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The Effects of Mothers' Optimism, Parenting Behaviors and Their Child's Optimism and The Effects on a Child Subjective Well-being
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the path model of mothers` optimism, parenting behaviors and a child`s optimism and the effects on their child`s subjective well-being. The subjects of this study consisted of 331 pairs of mothers and their children from 5th and 6th elementary school students in Seoul. Data were gathered via four questionnaires on mothers` optimism reported by mothers and their parenting behaviors, child optimism, and child subjective well-being as reported by the children. Data were analysed by Structural Equation Model using AMOS 19.0. The results indicated the following, the hypothesized model yielded an acceptable model fit and most of the hypothesized path coefficients were found to be significant. Specifically, mothers` optimism and parenting behaviors influence their children`s subjective well-being indirectly through children`s optimism. It is concluded that the more optimistic the mothers, the more likely the children themselves will share that optimism and in turn, they will also have higher levels of subjective well-being.
... (e.g., H. J. Lee, Lee, & Choe, 2008; E. Park & Choi, 2014) (e.g., Bea, Doh, Rhee, & Shin, 2015 Choi, 2010; Yoo, Park, & Doh, 2015) . (Bak & Song, 2007), (Choi, 2010; H. Lee & Moon, 2012; Yoo et al., 2015), (Ahn, Oh, & Kim, 2011; H. Lee & Moon, 2012), (Joo & Park, 2013; Noh & Shin, 2014; Y. Roh & Kim, 2012), (Kang & Chang, 2013 ...
... (Ahn et al., 2011; H. Lee & Moon, 2012; Y. Roh & Kim, 2012), (Bea et al., 2015; Joo & Park, 2013; J. Lee & Lee, 2007), (J. Lee & Lee, 2007; Min, 2008 ...
... , . (Ahn et al., 2011; Bea et al., 2015; Joo & Park, 2013; S. Lee, Doh, Choi, & Ku, 2010; J. Lee & Lee, 2007), . (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978; Bowlby, 1988 ...
Objective: This study aimed to examine the effects of attachment and shared time between mother and child and self-esteem on subjective well-being in late childhood. Methods: A total of 329 fifth and sixth graders in elementary school (183 boys and 146 girls) participated in the study. They responded to questionnaires regarding attachment and shared time between mother and child and the self-esteem and subjective well-being of children. The data were analyzed using SEM. Results: Attachment and shared time between mother and child had an indirect effect through self-esteem as well as a direct effect on the subjective well-being of children. Children who formed secure attachments and spent more time with their mothers showed a higher level of subjective well-being. In addition, when children kept a good relationship with their mother quantitatively as well as qualitatively, they acknowledged their own capability and value positively, which led to higher subjective well-being. Conclusion: Findings emphasize that mother-child relationships play significant roles in predicting both the subjective well-being and self-esteem of children. The importance of self-esteem was identified in late childhood based on its relative influence on subjective well-being compared to mother-child relationships.
This study examined the various pathways from peer relationships to subjective well-being through self-esteem in late childhood. A total of 354 fifth and sixth grade students in elementary school (189 boys and 165 girls) participated in the study. Peer relationships were assessed using the peer rating scale, and self-esteem and subjective well-being were measured using the self-rating scales. The data were analyzed by means of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Children`s peer relationships affected their subjective well-being directly, as well as indirectly through their self-esteem. Positive relations with peers enabled children to improve their subjective well-being. In addition, those children who possessed good relationships with peers were more likely to perceive themselves as worthy, which led to higher overall levels of happiness and satisfaction in their lives. The study emphasizes the crucial influence of self-esteem on school-aged children`s subjective well-being.
Assuming that children are goal-oriented, it is suggested that their thoughts are related to two components-agency and pathways.
Agency thoughts reflect the erception that children can initiate and sustain action toward a desired goal; pathways thoughts
reflect the children's perceived capability to produce routes to those goals. Hope reflects the combination of agentic and
pathways thinking toward goals. A six-item dispositional self-report index called the Children's ope Scale is introduced and
validated for use with children ages 8-16. Results suggest that the scale evidences internal consistency, and is relatively
stable over retesting. Additionally, the scale exhibits convergent, discriminant, and incremental alidity. Limitations and
uses of the scale are discussed.
