Applied psychology. Health and well-being最新文献

Despite rigorous theoretical and clinical training, nursing students face emotional and academic challenges that can harm their well-being. Nonetheless, there is a dearth of research investigating the impact of laughter yoga (LY) on nursing students' well-being, perceived stress, and self-efficacy. The aim of this single-blinded, two-armed randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effect of LY on nursing students' well-being, perceived stress, and academic self-efficacy (ASE). A total of five sessions of LY were applied to the intervention group. The analysis included a total of 83 nursing students (intervention group n = 41 and control group n = 42). Repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and paired-samples t-test were used for data analysis. Results revealed that the intervention group showed a significant increase in well-being (p < .001) and a decrease in perceived stress after LY (p < .01). However, statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups were not found in well-being, perceived stress, and ASE (p > .05). These results indicate the potential effects of LY on the students' well-being and perceived stress. Community mental health nurses and educators can use LY to improve well-being in universities.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global health crisis and a significant increase in psychological distress and psychopathological symptoms. We conducted a randomized controlled trial with two online interventions derived from positive psychology (PP) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) in N = 138 "homestayers" during the first lock-down period in Germany. PP exercises had a positive impact on anxiety scores, which decreased significantly during the intervention, particularly in participants without access to a garden. Direct or indirect social contact, movement/exercise, and exposure to nature were the most frequently reported helpful coping strategies. We conclude that low-threshold online interventions with a focus on positive aspects of people's lives may be helpful to support mental health during pandemic crises. From a mental health perspective, the results also reinforce the approach of countries that allow their citizens to, for example, still go for walks during periods of contact restrictions, compared to full lock-down conditions.

Previous research has found that self-compassion enhances well-being outcomes such as happiness and meaning in life. However, little is known about the link between self-compassion and psychological richness, a recently introduced concept of well-being. Thus, an exploration of the relationship between self-compassion and psychological richness is necessary to gain a comprehensive understanding of the association between self-compassion and well-being. To address this issue, this study investigated the temporal directionality of their relationship within a cohort of Chinese college students, utilizing a two-wave longitudinal approach. Using a cross-lagged model, the results revealed that the self-compassion could predict psychological richness 3 months later, and conversely, psychological richness could also predict subsequent self-compassion. This research provides new insights into the bidirectional relationship between self-compassion and psychological richness, broadening our understanding of the association between self-compassion and well-being. Future interventions should focus on the important effect of self-compassion interventions in the development of psychological richness. In addition, future research could consider interventions on increasing psychological richness to improve the level of self-compassion among college students.

Although an increasing number of people are now committed to pursuing a healthy diet, it remains unclear how mental health changes during this process. The present study aimed to examine the combined effect of healthy dietary intention and behavior on depression and anxiety across two sub-studies. This study consisted of two parts: a cross-sectional survey (Study 1) involving 1,433 college students and an 11-day daily diary study (Study 2) with 117 college students. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis indicated that in cases of congruence, individuals' intention and behavior align at a high level and were associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety in the motivational phase but were not found similar association in the volitional phase. In cases of incongruence, individuals with high intention-low behavior tend to experience lower levels of depression and anxiety in the motivational phase. However, individuals with high intention-low behavior tend to experience higher levels of depression and anxiety in the volitional phase. These findings not only enrich the current understanding of diet and health but also contribute to the development of holistic strategies for promoting a healthy diet.

Parent-child relationships play a crucial role in shaping adolescent depression. However, existing research has predominantly focused on isolated time points when examining the impact of parent-child relationship quality, overlooking the effect of parent-child relationship changes on depression. Using a four-wave longitudinal study of 951 adolescents, the current study investigated the impact of parent-child relationship quality and its changes on adolescent depression, while also examining the moderating role of interpersonal sensitivity and potential gender differences in these moderation patterns. Herein, we report that higher parent-child relationship quality is associated with lower levels of adolescent depression, while parent-child relationship changes are linked to higher depression. Interpersonal sensitivity moderates the association between parent-child relationship quality, relationship changes, and depression, with the moderation varying by gender. Specifically, in males with high interpersonal sensitivity, parent-child relationships negatively predict depression, while relationship fluctuations positively predict depression. In females with high interpersonal sensitivity, a rapid decline in the quality of the parent-child relationship seems to be associated with an increase in depression. The present study highlights the impact and mechanisms of parent-child relationship quality and its effects on depression, and provides a reference for the intervention of depression based on parent-child relationship changes.

