Cancer, the most common cause of death in Hong King, poses marked psychological impacts through treatment into cancer survivorship. Literature indicated that internal health locus of control was associated with better psychosocial adjustment (Wang et al., 2013). Meanwhile, fatalistic view was related to avoidant coping and poor psychological adjustment (Chan, 2000). However, fatalism might have a different meaning for the Chinese (Ho et al., 2003). The present study examined the relationship of health locus of control, fate Control and subjective well-being among Chinese cancer patients. Ninety-nine cancer patients were assessed with Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, Fate Control Scale from Social Axiom Survey and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale-General during active treatment (Time 1) and with WHO-5 Well-Being Index at a six-month follow-up (Time 2). At Time 1, results indicated positive correlation between powerful others health locus of control and functional well-being. At Time 2, internal health locus of control was positively correlated with WHO-5 while social well-being at Time 1 was positively correlated with WHO-5. Implication of findings and limitations of study were discussed. / published_or_final_version / Clinical Psychology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

No description available.

The work in this thesis explores the relationship between singing and well-being. In particular, I focus on investigating the potential for group singing to promote feelings of hedonic, eudaimonic and social well-being. The theoretical evidence suggests that such is possible because music activities are structured to engage mind and body in overcoming a challenge, generating feelings of achievement and pleasure in the process. However, the empirical evidence on such effects is less conclusive, reflecting the novelty of the field. I start by developing a model capable of generating hypotheses and framing the empirical work on the relationship between group singing and well-being. In this model, I integrate a conceptualization of well-being as a multidimensional concept with a conceptualization of group singing as a challenging multifaceted activity. The model suggests that well-being is promoted by group singing through the effects this activity has on its psychological, bodily and social correlates. However, the model also accounts for possible moderating effects of situational factors and individual differences. My empirical work focus first on clarifying that group singing involves the types of experiences that can generate feelings of hedonic, eudaimonic and social well-being. I then show that singing in a group relates to long-term measures of well-being, particularly social and eudaimonic. In the short-term, group singing is also consistently related to correlates of well-being. It is shown to increase positive affect, decrease negative affect, increase feelings of achievement and connection to others. Situational factors such as the social context in which the singing occurs are shown to have a moderating effect on endocrine effects of group singing. However, gender differences do not emerge. I also show that group singing can have effects over and above those of a similar, though non-musical, group activity. Overall, the evidence suggests a meaningful relationship between group singing and well-being.

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among vulnerability, self-transcendence, and well-being in Japanese hospitalized elders. With their declining functional health and diminishing social network, elderly people are considered as a vulnerable population, which require special care and attention in the field of nursing. Self-Transcendence is identified as one of the developmental resources that promote well-being in later adulthood during increased vulnerability; however, applicability of the concept of self-transcendence as well as its theory has never been tested in Japanese population. Thus, the current study specifically tested and refined a theoretical model of self-transcendence in Japanese elders.In this study, a nonexperimental descriptive design was used to examine relationships among the variables. A total of 105 elderly patients were recruited from 4 hospitals in Sapporo, Japan. The respondents' level of vulnerability was assessed by three aspects: vulnerability in health status, vulnerability in resource availability, and past vulnerable experience. Well-being was examined from the level of depression and life satisfaction. Besides psychosocial self-transcendence, spiritual self-transcendence from Japanese perspective was conceptualized and evaluated.Reliability testing provided adequate supports for all the study instruments. Findings of multiple regression analyses indicated mediating effects of psychosocial self-transcendence on the relationship between vulnerability in resource availability and well-being variables. Psychosocial self-transcendence also demonstrated direct effects on well-being. Spiritual self-transcendence did not show any mediating and moderating effect in the relationship between vulnerability and well-being; however, it was found to be the strongest predictor for the level of life satisfaction. In addition, the findings revealed that vulnerability in health status had a direct effect on the level of depression, but past vulnerable experience had no effect on both self-transcendence and well-being.Findings of this study provided further evidence of universality of the concept of self-transcendence and applicability of its theory to Japanese hospitalized elders. This study not only contributes to Japanese nursing research by adding the body of knowledge about self-transcendence and spirituality but also can be a basis for formulating interventions that help enhance well-being in vulnerable elderly patients.

No description available.

