Journal of Happiness Studies最新文献

Character strengths were introduced into the positive psychology literature twenty years ago. The present bibliometric analysis quantitatively summarizes the research conducted in the field so far in terms of impact and themes analyzed. We conduct performance analysis to examine the total number of publications on character strengths, their bibliometric indices, the main journals contributing to the field, and the countries involved in such knowledge accumulation and how this has changed over time. We furthermore conduct science mapping analysis using the keywords of the papers. Specifically, we describe the time-varying occurrence of specific keywords and use network and thematic mapping analyses to determine the dynamic intercorrelations among the emerging research topics. Our results show the significant and growing contribution of character strengths to the positive psychology literature and beyond, but also the need for cross-fertilization with neighboring fields. We also highlight an increasing contribution from non-WEIRD countries in recent years, which calls for in-depth cross-cultural research. Topics such as measurement and well-being appear to be well-established and integrated, while there’s an emerging interest in mental health research. Overall, the present analysis illuminates on the past, present, and upcoming trends in the field.

The demands of pregnancy loss may lead to an adjustment period, which can strain couples’ sexual and relationship satisfaction. Compassion is a mental health promotion tool that may buffer the effect of negative life events, such as pregnancy loss, on well-being. Nevertheless, it is not well-understood how self-compassion or compassion felt for a partner (i.e., compassionate love) are associated with sexual and relationship satisfaction in couples coping with a recent pregnancy loss. We aimed to examine how self-compassion and compassionate love are associated with sexual and relationship satisfaction in couples after pregnancy loss in a pre-registered, cross-sectional study of couples (N = 138) who experienced a loss in the last 4 months. Using structural equation modeling and controlling for age and relationship and loss characteristics, we found no associations between either couple member’s self-compassion and their own or their partners’ sexual and relationship satisfaction. However, for individuals who were pregnant when the loss occurred, higher compassionate love was associated with their own and their partner’s greater sexual and relationship satisfaction. For individuals who were not pregnant, greater compassionate love was associated with their own higher relationship satisfaction (but not that of their partner). Fostering compassion for one’s partner may be a target for intervention post-loss to strengthen couples’ relational well-being after a pregnancy loss.

Although emotion regulation (ER) is a well-researched topic, the proactive regulation of positive emotions (conceptualized as emotion crafting—EC) grants further investigation. Recent research has shown that EC related to higher levels of life satisfaction, vitality, wellbeing, and a lower level of internalizing symptoms through positive affect. Building on this previous cross-sectional study, this research aimed to examine how changes in (planned) EC related to changes in psychological functioning. A 7-day diary study was conducted among 121 Norwegian participants (61.2% female; M_age = 29.41 years, SD = 11.80; range 18–62), where they indicated their planned EC and positive emotion goals in the morning, and reported their actual EC and psychological functioning in the evening. Data were analysed through two-level multilevel path analyses. Planned EC related positively to actual EC, while actual EC related positively to wellbeing and negatively to illbeing through positive and negative affect, both at the between-person and within-person levels. These findings were overall maintained after controlling for other ER measures and when examining lagged effects (but not when controlling for same-day outcomes). Proactively engaging in behaviours aimed at maintaining or strengthening positive emotions is beneficial for individuals’ daily psychological functioning. Future research is needed to determine the causality of the effects of EC, and whether the effects of EC can be generalised across more diverse samples.

Extensive research has explored the link between emotions and life satisfaction, yet a notable gap remains in understanding the prospective connections between teacher work-related emotions and life satisfaction during role transitions—a critical period in teacher development—and the moderating impact of emotional intelligence (EI). To address this, we used cross-lagged models to analyze the relationship between work-related emotions and life satisfaction in 357 novice teachers, from their internship through their first year of teaching, and explored the moderating role of EI in this relationship. The results indicated that positive emotions positively predicted future life satisfaction, while negative emotions had a negative effect over time. Positive emotions exhibited a stronger correlation with life satisfaction compared to negative ones. Furthermore, EI moderated these relationships: Among high-EI teachers, positive emotions predicted increased life satisfaction, which subsequently predicted fewer future negative emotions. In contrast, among low-EI teachers, negative emotions predicted lower life satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of promoting positive emotions and enhancing emotional intelligence to bolster teachers' well-being.

By adopting approaches based on social expenditures and social rights data to measure the efficacy of social policy, significant advances have been made in international comparative research on social policy and subjective well-being (SWB). However, the question of whether the levels and distribution of welfare provisions play distinctive roles in SWB has remained largely unanswered. To address this issue, the present study adopts a third approach based on benefit recipiency data to clarify the more detailed effects of three dimensions of welfare transfers, namely, transfer share, low-income targeting, and universalism, on SWB and well-being inequality stemming from income. This analysis utilizes benefit recipiency data from the Luxembourg Income Study Database, pooled data from the World Values Survey from 1981 to 2022, and linear regression with country and time fixed effects and a country fixed-effects and slopes model. Through an international comparative analysis, this study reveals that (1) transfer share is positively associated with SWB and that (2) low-income targeting diminishes well-being inequality stemming from income at the cost of SWB among rich individuals. The results of this study indicate that the levels and distribution of welfare provisions play differing roles in SWB and that low-income targeting may have unintended consequences for SWB.

