samband hittades mellan informellt lärande och välbefinnande men inte mellan informellt lärande och hälsa. Vidare forskning behövs för att undersöka om informellt lärande faktiskt äger rum i ABkontor genom att undersöka en större population och en större variation av ABkontor för att reda ut den kausala relationen mellan informellt lärande och välbefinnande. / It is important how office environments get designed so they can promote conditions for learning, well-being and health in the workplace. The purpose of an activity-based office (ABW) is to give the employees a possibility to choose the workplace best suited for the task at hand, implying that no one has their own private office to go to. Although this office environment gets increasingly popular, there is a lack of research demonstrating the effects of ABW:s on communication, collegial support, health and wellbeing, especially from a learning perspective. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in how satisfied women and men are in an ABW with the conditions for informal learning, such as work-related information exchange, cooperation and social support and test whether it is a relation between informal learning at work and self-rated wellbeing and health. A questionnaire was sent out to 174 employees working at the Swedish Transport Administration and the response rate was 53 %. The analyses showed that there is no significant difference between men and women in how satisfied they are with the conditions for informal learning in the ABW, overall both genders gave high ratings on satisfaction. A significant relationship was found between informal learning and well-being but not between informal learning and health. Further research is needed to investigate whether informal learning actually takes place in the activity-based office, using a bigger sample and variety of ABW:s, to clear out if the relation between informal learning and well-being is causal.

Background Exhaustion disorder (ED) is a common mental and behavioural disorder which often leads to severe negative consequences for the individual and the society. Natural environments have positive effects on mental, physiological and attentional recovery in stressed persons, which encouraged us to test if forest visits could improve recovery from ED. The main objective of the thesis was to study if visits to different kinds of forest environments have positive health effects on patients suffering from ED, and if forest visits can be utilized for rehabilitation. Methods Participants in the MiniRest study (n=20) and the Pilot study (n=6) (Papers I and II) were recruited from the Stress Rehabilitation Clinic (SRC) at the University Hospital in Umeå.  Participants in the randomised controlled study, ForRest (n=99) and the Interview study (n=19) (Papers III and IV) were recruited from both the SRC and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency in Umeå. The MiniRest study involved only female ED patients and focused on immediate mental, physiological and attention capacity effects in one urban and three forest environments. The Pilot study investigated the practical arrangements for the forthcoming ForRest study. Participants in the ForRest study were randomised into either a three-month forest rehabilitation group; A (forest visits twice a week/4 hours per day) or to a control condition; B. Both groups received Cognitive Behavioural Rehabilitation (CBR) at 24 occasions/once a week after the three-month study period. Preferences for forest environments, mental state and attention capacity were studied for group A only. Psychological health measurements and sick leave data were compared between the groups after (i) the forest rehabilitation and (ii) the CBR. The Interview study was conducted according to grounded theory methodology and consisted of 19 participants from group A to explore personal experiences from the forest rehabilitation. Data collection was implemented through questionnaires, medical records, physiological measurements, and interviews. Results Exposure to forest environments was associated with higher preference, more favourable mental state and physiological responses, and increased attention capacity compared to an urban environment (Paper I). Open and accessible forest environments were preferred (Papers I, II and III). Recovery from ED was found in both groups in the ForRest study, but there were no differences between the groups over time. In group A, positive effects on mental state and attention capacity were found during the forest visits. An interaction effect was found with more positive effects on mental state during spring compared to autumn (Paper III). Solitude, feelings of freedom and no demands were important for finding peace of mind during the forest visits. Moreover, easier access to peace of mind, reflective thinking and positive feelings were reported as the forest rehabilitation progressed (Papers II and IV). Conclusions Forest visits have restorative effects for ED patients through enhanced mental well-being, easier access to peace of mind, beneficial physiological reactions and increased attention capacity which support the use of forest environments in rehabilitation. However, forest rehabilitation tested in a randomised controlled trial did not improve recovery from ED. Potentially rehabilitation with CBR and forest visits integrated could be more effective and should be further investigated in nature-assisted rehabilitation for ED patients.