Reviews the literature since 1967 on subjective well-being (SWB [including happiness, life satisfaction, and positive affect]) in 3 areas: measurement, causal factors, and theory. Most measures of SWB correlate moderately with each other and have adequate temporal reliability and internal consistency; the global concept of happiness is being replaced with more specific and well-defined concepts, and measuring instruments are being developed with theoretical advances; multi-item scales are promising but need adequate testing. SWB is probably determined by a large number of factors that can be conceptualized at several levels of analysis, and it may be unrealistic to hope that a few variables will be of overwhelming importance. Several psychological theories related to happiness have been proposed; they include telic, pleasure and pain, activity, top–down vs bottom–up, associanistic, and judgment theories. It is suggested that there is a great need to more closely connect theory and research. (7 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
W. Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness." A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB. E. Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors. In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies. The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWB (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The primary purpose of this paper is to review recent research examining the beneficial effects of optimism on psychological and physical well-being. The review focuses on research that is longitudinal or prospective in design. Potential mechanisms are also identified whereby the beneficial effects of optimism are produced, focusing in particular on how optimism may lead a person to cope more adaptively with stress. The paper closes with a brief consideration of the similarities and differences between our own theoretical approach and several related approaches that have been taken by others.
This paper uses the Experience Sampling Method data drawn from a national sample of American youth. It examines the proximal environmental factors as well as behaviors and habits that correlate to personal happiness. Momentary-level scores show that reported happiness varies significantly both by day of week and time of day. Furthermore, particular activities are associated with varying degrees of happiness. School activities rate below average scores in happiness, while social, active and passive leisure activities are above average. Particular companions also correlate to differing level of happiness. Being alone rates the lowest levels of happiness, while being with friend corresponds to the highest. Person-level averages of happiness suggest that both higher social class and age correlate with lower levels of happiness, while gender and race do not. Paradoxically, youth who spend more time in school and social activities are happier than those who spend less. Unexpectedly, students who spend more time pleasure reading report lower levels of happiness. Finally, feeling good about the self, excited, proud, sociable, active as well as being in the conditions for flow experience are the strongest predictors of trait happiness.
Explanatory style, the habitual ways in which individuals explain bad events, was extracted from open-ended questionnaires filled out by 99 graduates of the Harvard University classes of 1942-1944 at age 25. Physical health from ages 30 to 60 as measured by physician examination was related to earlier explanatory style. Pessimistic explanatory style (the belief that bad events are caused by stable, global, and internal factors) predicted poor health at ages 45 through 60, even when physical and mental health at age 25 were controlled. Pessimism in early adulthood appears to be a risk factor for poor health in middle and late adulthood.
Five studies on the relation between positive and negative affect are reported. In Studies 1 and 2 we found that positive feelings were remembered as being nearly independent of negative feelings in the past year, but the two types of affect were moderately negatively correlated for the past month. In Studies 3 and 5, subjects completed daily mood reports for 70 and 30 days, respectively. In Study 4, subjects completed three-week, daily, and moment mood reports and also filled out reports when they experienced strong emotions. The principal finding was that the relation between positive and negative affect differed greatly depending on the time frame. The strongest negative correlation between the two affects occurred during emotional times. The correlation decreased in a linear fashion as the time span covered increased logarithmically. It appears that positive and negative affect are independent in terms of how much people feel in their lives over longer time periods. Researchers need to focus on the processes that underlie both positive and negative affect and that are responsible for producing their relative independence.
Research on dispositional optimism as assessed by the Life Orientation Test (Scheier & Carver, 1985) has been challenged on the grounds that effects attributed to optimism are indistinguishable from those of unmeasured third variables, most notably, neuroticism. Data from 4,309 subjects show that associations between optimism and both depression and aspects of coping remain significant even when the effects of neuroticism, as well as the effects of trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem, are statistically controlled. Thus, the Life Orientation Test does appear to possess adequate predictive and discriminant validity. Examination of the scale on somewhat different grounds, however, does suggest that future applications can benefit from its revision. Thus, we also describe a minor modification to the Life Orientation Test, along with data bearing on the revised scale's psychometric properties.
Maternal and paternal parenting styles and marital interactions linked to childhood aggressive behavior as described in Western psychological literature were measured in an ethnic Russian sample of 207 families of nursery-school-age children. Results corroborated and extended findings from Western samples. Maternal and paternal coercion, lack of responsiveness, and psychological control (for mothers only) were significantly correlated with children's overt aggression with peers. Less responsiveness (for mothers and fathers) and maternal coercion positively correlated with relational aggression. Some of these associations differed for boys versus girls. Marital conflict was also linked to more overt and relational aggression for boys. When entered into the same statistical model, more marital conflict (for boys only), more maternal coercion, and less paternal responsiveness were found to be the most important contributors to overt and relational aggression in younger Russian children.
A science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless. The exclusive focus on pathology that has dominated so much of our discipline results in a model of the human being lacking the positive features that make life worth living. Hope, wisdom, creativity, future mindedness, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance are ignored or explained as transformations of more authentic negative impulses. The 15 articles in this millennial issue of the American Psychologist discuss such issues as what enables happiness, the effects of autonomy and self-regulation, how optimism and hope affect health, what constitutes wisdom, and how talent and creativity come to fruition. The authors outline a framework for a science of positive psychology, point to gaps in our knowledge, and predict that the next century will see a science and profession that will come to understand and build the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to flourish.