Efforts to reduce work stress among frontline health workers in India, namely the rural Accredited Social Health Activists or ‘ASHAs’ (resident women, lay health workers) have predominantly emphasized on ‘extrinsic’ variables (e.g., financial incentives, or enhanced supervision), with little consideration of ‘intrinsic’ factors like the wellbeing of ASHAs themselves or building their abilities in managing work stress. ‘Character-strengths’ based positive psychological interventions have shown improvements in work wellbeing and engagement, but these findings have been largely observed in the Global North, with no experimental studies in India. This study is a pilot randomized controlled trial where rural ASHAs were allocated to receive regular supervision by their supervisors appointed by the health system (control arm), or a character-strengths based coaching intervention in addition to regular supervision (intervention arm). The intervention included a residential workshop and follow-on weekly individual telephonic coaching support. We aimed to examine the preliminary effectiveness of the intervention on happiness of ASHAs using the Authentic Happiness Inventory (primary outcome). At 3-month follow-up, ASHAs in the intervention arm showed higher total happiness scores (n = 30, Mean = 83.6; SD = 13.32) than ASHAs in the control arm (n = 31, Mean = 76.32; SD = 13.16), with a significant between-arm difference (Cohen’s d: 0.55). Secondary outcomes (e.g., burnout, motivation) showed non-significant between-arm differences at follow-up. We conducted telephone-interviews of ASHAs to gather their experiences of the intervention and used thematic analysis to assess its feasibility and acceptability. This study critically contributes to inform the ways by which rural frontline workers can use character-strengths to improve work wellbeing in low-resource settings.

Empirical happiness research clearly shows that life satisfaction depends, among other things, on relative effects. However, even where the data do not permit any inferences regarding the mechanisms that give rise to relative effects, studies often claim that relative effects are the result of comparisons that individuals make between their situation and that of others. We argue that this interpretation is not always justified because it disregards existing alternative interpretations with strong empirical support and a long tradition in the literature. To structure the interpretation of relative effects, we propose a model that distinguishes between the relative effects that influence aspirations and those that influence capabilities (i.e., the objective opportunities available to a person). We show where a number of relative effects fall into place in this model and we discuss the significance of our model for life satisfaction research.

The current study examined the intervention effects of a culturally tailored positive psychological intervention on the well-being profiles of Hispanics/Latinos with uncontrolled hypertension. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups (N = 96), either the ¡Alégrate! ("Get Happy!") positive psychological intervention arm (N = 51) or a wait-list control group (N = 45). The intervention consisted of eight weekly in-person sessions, facilitated by a licensed psychologist or social worker, aimed at improving positive affect and overall psychological well-being. Outcome measures of well-being included dispositional optimism, positive affect, life meaning and purpose, emotional vitality, and engagement in happiness-inducing behaviors. The analysis utilized independent two-sample t tests and intention-to-treat multivariable linear regression methods. There were no significant baseline differences in psychological well-being scores between the intervention and wait-list control groups. Half of the participants were female, with a mean age of 57.9 years, and 90.6% reported Mexican heritage. In regression analyses examining between-group differences, the ¡Alégrate! positive psychological intervention led to significant improvements in optimism (β = 1.23, p = 0.011) and engagement in happiness-inducing behavior (β = 14.98, p = 0.005) from baseline to post-intervention, while no such changes were seen in the wait-list control arm. Findings suggest that the strengths-based ¡Alégrate! positive psychological intervention effectively enhanced well-being measures in Hispanics/Latinos with uncontrolled hypertension, providing a promising approach to address mental health disparities in this underserved group. Future research should examine long-term impacts of the intervention in a larger and more heterogeneous sample of Hispanics/Latinos, considering factors such as acculturation, country of origin, and other culturally relevant variables.

Gender equality has been found to positively affect life satisfaction. However, the reason why gender equality affects life satisfaction remains relatively unexplored. In this paper, we hypothesize three mediators for this relationship: individual autonomy, income per capita, and generalized trust. All three variables have been found to positively affect life satisfaction. We argue that each mediator may, in turn, depend positively on gender equality, suggesting that individual autonomy, income per capita, and generalized trust positively mediate the relationship between gender equality and life satisfaction. Using a sample of 81 countries from 1990 to 2020, we find that individual autonomy and income per capita are important channels that together explain 98% of the total relationship between gender equality and life satisfaction. While the mediation effect of individual autonomy is robust, the significance of income per capita is less consistent when using alternative estimation techniques. For generalized trust we do not find evidence of mediation.

Thought control ability (TCA) refers to the ability to control unwanted thoughts, which is important for mental health and well-being. Previous studies indicated that TCA has a beneficial influence on happiness, but the underlying neural mechanisms of their relationship were poorly understood. The present study used the connectome-based predictive modelling (CPM) approach to examine the shared neural basis between TCA and happiness. The positive correlation between TCA and happiness was initially demonstrated in the behavior analysis. Results from the two CPM analyses (using TCA-related connectome to predict individuals’ happiness and using happiness-related connectome to predict individuals’ TCA) revealed the common and distinct neural connectomes between TCA and happiness. Specifically, the common neural connectomes between TCA and happiness exist at the network level, which involves the connections between the frontal-parietal network and the limbic lobe. In contrast, at the individual edge level, the TCA-related connectome was more concentrated in the posterior brain with key nodes in the ITG and precuneus, which were associated with self-referential processing and negative coping. Whereas the happiness-related was more concentrated in the anterior brain with key nodes in the insula, OFC, and SFG, which were associated with cognitive control and emotional regulation. Collectively, our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the TCA-happiness relationship, providing valuable insights for future research in promoting well-being through enhancing thought control ability.