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Abstract

This study examined the accuracy of measuring happiness by a single item (Do you feel happy in general?) answered on an 11-point scale (0-10). Its temporal stability was 0.86. The correlations between the single item and both the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI; Argyle, Martin, & Lu, 1995; Hills & Argyle, 1998) and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985; Pavot & Diener, 1993) were highly significant and positive, denoting good concurrent validity. Moreover, the single item had a good convergent validity because it was highly and positively correlated with optimism, hope, self-esteem, positive affect, extraversion, and self-ratings of both physical and mental health. Furthermore, the divergent validity of the single item has been adequately demonstrated through its significant and negative correlations with anxiety, pessimism, negative affect, and insomnia. It was concluded that measuring happiness by a single item is reliable, valid, and viable in community surveys as well as in cross-cultural comparisons.
... First, regarding the predictor, we focus on trait-like general happiness as one distinct dimension of well-being to examine whether it is predictive of cognitive function as it is for general health outcomes (Pressman & Cohen, 2005). Notably, single-item measures of happiness are not only economical and face valid to use in large cohort studies, but they also demonstrate acceptable reliability and construct validity (Abdel-Khalek, 2006;Moldovan, 2018; see Measures below). Second, regarding the outcome, we are interested in whether the known benefits of happiness for creative cognitive processes extend to other aspects of cognition. ...
... This measure is similar to commonly used single-item measures of happiness, which demonstrate high test-retest reliability (r = .86, Abdel-Khalek, 2006). They are significantly correlated with multi-item measures of happiness (e.g., Oxford Happiness Inventory, OHI; Argyle et al., 1995), suggesting high construct validity (Abdel-Khalek, 2006). ...
... Abdel-Khalek, 2006). They are significantly correlated with multi-item measures of happiness (e.g., Oxford Happiness Inventory, OHI; Argyle et al., 1995), suggesting high construct validity (Abdel-Khalek, 2006). They are also positively corelated with measures of positive affect (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, PANAS; Watson et al., 1988;r = .57), ...
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Feelings of happiness have been associated with better performance in creative and flexible thinking and processing. Less is known about whether happier individuals have better performance on basic cognitive functions and slower rate of cognitive decline. In a large sample from the UK Biobank (N = 17,885; Age 40–70 years), we examine the association between baseline happiness and cognitive function (speed of processing, visuospatial memory, reasoning) over four assessment waves spanning up to 10 years of follow-up. Greater happiness was associated with better speed and visuospatial memory performance across assessments independent of vascular or depression risk factors. Happiness was associated with worse reasoning. No association was found between happiness and the rate of change over time on any of the cognitive tasks. The cognitive benefits of happiness may extend to cognitive functions such as speed and memory but not more complex processes such as reasoning, and happiness may not be predictive of the rate of cognitive decline over time. More evidence on the association between psychological well-being and different cognitive functions is needed to shed light on potential interventional efforts.
... Positive Feelings were measured using a single item. Abdel-Khalek (2006) examined the accuracy of measuring happiness by a single item and concluded that it is reliable, valid, and viable in community surveys as well as in cross-cultural comparison. Thus, for the sake of clarity, efficiency, and to not burden our participants we simply asked: 'How are you feeling right now'. ...
... For practical reasons and because of simplicity, we asked participants how they were feeling at the moment of measurement using a single-item question. Whereas this single-item question is believed to result in reliable, valid, and viable responses (Abdel-Khalek, 2006), more elaborate questionnaires might be better suited for measuring positive feelings. Second, and despite the fact that we performed sensitivity analyses to test the robustness of our findings, a true robustness check in terms of a replication study might further strengthen our conclusions. ...
