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Energy poverty, children's wellbeing and the mediating role of academic performance : evidence from China

- Zhang, Quanda, Appau, Samuelson, Kodom, Peter

  • Authors: Zhang, Quanda , Appau, Samuelson , Kodom, Peter
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Energy Economics Vol. 97, no. (2021), p.
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  • Description: Using data from the China Family Panel Studies, we examine the effects of energy poverty on children's subjective wellbeing. We find that energy poverty reduces children's subjective wellbeing: a standard deviation increase in energy poverty is associated with 0.353 standard deviation decrease in subjective wellbeing. This general conclusion is robust to alternative ways of measuring subjective wellbeing and energy poverty, a suite of estimation techniques, and other sensitivity checks. Additionally, we find that academic performance is an important channel through which energy poverty lowers children's subjective wellbeing. Our findings point out the need to involve children both in household practices and policy decisions that seek to address energy poverty, especially when it pertains to the children's wellbeing. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.

How to be happy by calling for change : Constructs of happiness and meaningfulness among social movement activists

- Mills, Alice, Smith, Jeremy

  • Authors: Mills, Alice , Smith, Jeremy
  • Date: 2008
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Qualitative Report Vol. 13, no. 3 (2008), p. 432-455
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  • Description: This paper focuses on how social movement activists view happiness in relation to their political involvement. Interviewers asked activists questions about their personal histories and feelings. The phenomenological strategy involved focused on interviews with subjects who could speak richly about their commitments and emotions. The data from the 11 subjects revealed that there was no simple relationship between a commitment to social activism and subjects experiences of happiness. Several subjects oriented their responses to the relationship between meaningfulness, activism, and happiness. In discussion of the analyzed data, the authors suggest that a relationship is evident between the positions articulated by interviewees and their levels of engagement in and withdrawal from activism.

Relating with God contributes to variance in happiness, over that from personality and age

- Fisher, John

  • Authors: Fisher, John
  • Date: 2013
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Religions Vol. 4, no. 3 (2013), p. 313-324
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  • Description: A previous study on university students reported that personal, communal, and environmental spiritual well-being contributed to happiness over and above personality but that relating with God did not. In this study, happiness was assessed using a modified Oxford Happiness Inventory. Personality scores were obtained using forms of Eysenck’s Personality Questionnaire. Four domains of spiritual well-being were determined using Fisher’s Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire. Relationship with God was reflected by the Transcendental domain of spiritual well-being in this instrument. Studies with 466 university students from Australia, Northern Ireland, and England, 494 people attending churches in Ballarat, and 1002 secondary school students in Victoria showed that relating with God accounts for variance on happiness, over and above personality, and age.

Associations of the initial Covid-19 lockdown on self-reported happiness and worry about developing loneliness : a cross-sectional analysis of rural, regional, and urban Australian communities

- Isaac, Vivian, Cheng, Teresa, Townsin, Louise, Assareh, Hassan, Li, Amy, McLachlan, Craig

  • Authors: Isaac, Vivian , Cheng, Teresa , Townsin, Louise , Assareh, Hassan , Li, Amy , McLachlan, Craig
  • Date: 2021
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Vol. 18, no. 18 (2021), p.
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  • Description: Australia adopted hard lockdown measures to eliminate community transmission of COVID-19. Lockdown imposes periods of social isolation that contributes to increased levels of stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, and worry. We examined whether lockdowns have similar psychosocial associations across rural and urban areas and whether associations existed between happiness and worry of loneliness in the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Data were collected using the “COVID-19 Living Survey” between 13 and 20 May 2020 by BehaviourWorks Australia at the Monash Sustainable Development Institute. The mean self-reported feeling of happiness and anxiousness (N = 1593), on a 10-point Likert scale with 0 being least happy or highly anxious, was 6.5 (SD = 2.4) and 3.9 (2.9), respectively. Factors associated with happiness were older age and having a postgraduate education. Participants worried about becoming lonely also exhibited reduced happiness (estimate = −1.58, 95%CI = −1.84–−1.32) and higher anxiousness (2.22, 1.93–2.51) scores, and these conditions remained associated after adjusting for demographics. Interestingly, worry about loneliness was greater in rural areas than in urban communities. The negative impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on rural youth and those less-educated was evident. Participants in rural Australia who were worried about becoming lonely were reportedly less happy than participants in major cities. This dataset provides a better understanding of factors that influence psychological well-being and quality of life in the Australian population and helps to determine whether happiness may be an associative factor that could mitigate self-feelings of anxiety and worry about loneliness. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

A randomised controlled trial of a self-guided internet intervention promoting well-being

- Mitchell, Joanna, Stanimirovic, Rosanna, Klein, Britt, Vella-Brodrick, Dianne

  • Authors: Mitchell, Joanna , Stanimirovic, Rosanna , Klein, Britt , Vella-Brodrick, Dianne
  • Date: 2009
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Computers in Human Behavior Vol. 25, no. 3 (2009), p. 749-760
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  • Description: Positive psychology is paving the way for interventions that enduringly enhance well-being and the internet offers the potential to disseminate these interventions to a broad audience in an accessible and sustainable manner. There is now sufficient evidence demonstrating the efficacy of internet interventions for mental illness treatment and prevention, but little is known about enhancing well-being. The current study examined the efficacy of a positive psychology internet-based intervention by adopting a randomised controlled trial design to compare a strengths intervention, a problem solving intervention and a placebo control. Participants (n = 160) completed measures of well-being (PWI-A, SWLS, PANAS, OTH) and mental illness (DASS-21) at pre-assessment, post-assessment and 3-month follow-up. Well-being increased for the strengths group at post- and follow-up assessment on the PWI-A, but not the SWLS or PANAS. Significant changes were detected on the OTH subscales of engagement and pleasure. No changes in mental illness were detected by group or time. Attrition from the study was 83% at 3-month follow-up, with significant group differences in adherence to the intervention: strengths (34%), problem solving (15.5%) and placebo control (42.6%). Although the results are mixed, it appears possible to enhance the cognitive component of well-being via a self-guided internet intervention. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

When the pursuit of happiness backfires : the role of negative emotion valuation

- Humphrey, Ashley, Szoka, Rebecca, Bastian, Brock

  • Authors: Humphrey, Ashley , Szoka, Rebecca , Bastian, Brock
  • Date: 2022
  • Type: Text , Journal article
  • Relation: Journal of Positive Psychology Vol. 17, no. 5 (2022), p. 611-619
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  • Description: Recent research has uncovered a downside to the pursuit of happiness; placing a high value on happiness can ironically lead to lower well-being. Not all approaches have this effect, however, and individuals who seek positivity within their day-to-day routines may experience higher well-being. The current research investigated whether the difference between these two approaches (valuing happiness vs. prioritizing positivity) exists in how people orient towards their negative emotions. Across two studies (n = 496) we find that feeling pressured to avoid feeling anxious or depressed partially mediated the relationship between valuing happiness and decreased well-being, but this was not the case for prioritizing positivity. The findings suggest the negative well-being effects of placing a high value on happiness may be partially explained by a related tendency to devalue negative emotions, providing evidence for a mechanism through which the pursuit of happiness can become detrimental. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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