Applied Research in Quality of Life最新文献

The mechanisms between inequality and well-being are not fully known. There is a body of knowledge assuming personal information on the social environment can be important here. In this article, we consider this perception of society (POS) as a mediator between income inequality and life satisfaction. Our research questions are: 1) How are various measures of income inequality associated with life satisfaction, and 2) does the POS mediate the effect of inequality on life satisfaction? The individual-level data come from the European Social Survey 2008 (N = 56,752) and the macro-level data from OECD and World Bank. We use a comprehensive and psychometrically valid measure of the POS to capture individuals' full societal perceptions. The data is analysed with a multilevel linear regression and the mediation effect is tested with a Sobel test. The results reveal significant differences between indicators of income inequality in their ability to predict life satisfaction. Moreover, POS is strongly associated with life satisfaction and mediates the association of income inequality on life satisfaction. In addition, we observed the so-called ‘saturation effect.’ The effect of POS depends on objective conditions—the better the society, the smaller the effect.

We aimed to investigate whether the dialogue tools My Positive Health (MPH) and Individual Recovery Outcomes Counter (I.ROC) tools were useful for quantitively measuring the positive health construct for monitoring and scientific purposes as well. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in a representative general Dutch population (the LISS panel) to investigate factor structures and internal consistency from the 42-items MPH and 12-items I.ROC. After randomly splitting the dataset, principal component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were applied. Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficient between both tools’ total scores were calculated. 2,457 participants completed the questionnaires. A six-factor structure was extracted for MPH (PH42) and a two-factor structure for I.ROC (I.ROC12). Explained variances were 68.1% and 56.1%, respectively. CFA resulted in good fit indices. Cronbach’s alphas were between 0.74 to 0.97 (PH42) and 0.73 to 0.87 (I.ROC12). Pearson correlation between the total scores was 0.8 and Spearman correlation was 0.77. Both PH42 and I.ROC12 are useful to quantitatively measure positive health aspects which can be summarised in sum scores. The dimensions found in this study and the corresponding item division differed from the dimensions of the original dialogue tools. Further research is recommended focussing on item reduction for PH42, factor structure of I.ROC, assessment of construct validity (in a general population) and response scales in more depth.

Many studies have noted the close relationship between the government and people’s life satisfaction. However, little literature has paid attention to the role of government stereotypes. This research fills this gap using two large samples of Chinese residents. In the first-phase study, we explored the content and structure of government stereotypes with a data-driven approach. We found that the content of government stereotypes consisted of four clusters: positive evaluations, negative evaluations, things about government duties, and things about the government system. Further, the content of government stereotypes could be distinguished based on two orthogonal dimensions: the valence (negative vs. positive) and the degree of generality (particularized vs. generalized). In the second-phase study, we examined how various dimensions of government stereotypes were related to life satisfaction. We found that people with more positive government stereotypes were more satisfied with life. This association was more potent when government stereotypes were more generalized (i.e., a good government at a higher construal level) than particularized (i.e., a government that does good at a lower construal level). Both studies of this research were repeatable within the two large samples. This research provided a new perspective for the literature on the relationship between government and life satisfaction and the interventions to improve life satisfaction.

Self-compassion refers to a positive and friendly self-attitude when facing setbacks. A growing body of published work provides evidence that self-compassion contributes to adolescents’ psychological well-being robustly. However, due to divergence of self-compassion’s structure, there has been little discussion about the how self-compassion develops and about the way to improve adolescents’ self-compassion. This study examined whether and how self-compassion components would associate with each other longitudinally during adolescence, which may provide insights for improving adolescents’ self-compassion accordingly. Using a two-wave longitudinal design, a relatively large sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 603; M_age = 15.33, SD_age = 0.53) was measured annually at two-time points. We utilized the cross-lagged panel network (CLPN) model to investigate the structure of self-compassion, namely, the underlying relationships among each self-compassion component inside. The CLPN model suggested that self-compassion is an interactive and synergistic system. In addition, the results emphasized the difference between males and females, suggesting that developing self-kindness may elevate adolescent males’ self-compassion, while for adolescent females, nourishing mindfulness and self-kindness simultaneously may be better for their self-compassion. Also, common humanity should pay more attention to boys and girls due to its positive association with uncompassionate components. This study enriches the understanding of the construct of self-compassion. Also, the current study refers to the variance between male and female adolescents in self-compassion and underlines the importance of self-kindness for males and mindfulness for females.