Thesis
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Although individuals play an important role in shaping their environment, they cannot always freely choose the behaviors they engage in. The consequence is that people regularly behave out of character. Based on a long psychological tradition emphasizing “being true to oneself”, it has been theorized that deviating from one’s typical behavior (i.e., acting counterdispositionally) might carry psychological costs. Yet, empirical evidence regarding this claim is mixed at best. One reason is that most of studies have examined the immediate consequences of counterdispositional behavior, neglecting that effects may unfold over time. In addition, previous research focused on isolated personality dimensions, while personality is multidimensional. This is problematic because it might be less costly if someone deviates from the baseline on only one dimension, rather than on several dimensions simultaneously. Lastly, the remarkable heterogeneity in the way that counterdispositional behavior—using different measures and procedures—has been studied may also be partly responsible for inconsistent findings. In this thesis, we aim to explore these matters and answer the question whether there are costs associated with acting out of character. In Chapter 1, we examined whether the effects of counterdispositional extraversion materialize over time, but our findings showed that this was not the case: in weeks during which participants behaved more often in a more extroverted way than typically, they experienced more positive feelings, and when they behaved more often in a more introverted way, they experienced fewer positive feelings. The second chapter showed that concurrently, higher levels of conscientiousness were related to lower levels of exhaustion and negative affect. In addition, when analyzing cumulative effects, repeated positive deviations from one’s baseline (i.e., repeatedly acting more conscientiously than typically) were associated with lower levels of depletion. Thus, on balance, these findings are in line with the “more is better” idea, according to which higher levels of extraversion and conscientiousness are beneficial, even when this goes against one’s typical behavior. In contrast, Chapter 3 showed that out of character behavior, as measured by the summed absolute deviation from one’s personality profile, was associated with decreased levels of positive affect and increased levels of negative affect. Thus, when looking at multiple personality dimensions simultaneously, counterdispositional behavior did seem to be harmful. Lastly, in Chapter 4, we revealed that also measurement strategy matters. As such, the overall conclusion of this dissertation seems to be that momentary state deviations from one’s baseline personality do relate to cognitive and affective outcomes, but not in a straightforward way.
... Although SWB includes both cognitive and affective aspects, many studies have shown that different dimensions of SWB generally yield concordant results using a single measure, notably life satisfaction (Abdel-Khalek, 2006;Lim & Putnam, 2010;Medvedev & Landhuis, 2018). Therefore, in order to make it easier for the respondents to understand our questions, the SWB was measured by asking respondents a single question: 'In general, how would you rate the current quality of your life?' with five possible ordered responses: '1 = very poor', '2 = poor', '3 = so-so', '4 = good', and '5 = very good'. ...
... Research integrating more comprehensive measures of SWB, that is, involving both affective and cognitive aspects, may better reflect the multi-dimensional nature of this concept. It should, however, here be noted that numerous studies indicate that different measures of SWB broadly yield consistent results with a single measure (Abdel-Khalek, 2006;Lim & Putnam, 2010). ...
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While previous studies have found that living arrangements and religiosity can influence the subjective well-being (SWB) of older adults, they have tended to investigate each of these aspects separately. Engaging with this gap, the current study examines the relationship between living arrangements, religious attendance, and the SWB of older adults, as well as the mediating effect of religious attendance on the relationship between the other two factors. A total of 875 older adults from 40 villages or communities in a Tibetan area in China (Gannan) were surveyed. An ordinary least square regression was used to evaluate the relationship between SWB and living arrangements and/or religious attendance. A structural equation model was then used to test the mediating role played by religious attendance in the association between living arrangements and SWB. The results showed that older adults in the selected study areas who were co-residing with their children and/or spouse had a higher level of SWB compared to those living alone. While religious attendance was positively associated with older adults’ SWB, the findings showed that living with their spouse or children decreased their frequency of attendance at religious activities. In contrast, it was found that living alone directly decreased older adults’ SWB, but increased the frequency of their participation in religious events, thus indirectly promoting their SWB. A key implication of this study is its confirmation that religious attendance plays an important mediating role in the relationship between living arrangements and SWB.
... Importantly, we chose to use single-item questions because it reduces respondent burden (Fisher et al., 2015) in studies where participants are making many ratings of many episodes throughout a day. We have successfully used these single-item questions many times before (Waugh et al., 2020;Leslie-Miller et al., 2021;Waugh et al., 2021) and there are several examples of studies demonstrating the validity and reliability of single-item scales especially when it comes to emotional outcomes (e.g., Wanous and Hudy, 2001;Abdel-Khalek, 2006). Despite our limitations, our findings add valuable support for the literature demonstrating that disengagement is effective for producing momentary reprieves from intense chronic stressors. ...