<p>Osnovni cilj prikazanog istraživanja je bilo unapredivanje postojecih znanja o<br />psiholo&scaron;kom blagostanju putem ispitivanja multidimenzionalnosti konstrukta i<br />njegovih korelata. Proveravana je struktura multidimenizonog modela Caroll Ryff<br />prema kome psiholo&scaron;ko blagostanje obuhvata &scaron;est dimenzija: Samoprihvatanje, Svrha<br />života, Licni rast, Ovladavanje okruženjem, Autonomija i Pozitivni odnosi sa<br />drugima, te relacije tih dimenzija sa pretpostavljenim prediktorima i konsekventima.<br />U istraživanju je ucestvovalo 657 odraslih osoba (41,9% mu&scaron;kog i 58,1%<br />ženskog pola) sa teritorije Srbije, uzrasta od 18 do 89 godina. Kori&scaron;ceni su sledeci<br />instrumenti: Upitnik o demografskim karakteristikama konstruisan za potrebe<br />istraživanja, Skale psiholo&scaron;kog blagostanja, Skala zadovoljstva životom, Skala<br />pozitivnog i negativnog afektiviteta (PANAS), Upitnik za procenjivanje partnerske<br />afektivne vezanosti, Bekov inventar anksioznosti, Skala samosti&scaron;avanja, Skala<br />optimizma &ndash; pesimizma i Skala depresivne licnosti.<br />Rezultati sprovedenih analiza nisu potvrdili &scaron;estodimenzionalnost modela, ali<br />ukazuju na multidimenzionalnost psiholo&scaron;kog blagostanja, te je predložen<br />trodimenzioni model. Dalja ispitivanja korelata psiholo&scaron;kog blagostanja sprovedena<br />na ekstrahovanom trofaktorskom modelu su pokazala da je psiholo&scaron;ko blagostanje<br />znacajan prediktor subjektivnog blagostanja, anksioznosti i subjektivnih procena<br />fizickog zdravlja i materijalne situacije, dok su optimizam, pesimizam, depresivna<br />licnost i uzrast znacajni prediktori psiholo&scaron;kog blagostanja.</p> / <p>The main goal of the presented study was to extend the existing knowledge on the<br />psychological well-being though testing psychological well-being<br />multidimensionality and relationship with its correlates. The six-dimension Carol Ryff<br />model of the psychological well-being was used, which consists of the following<br />dimensions: Self-acceptance, Personal growth, Environmental mastery, Autonomy,<br />Purpose in life and Positive relations with others. Also included was a relationship<br />between psychological well-being and assumed predictors and consequences.<br />The research included 657 adults, aged between 18 to 89 years, from Serbia.<br />The following instruments were used: a questionnaire on socio-demographic<br />characteristics, Scales of Psychological Well-Being, Satisfaction with life scale, The<br />positive and negative affect schedule &ndash; PANAS, Experience of Close Relationships<br />Scale, Beck Anxiety Inventory, the self-silencing scale, Optimism &ndash; pessimism scale<br />and Depressive personality scale.<br />The results did not confirm the six-dimension model theory, but did indicate a<br />multidimensional structure of the psychological well-being. The three factor solution<br />was extracted, so the rest of study was conducted with three dimensional<br />psychological model. Analysis showed that psychological well-being is a significant<br />predictor of subjective well-being, anxiety and subjective assessment of physical<br />health and material state. The optimism, pessimism, depressive personality and age<br />are the significant predictors of psychological well-being.<br />&nbsp;</p>

Syftet var att beskriva hur personer med ADHD upplever sin vardag samt vilka strategier de använder. Metoden som valdes var en manifest innehållsanalys på skönlitterära biografier. Fyra böcker valdes ut för analys och tolkning. Resultatet utgjorde fem kategorier med tillhörande 13 underkategorier. Kategorierna var upplevelsen av att känna sig annorlunda, obalans i vardagen, svårigheter att hantera intryck och impulser, diagnosens betydelse samt strategier för att klara av vardagen. Slutsatsen av examensarbetet visade att individens upplevelse är viktig för att få en ökad förståelse kring ADHD. Ytterligare en slutsats som kan dras är att arbetsterapeuten med kunskapen kan arbeta med hälsofrämjande insatser för att förenkla vardagen för en person med ADHD. / The aim of the study was to describe how people with ADHD experience their everyday lives and what strategies they use. The chosen method was a manifest content analysis on autobiographies. Four books were selected for analysis and interpretation. The result consisted of five categories with 13 associated subcategories. The categories were the experience of feeling different, everyday imbalances, difficulty in managing impressions and impulses, the significance of diagnosis and strategies to cope with everyday life. The conclusion of the thesis work showed that the individual's experience is important for gaining an understanding of ADHD. Another conclusion that emerged from the thesis, is that the occupational therapist with their knowledge can work with health promoting efforts to simplify the daily life for people with ADHD.