Bakgrund: Under senare tid har mediedebatten fokuserats kring olika dieters påverkan på viktminskning och välbefinnande. De moderna dieterna har debatterats av läkare, forskare och myndigheter, då extrema lågkolhydratsdieter innehåller alltför mycket fett vilket vissa menar kan leda till framtida folksjukdomar. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka ett begränsat antal dieters påverkan på viktminskning och välmående samt att belysa betydelsen av en helhetssyn på våra kostvanor. Metod: Denna litteraturstudie är baserad på fyra vetenskapliga artiklar som var relevanta och intressanta för syftet. Resultat: Samtliga av de artiklar som undersökte sambandet mellan olika dieter och vikt visade på en tydlig viktminskning hos alla deltagare. LCHF-dieten gav den snabbaste viktminskningen. När det gäller välmående visade samtliga i alla studiegrupper en förbättring i sitt psykologiska välbefinnande och välmående. Den undersökning som behandlade kostvanor kom fram till att det behövs en helhetssyn på skolmåltiden för att få en optimal måltidsupplevelse med tanke på elevernas hälsa och välbefinnande. Slutsats: Undersökningen visar på en tydlig viktminskning oavsett diet och att det fysiska och psykologiska välbefinnandet förbättrades, det fordras däremot ytterligare forskning för att studera de olika dieternas långsiktiga påverkan samt att det krävs en helhetssyn på våra kostvanor redan i unga år för att leva ett friskare och mer välmående liv. / B-uppsatser

Psychological well-being occurs when there is an absence of mental disorders and presence of positive states. Given the increasing prevalence of mental disorders, which are thought to have their roots in childhood, improving psychological well-being in children is currently an important area of research. Physical activity has been proposed as a method by which negative states can be reduced and positive states increased, thereby increasing children’s overall psychological well-being and in turn helping to protect against a decline into clinical disorders. Research focusing on physical activity and psychological well-being has mainly used self- reported measurements to assess physical activity, a method which leads to considerable non-differential misclassification that in turn will attenuate associations between physical activity and psychological wellbeing. Few studies have employed more precise, objective measures such as accelerometry. Despite providing a more precise measure of physical activity, a number of limitations are present with the use of accelerometry, specifically concerning the data reduction processes. Various decisions made when handling accelerometer data can result in misclassification of time spent in different intensities of physical activity and can introduce selection bias. The present thesis aims to address how the decisions made during data reduction can affect estimates of physical activity prevalence and alter the observed relationships between physical activity and psychological well-being in children. The first study of this thesis assessed the misclassification of activity intensities occurring as a result of the use of various accelerometer cut-points and the resulting variation in relationships between physical activity and psychological well-being that occurs. Results showed that the use of different cut-points to determine physical activity intensity alters the magnitude of the relationship between physical activity and psychological well-being; relationships were attenuated, with some becoming non-significant. The second study addressed the issue of children’s compliance with wear time requirements over multiple time points; compliance with wear time decreased over time, whilst inclusion and exclusion rules based on minimum wear times introduced selection bias. The use of more lenient wear time criteria, to reduce selection bias, introduced misclassification of physical activity intensities. Further, longitudinal relationships between physical activity and psychological well-being differed depending upon the wear time criteria employed. The third study aimed to address whether compliance, and in turn selection bias would systematically differ between groups of a trial of a physical activity intervention, and whether this would alter the results of the intervention itself. Results showed that compliance varied across trial condition, that selection bias with groups was different for each condition and that non-compliance hindered the exploration of the mediating effect of physical activity on psychological well-being. Study four involved the validation and calibration of a new wrist worn, waterproof physical activity monitor more compatible with 24 hour wear, thus potentially overcoming the compliance problems noted in the earlier studies. Results showed good concurrent and criterion validity, with high classification accuracy for the cut-points created. The final study assessed the acceptability and compliance with 24 hour wear in children and allowed a detailed examination of the underestimation of time spent in PA intensities that occurs from capturing shorter and different periods of the day. Results showed large misclassification with 10 hour capture periods relative to complete observation, with time in activity intensities varying across different periods of the day. The results of this thesis demonstrate that substantial selection bias and misclassification of time in activity intensities can be introduced through the decisions made during the processing of raw accelerometry data. Furthermore, this error alters the relationships between physical activity and psychological well-being. The results indicate that the true relationship between physical activity and psychological well-being in children may still be unknown, with researchers reporting relationships and effects only relevant to the measurement methods and data reduction processes they have employed. A method of overcoming selection bias and reducing misclassification is through 24 hour wear, which through the design of new accelerometers is now possible. Future studies should use monitors compatible with and acceptable for complete observation. This would result in more precise estimates of time spent in physical activity intensities and less selection bias. Both of these improvements would greatly increase our understanding of the relationship between physical activity and psychological well-being in children.