Purpose

The objectives were to 1) systematically evaluate the Minnesota Long-Stay Resident Quality of Life (QoL) Survey based on validity, reliability, parsimony, relevance, and ability to discriminate facility performance; and 2) arrive at a new version of the survey and composite scoring approach.

Methods

Data consisted of Minnesota nursing home resident QoL surveys, conducted through annual face-to-face interviews in 2017 (10,007 residents, 355 facilities), 2018 (9,884 residents, 352 facilities), and 2019 (9,896 residents, 347 facilities). Validity was evaluated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha values. Parsimony and relevance were assessed using content validity, construct validity, correlation, frequency of endorsement, and percentage missing. The ability to discriminate facility performance was assessed by examining the distributions of facility QoL scores.

Results

The current domain structure has unbalanced items ranging from 4 to 9 across the eight domains; 28 items fit as well or better empirically under an alternative domain structure; and four items are redundant and could be dropped from the survey without loss of information. The current facility QoL scores do not discriminate well in facility performance because of the lack of item balance and a ceiling effect.

Conclusion

The proposed revisions result in a shorter, more balanced, more discriminating, and more valid QoL survey, while maintaining a high level of reliability. The revised survey allows the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and others who might adopt the survey, to better assess nursing facility performance on aspects of QoL that are meaningful to residents.

The role of care planning in addressing eldercare challenges has received increasing attention. However, the influence of the uncertainty triggered by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, in conjuction with significant social unrest, on family eldercare planning remains unclear. This study examines eldercare planning experiences of families in Hong Kong, focusing on the evolving changes and adaptations faced by both local residents and mainland Chinese immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2019–2020 social unrest. Through purposive sampling, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 93 local residents and 66 migrants from 2020 to 2021. Five main themes emerged: (1) increased awareness of healthcare preparation and planning during the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) residential care homes as a suboptimal choice after the COVID-19 pandemic, (3) influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial planning for eldercare, (4) distant family care after the social unrest, and (5) the need to improve remote care under border restrictions. This study contributes to the literature by examining the intersection of crisis events and eldercare planning, viewing the family as a planning unit. It also deepens the understanding of caregiving within the context of health and social crises, providing valuable insights for the development of future support systems for older adults and their caregivers in similar circumstances.

Mental health problem is a growing problem in mainland China and the situation has worsened under the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides focusing on tertiary and secondary prevention strategies, there is an urgent need to enhance the well-being of adolescents through primary prevention programs. During the pandemic, a positive youth development program entitled “Tin Ka Ping P.A.T.H.S. Program” was implemented in schools in mainland China. In 2022/23 academic year, students were invited to write a weekly diary on their experience about the program after completion of the program (N = 2,337). Qualitative evaluation showed that 98.2% of the students perceived the program was beneficial to their well-being in different domains. Specifically, students perceived the program enhanced their sense of community, school and academic adjustment, interpersonal relations (family relations and peer relations), and intrapersonal competence (including optimism, resilience, positive coping with stress, spirituality, life meaning and cherishing one’s life). In conjunction with other quantitative and qualitative evaluation findings, the triangulated findings strongly suggest Tin Ka Ping P.A.T.H.S. Program is a promising program that enhances the psychosocial competence and quality of life of adolescents.

The disparities between rural and urban students have been widely recognized in China in recent years. However, the role that school plays in reproducing this gap is not well understood. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing the impact of educational resources on the cognitive development of students with rural and urban hukou. Utilizing two waves of survey data from middle school students in the Chinese Education Panel Survey (CEPS) and employing a lagged dependent variable model, our results indicate that the cognitive development gap between rural and urban hukou students is primarily influenced by the unequal distribution of educational resources, especially disadvantaging rural hukou students. The findings suggest that public policies targeting the reduction of this educational gap should focus more on enhancing educational resources for rural students to foster their cognitive development.