Bakgrund: Demens är en global hälso-prioritet som upptar stora kostnader för vården. Av de som bor på vårdboenden har nästan hälften demensdiagnos eller demensliknande symtom. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien är att sammanställa forskning om vad i miljön som påverkar välbefinnandet hos personer med demenssjukdom och på det sättet öka kunskapen om hur välbefinnande kan skapas genom den fysiska miljön. Metod: Studien är baserad på material från 17 vetenskapliga artiklar. Materialet analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Byggnadens layout, som storlek på boendet och planlösning påverkade bland annat engagemang hos personer med demenssjukdom. Sovrum i direkt anslutning till matsalsdelen främjade engagemang. Det påverkade också orienteringsförmågan hos de demenssjuka då boenden med raka cirkulationssystem och en öppen planlösning som var lätta att överblicka var lättare att orientera sig i. Inredningen främjade också relationer genom föremål som skapade interaktion och genom att vara välkomnande för anhöriga men också genom att anpassa ljudvolymen i gemensamma utrymmen. Att ha tillgång till trädgård och utemiljö visade sig ha en positiv inverkan på patienter med demenssjukdom och hos de som hade utåtagerande beteende. Där har man sett att bland annat agitation och oro har minskat. När demenssjuka har fått uppgifter att utföra i trädgården har de minskat sina nivåer av depression och därmed ökat sin livskvalitet. Slutsats: Den fysiska miljön som byggnadens layout, inredning och utemiljö påverkade personer med demenssjukdom och deras välbefinnande. Detta genom främja trygghet och säkerhet, engagemang, relationer och orienteringsförmåga. Att skapa en känsla av hemlikhet och främja privatliv och funktionsförmågor. / Background: Dementia is a global health priority which involves high costs for health care. Of those who living in nursing homes, almost half have dementia or dementia symptoms. Aim: The aim with this review is to compile research about what in the environment that affects the well-being of people with dementia and thus increase knowledge about how well-being can be created through the physical environment. Method: The study is based on 17 scientific articles. The material was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: The layout of the building, like the size of the accommodation and the planning solutions affected, among other things, relationships and engagement to people with dementia. The bedroom directly adjacent to the dining area promoted commitment. It also affected the orientation ability, when the accommodations had straight circulation systems and an open plan solution that was easy to overlook and easier to orientate. Having access to the garden and outdoor environment has been shown to have a positive impact on patients with dementia which had an outwardly acting behavior. There it had been seen that agitation and anxiety has decreased. When persons with dementia have been given tasks to perform in the garden they have reduced their levels of depression and thus raised their quality of life. Conclusion: The physical environment like the layout of the building, the interior and outdoor environment affected persons with dementia and their well-being.