Research has only recently begun to examine how individuals can be mentally healthy as opposed to simply showing the absence of distress. One way of defining mental wellness, Psychological Well-Being (PWB; Ryff, 1989), encompasses six dimensions of positive functioning. Cognitions relating to the future are a key element of well-being and are particularly relevant in the late adolescent developmental stage. The study's first aim was to examine how the positive and negative events adolescents anticipate in the future are seen as being implicated in various aspects of their well-being. The second aim was to examine the relationship between PWB self-report scores and levels of anxiety and depression. Sixth form students completed a task which elicited positive and negative events they were anticipating in the future and their thoughts about what was good or bad about those events. They also completed a measure of anxiety and depression and self-report scales of PWB. Open-ended responses about the consequences of the events (what was good or bad about them) were independently coded for the presence of the six PWB dimensions. Environmental Mastery was the most salient aspect of PWB present when participants discussed the consequences of both positive and negative events. The frequency of PWB dimensions present in adolescents' responses was similar between those with high and low levels of anxiety and depression, except those with high levels expressed significantly more responses related to Positive Relations with Others. On the self-report measures Positive Relations and Self-Acceptance showed unique relationships to depression scores, and Environmental Mastery and Self-Acceptance showed unique relationships to anxiety scores. The findings have implications for developing prevention strategies focusing on strengthening these aspects of PWB in the hope of protecting vulnerable people from future distress.

There are several psychosocial factors that can affect an individual diagnosed with cancer (Holland, 2003), and directly addressing these issues with patients is important for their overall care and quality of life (Holland, 1998). The practice of psycho-oncology has been designed to assess these psychosocial issues with patients and their caregivers by means of outlets such as support groups to facilitate a wellness model of care (Myers & Sweeney, 2008). Using the demographics of age and sex, I plan to analyze and identify what psychosocial needs are significant to individuals diagnosed with cancer, and compare the sex and age of two significantly represented patient age groups 18-40 and 41-80 years old. I will survey the patients of Tulane Cancer Center in New Orleans, Louisiana when they arrive for medical treatment at the facility. The survey will include a demographic page, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G (Version 4), the Body Image Scale (BIS), the Changes in Sexual Functioning Questionnaire-Short Form (CSFQ-14), and additional questions regarding the extent to which an individual would attend a support group designed for their specific age and sex demographic. Through data analysis, I hope to discover whether any of the variables of body image, sexual functioning, physical well being, social/family well being, emotional well being, and functional well being show significant differences between the male or female young adult population of 18-40 year olds and those patients who are 41-80 years old. The findings should allow psycho-oncology clinicians to utilize this knowledge to address what psychosocial needs are appropriate for each age and sex group, and thus enhance the overall care of the patient.

Thesis advisor: Brian Gareau / Thesis advisor: Juliet Schor / This research seeks to understand how, if at all, access to green and open spaces impacts community well-being. Although much work has been done in the environmental justice sector on the disproportionate distribution of amenities in low-income communities, these studies have focused mainly on the negatives such as toxics and pollutants. This research is important because it seeks to understand the importance of environmental amenities that are not available to these populations. In order to understand this relationship, I conducted in-depth interviews with nine community members and observed at four green or open spaces. As a result of the above procedures, I found that green and open spaces not only have a positive impact on community well-being, but they influence personal well-being as well. Personal well-being is enhanced by activities that foster perceived mental and physical health for individuals, while community well-being has been linked to the ability to participate in social encounters with others. Although there are many other factors that inevitably provide well-being, it is important to note that all of my interviewees believed green and open spaces in their community were a prominent contributor. This research enhances the understanding of the less visible environmental injustices low-income communities suffer. I hope that this study serves as a catalyst for future research on a larger scale that will prove the importance of access to these areas. It is my hope that cities will begin to plan their parks and open spaces in ways that will benefit the most people and that areas where space is an issue will begin to create small green areas wherever possible. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.