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Introduction The early part of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) was a chronic stressor that led to decreased life satisfaction, increased psychopathology, and decreased social interaction, making it important to study coping strategies that stimulate increases in emotional well-being. Previous research has demonstrated that disengagement coping may be beneficial in scenarios where engagement coping is too difficult or not possible. We hypothesized that disengagement coping would be related to good emotional well-being (high positive emotions and/or perceived control, lower negative emotions and/or stress), with distraction (taking a break from a stressor) related to better emotional well-being than is avoidance (avoiding thoughts and feelings associated with a stressor). Methods Using a daily reconstruction method that represents a “day in the life” of people in the United States during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed people’s (N = 329) activities, their intention to distract from or avoid the stressor during these activities, emotions, and thoughts about and motivation to deal with COVID. Results Between-subjects’ analyses revealed that habitual distraction did not predict any outcomes, while habitual avoidance related to poorer emotional well-being. Within-subject analyses, however, demonstrated that engaging in distraction (and to a smaller extent, avoidance) was associated with better concurrent emotional well-being and less thinking about COVID. Furthermore, the intent to distract/avoid was more reliable in predicting emotional outcomes than was the activity type. Conclusion These findings suggest that disengagement from stress can be an adaptive coping behavior during global pandemics and possibly other chronic stressors with similar attributes.
... Psychosocial adjustment: Overall well-being Two picture-based items using the Self-Assessment Manikin [72] are implemented assessing how the parents and children feel in general, and how stressed they are. ...
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Background There is consistent evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with an increased psychosocial burden on children and adolescents and their parents. Relatively little is known about its particular impact on high-risk groups with chronic physical health conditions (CCs). Therefore, the primary aim of the study is to analyze the multiple impacts on health care and psychosocial well-being on these children and adolescents and their parents. Methods We will implement a two-stage approach. In the first step, parents and their underage children from three German patient registries for diabetes, obesity, and rheumatic diseases, are invited to fill out short questionnaires including questions about corona-specific stressors, the health care situation, and psychosocial well-being. In the next step, a more comprehensive, in-depth online survey is carried out in a smaller subsample. Discussion The study will provide insights into the multiple longer-term stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic in families with a child with a CC. The simultaneous consideration of medical and psycho-social endpoints will help to gain a deeper understanding of the complex interactions affecting family functioning, psychological well-being, and health care delivery. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), no. DRKS00027974. Registered on 27th of January 2022.
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Understanding socioeconomic status (SES) and social capital as predictors of life outcomes has remained central to humanitarian, health and social research. This current study explores how socioeconomic status and social capital (community solidarity, locus of control and generalised trust) predict happiness among a sample of South African adults. Possible gender differences were also considered. Cross-sectional data from (n = 1049) South Africans on SES, social capital, happiness and sociodemographic characteristics were collected using an online questionnaire between January 2021 and September 2021. A correlation matrix was calculated to explore bivariate associations between the variables. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to examine the predictive influence of SES and social capital indices on happiness and the gender differential in these relationships. SES and all social capital variables were significantly correlated with happiness. The model, including SES and social capital, accounted for 25% of the variance in happiness. Gender differences were found regarding the relationship between SES and all social capital variables (except locus of control) and happiness. The results confirm that efforts to facilitate individual social capital correspond to greater happiness among South Africans. Furthermore, it highlights the need for further empirical exploration of social predictors of life outcomes. The current analysis provides a framework for developing and implementing policies that promote happiness and other life outcomes.
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Dieses Kapitel vermittelt folgende Lernziele: Die unterschiedlichen Vorgehensweisen bei der Bildung theoretischer Konzepte in der qualitativen Forschung und der Operationalisierung theoretischer Konzepte in der quantitativen Forschung kennen. Wissen, was man unter der Konzeptspezifikation versteht und wie man dabei vorgeht. Latente und manifeste Variablen voneinander abgrenzen können. Die vier Skalenniveaus definieren und an Beispielen erläutern können. Die Ratingskala als Antwortformat von der psychometrischen Skala als Messinstrument unterscheiden können. Die Messung theoretischer Konzepte mit Einzelindikatoren, psychometrischen Skalen und Indizes als drei zentralen Operationalisierungsvarianten in ihren Vor- und Nachteilen abwägen können.
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A flood of new studies explores people's subjective well-being (SWB) Frequent positive affect, infrequent negative affect, and a global sense of satisfaction with life define high SWB These studies reveal that happiness and life satisfaction are similarly available to the young and the old, women and men, blacks and whites, the rich and the working-class Better clues to well-being come from knowing about a person's traits, close relationships, work experiences, culture, and religiosity We present the elements of an appraisal-based theory of happiness that recognizes the importance of adaptation, cultural world-view, and personal goals