How might interior environments play a role in promoting life long well being? According to Passarino, et al., genetic variety only accounts for about 25% of the variation of human longevity. A combination of diet, environment and exercise comprise the greatest factors. The amount of time Americans spend indoors presents a challenge to increasing physical activity: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that Americans spend 93% of their lives indoors (Roberts, 2016). Therefore, if physical activity is crucial to living longer, the design of interior environments could logically be a critical factor in promoting natural movement and sustaining lifelong well-being. National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner identified five “Blue Zones” throughout the world where people naturally live longer: Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan; Oligastra Region, Sardinia; Loma Linda, California; and Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. These regions have unusually high concentrations of centenarians who had grown old without noticeable signs of heart disease, obesity, cancer or diabetes (Buettner, 2015). Buettner identified nine common principles that universally characterize well-being in the Blue Zones. The first, and most crucial to design in the built environment, is to “move naturally.” Healthy centenarians, Buettner says, “live in environments that constantly nudge them into moving” (Buettner, 2015). This research will seek to translate Blue Zone principles aimed at promoting continued well-being through natural movement that can inform principles for the creation of interior environments. RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES Further analysis of Blue Zones principles will address specific conditions and behaviors that encourage natural movement. A literature review and case studies will be presented that show a correlation between natural movement within the built environment and measurable increases in healthy outcomes. The example projects include La Maison de Verre, Paris, France; L’Unité d’Habitation à Marseille, France; and Tea House, Bethesda, Maryland. Interior design that encourages regular natural movement occurs primarily in the design of a building’s major circulation systems and its program (Center for Active Design, 2010). Corridors, elevators and lobbies that connect other spaces in the program encourage walking. Elements like stairs, bicycle storage and furniture that produces micro-movement promote activity when they are visible, safe and attractive. Programmed spaces that encourage physical activity like dance/movement studios and those that promote healthy diets also lead to increases in healthy behaviors, which ultimately lead to increased longevity. Using these guides, a building in Richmond, Virginia will be redesigned as a micro-Blue Zone that could be used as a model for promoting increased life long well being. This two-level adaptive reuse, mixed use commercial project will address vertical transitions, social spaces and outdoor relationships that encourage residents and visitors to move throughout the day.

This thesis comprises four chapters, in two parts. The first part examines the result of a Swedish payroll tax reduction; first from the perspective of the worker, then from that of the employer. The second half of the thesis concerns subjective well-being, both from an individual and from an aggregate viewpoint. Payroll Taxes and Youth Labor Demand. In 2007, the Swedish payroll tax was reduced substantially for young workers. This paper examines whether targeted payroll tax reductions are effective in raising youth employment. We estimate a small impact, both on employment and on wages. However, the effect differs markedly across ages, with 4–5 times higher impact on 22–23 year-olds compared to 25-year-olds. Additionally, the employment effects are strongly procyclical, approaching zero in the deep recession. We calculate that the estimated cost per created job is more than four times that of directly hiring workers at the average wage. Payroll Taxes and Firm Performance. The Swedish payroll tax reform of 2007 had the effect that firms' average social fees came to depend on the age structure of their employees. This makes it possible to estimate how firms respond to shocks in labor costs. We find a significant, but very small effect on gross investments, and a negative, but not statistically significant, impact on labor productivity. There are no effects on exit rates or profitability. Beyond Income: The Importance for Life Satisfaction of Having Access to a Cash Margin. We study how life satisfaction among adult Swedes is influenced by having access to a cash margin, i.e. a moderate amount of money that could be acquired on short notice either through own savings, by loan from family or friends, or by other means. We find that cash margin is a strong and robust predictor of life satisfaction, also when controlling for individual fixed-effects and socio-economic conditions, including income. This suggests that cash margin captures something beyond wealth. On Aggregating Subjective Well-Being. This paper discusses the assumptions underlying the aggregation of individually measured well-being. Any aggregation method is associated with measurability assumptions regarding the underlying well-being measure, as well as moral philosophical assumptions with respect to how individual well-being is weighted into a composite metric. I compare welfare across a set of countries, under alternative aggregation methods, and find that countries often can be ranked under comparatively weak measurement assumptions, and, equally important, that aggregation methods can be chosen so as to refrain from strong ethical preconceptions.