Health assessments have long been a significant research topic within the field of health psychology. By analyzing the results of subject scales, these assessments effectively evaluate physical and mental health status. Traditional methods, based on statistical analysis, are limited in accuracy due to their reliance on linear scoring methods. Meanwhile, machine learning approaches, despite their potential, have not been widely adopted due to their poor interpretability and dependence on large amounts of training data. Recently, large language models (LLMs) have gained widespread attention for their powerful natural language understanding capabilities, offering a viable solution to these issues. This study investigates the application of LLMs in enhancing physical and mental health assessments, introducing ScaleLLM. ScaleLLM employs language and knowledge alignment to turn LLMs into expert evaluators for health psychology scales. Experimental results indicate that ScaleLLM can improve the accuracy and interpretability of health assessments.

Habit is a key psychological determinant for physical activity behavior change and maintenance. This study aims to deepen the understanding of habit formation in physical activity and identify promotion strategies. We examined the habit formation trajectory and its relationships with cue-behavior repetition (a cue-triggered 15-minute brisk walk) and unconditional physical activity (daily steps). We also tested whether the behavior change techniques (BCTs) 'commitment' and 'prompts and cues' promote habit, cue-behavior repetition, and daily steps within persons. This micro-randomized trial included a 7-day preparatory and a 105-day experimental phase delivered via the HabitWalk app. Participants (N = 24) had a 50% probability of receiving each BCT daily, leading to four conditions. Habit strength was assessed daily using the Self-Report Behavioral Automaticity Index, while cue-behavior repetition and steps were measured via an activity tracker. Person-specific growth functions indicated that habit strength trajectories were highly idiosyncratic. Multilevel models indicated a positive effect of cue-behavior repetition on habit strength, but not vice versa. The effect of habit strength on daily steps varied by the operationalization of cue-behavior repetition. Tentative findings suggest that commitment and prompts and cues are effective habit-promotion strategies when delivered together.

This study aimed to examine profiles of subjective well-being (SWB) and their stability during the economic hardships associated with the long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Selected sociodemographic, personality, and context-related variables were tested as covariates. Data were collected from 1755 participants (mean age 45.75 ± 15.99 years) in a nationwide panel over four waves (from November 2022 to June 2023; 34.3% dropout rate). SWB was measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, while personality traits were assessed with the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. Latent profile and transition analyses identified four SWB profiles (ambivalent, average, low, high) that remained stable over 8 months despite a significant drop in the inflation rate. Subjectively evaluated financial situation and the perceived impact of inflation on the household were significant covariates of profile membership, even after controlling for personality traits. The results of this study support the set-point theory of SWB and suggest that SWB is stable under socially shared circumstances of economic hardships, which may be attributed to both individual-level and country-level processes.

People with significant health anxiety may experience brain-gut dysregulation, leading to increased visceral sensitivity and greater gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. Positive affect (PA), on the other hand, may serve as a protective characteristic, buffering the negative impact of health anxiety on GI symptoms. This study investigated interrelationships between health anxiety, PA, and GI symptoms. Longitudinal data were collected on health anxiety, PA, and GI symptoms via an online survey from 861 adults at two timepoints, 4 weeks apart. Regression models were conducted to examine the moderating effect of PA at baseline on future GI symptoms. Greater health anxiety at baseline predicted GI symptoms at follow-up, whereas higher levels of PA predicted reduced GI symptoms at follow-up. Post hoc testing revealed that PA significantly moderated the relationship between health anxiety and GI symptoms over time, such that higher levels of PA attenuated the effect of health anxiety on belly pain, nausea and vomiting, and reflux at follow-up. This study provides preliminary evidence PA may buffer the negative impact of health anxiety on GI symptoms. Future studies should explore whether the promotion of PA through interventions similarly attenuates health related anxiety's impact on GI symptoms.

Interventions often fail to achieve long-term behavioral maintenance. Utilizing motivational and volitional strategies to promote behavioral maintenance factors may improve this. Using a full-factorial experiment, we tested the effects of three intervention components (focused on intrinsic motivation and identity, exercise preparation habit, and exercise instigation habit) on exercise participation over a year, among new users (N = 751; 91% identifying as female, 54% identifying as White race) of a global, online exercise class platform, run by Les Mills International Ltd, called LM+. We also tested the intervention components' theoretical mechanisms of action-habit formation, intrinsic motivation, identity, and self-efficacy. Multi-level models found some support for a main effect of the exercise preparation habit intervention component in promoting self-reported and objective exercise participation (behavioral outcomes measured via monthly surveys and the LM+ platform; mechanisms measured via monthly surveys)-in particular online exercise class frequency (fixed effect estimate = 0.84, p < 0.05, and = 0.12, p < 0.05, respectively). The preparation habit component also significantly increased preparation habit strength (0.30, p < 0.05) and instigation habit strength (0.33, p < 0.05). Other expected effects were nonsignificant. Helping individuals form an exercise preparation habit may facilitate initiating and maintaining exercise over time, in particular for attending online exercise classes, potentially through promoting greater preparation and exercise instigation habit strength.