Magistro darbas: „Dirbančių suaugusiųjų subjektyvios gerovės, asmenybės bruožų ir savęs vertinimo sąsajos“. Darbo tikslas: ištirti sąsajas tarp dirbančiųjų subjektyvios gerovės, asmenybės bruožų ir savęs vertinimo. Pradžioje keliama hipotezė, kad dirbančiųjų subjektyvi gerovė, asmenybės bruožai ir savęs vertinimas yra susiję. Tikslui pasiekti buvo iškelti šie uždaviniai: įvertinti tiriamųjų subjektyvios gerovės, asmenybės bruožų ir savęs vertinimo ypatumus; palyginti tiriamųjų subjektyvios gerovės įverčius pagal: lyties, amžiaus, išsilavinimo, šeimyninės padėties, vaikų turėjimo, gaunamų pajamų, darbo pobūdžio aspektus; nustatyti sąsajas tarp tiriamųjų subjektyvios gerovės ir asmenybės bruožų; nustatyti sąsajas tarp tiriamųjų subjektyvios gerovės ir savęs vertinimo; nustatyti sąsajas tarp tiriamųjų asmenybės bruožų ir savęs vertinimo. Tyrimo rezultatai atskleidė, kad tyrimo grupės (dirbančiųjų) subjektyvi gerovė yra vidutinio lygio; daugumos respondentų vyraujanti asmenybės ypatybė yra sąmoningumas (kiti asmenybės bruožai: ekstraversija, sutariamumas, neurotiškumas ir atvirumas patyrimui); didžiajai tiriamųjų daugumai būdingas teigiamas savęs vertinimas. Buvo nustatyta, kad dirbančiųjų subjektyvi gerovė yra susijusi su gaunamomis pajamomis, bet nesusijusi su kitais sociodemografiniais veiksniais: lytimi, amžiumi, išsilavinimu, šeimine padėtimi, vaikų turėjimu, darbo pobūdžiu. Taip pat nustatyta, kad dirbančiųjų subjektyvi gerovė teigiamai siejosi su tokiais asmenybės bruožais... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The aim of this work is examine the connections between workers subjective well-being, personality traits and self-evaluation. In the beginning of the research was raised a hipothesis that workers’ subjective well-being, personality traits and self-evaluation are connected. To reach the aim was raised these objectives: to evaluate investigatives’ subjective well-being, personality traits and self-evaluation features; to compare investigatives’ grades of subjective well-being according to these social-demographic aspects: gender, age, education, family state, having offsprings, getting incomes, job position; to set the connections between investigatives’ subjective well-being and personality traits; to set the connections between investigatives’ subjective well-being and self-evaluation; to set the connections between investigatives’ personality traits self-evaluation. As demonstrate the results of research, investigatives’ subjective well-being is on the middle level; the majority of investigatives’ personality trait is Conscientiousness (other traits: Extraversion, Agreebleness, Neuroticism and Openess to Experience); for the vast majority of the investigatives is typical possitive self-evaluation. It was estimated, that workers‘ subjective well-being is connected with incomes, but does not connected with others social-demographic factors. It was also estimated, that investigatives’ subjective well-being was positively connected with such personality traits as Extraversion... [to full text]

This Thesis argues that the state by contracting out prison food services to private companies and then failing to enforce basic standards has abdicated their responsibility to ensure and protect the physical and mental health of prisoners. Michigan as a case studies reveals the negligence of government to hold Aramark responsible to basic standards of feeding. As a result, leading to a wide-spread case of food-borne illness. The governments unwillingness to protect the basic human rights of prisoners under the control of privately operated prison food services has negatively impacted the health and well-being of prisoners.