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
A study of young children's expectancies about their general success or failure in adult life revealed that the overwhelming majority were quite optimistic and minimally pessimistic. There were no sex differences and no age differences in either optimism or pessimism within this predominantly Caucasian sample of 9-13-year-olds. A psychometric analysis indicated that optimism and pessimism could be considered as separate factors rather than as opposite poles of a single factor. There was also a stronger negative association between pessimism and self-esteem than a positive association between optimism and self-esteem. Finally, children's optimism or pessimism about their distant future was not related to their current social success or failure, as measured by their popularity with peers.
This article is concerned with measures of fit of a model. Two types of error involved in fitting a model are considered. The first is error of approximation which involves the fit of the model, with optimally chosen but unknown parameter values, to the population covariance matrix. The second is overall error which involves the fit of the model, with parameter values estimated from the sample, to the population covariance matrix. Measures of the two types of error are proposed and point and interval estimates of the measures are suggested. These measures take the number of parameters in the model into account in order to avoid penalizing parsimonious models. Practical difficulties associated with the usual tests of exact fit or a model are discussed and a test of “close fit” of a model is suggested.
Using data representative of the national population 18 yrs of age and older, the author employs the major social variables of class, age, education, and income to explain variance in life satisfactions. Topics include residential environment, work experience, marriage and family life, personal resources and competence, the situation of women, and the quality of life for Blacks. Policy implications and the relationship between perceptual assessments and objective conditions are also evaluated. (61/2 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Reviews some complexities that suggest that there are potential benefits and costs to both optimism and pessimism that might be highly sensitive to context, and thus research designs, interpretations of results, advocacy, interventions, and teaching need to be sensitive to costs, benefits, and context. The types of context considered that have implications for optimism and pessimism include: the specific kind of optimism or pessimism under scrutiny; the other personality characteristics of individuals who are optimistic or pessimistic (i.e., the intrapsychic context); the particular outcome variables considered; the interpersonal and social contexts within a culture; the life-span developmental context; and the larger cultural context. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Over the past 30 yrs, the self-esteem movement has promoted the credo in American homes and classrooms that unconditional positive feedback is what children need to make them feel better about themselves. But even though we are raising our children to feel good, the hard truth is that they have never been more depressed. In fact, depression strikes a quarter of all children today.
To examine and reverse this trend, [the author] developed a long-term research study with his colleagues called the Penn Depression Prevention Project. Their startling findings prove that teaching children to challenge their pessimistic thoughts can "immunize" them against depression.
"The Optimistic Child" offers parents and teachers the tools developed in this study to teach children of all ages life skills that transform helplessness into mastery and bolster genuine self-esteem. Learning the skills of optimism not only reduces the risk of depression but boosts school performance, improves physical health, and provides children with the self-reliance they need as they approach the teenage years and adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Authoritative parenting has been associated with positive outcomes for children and adolescents, but less is known about the mechanisms responsible for such effects. Two longitudinal studies examined the hypothesis that the relation between authoritative parenting and adolescents’ adjustment is mediated by adolescents’ level of dispositional optimism. In Study 1, university students’ perceptions that their parents were authoritative predicted higher self-esteem, lower depression, and better university adjustment during the students’ transition into, and throughout, university. Importantly, these relations were mediated by students’ levels of optimism. In Study 2, high school students’ perceptions that their parents were authoritative predicted higher self-esteem and lower depression six years later when they were young adults, and these relations again were mediated by students’ level of dispositional optimism.
In a cross-sectional study of undergraduates and their parents we investigated parental correlates of three types of positive cognition related to mental and physical health outcomes: optimism, learned resourcefulness, and positive self-evaluation. The correlates were parental self-cognitions, parental approval and disapproval, and offspring's perception of parental approval and disapproval. Intergenerational effects were observed for learned resourcefulness and positive self-evaluation, but not for optimism. More parental approval was related to more positive self-attitudes in the offspring. For mothers, but not fathers, these relations were mediated by offspring's perceptions.
Using symbolic interaction, we developed a research model that proposed adolescent perceptions of parental support and psychological
control would be related to adolescent depressed mood directly and indirectly through self-esteem. We tested the model using
self-report questionnaire data from 161 adolescents living with both of their biological parents. To examine possible gender
of adolescent differences, we tested two multigroup models separately for adolescents’ perceptions of mothers’ and fathers’
parental behaviors. Both the fathers’ and mothers’ models yielded (a) direct paths from self-esteem to depressed mood (for
boys and girls), psychological control to depressed mood (for boys) and (b) an indirect path from support to self-esteem to
depressed mood (for girls and boys) and an indirect path from psychological control to self-esteem to depressed mood (for
girls). In addition, in the fathers’ model a significant direct path was found between fathers’ support and depressed mood
(for girls).
Many empirical studies are ambiguous about whether good formal institutions are conducive to subjective well-being or not. Possibly, this ambiguity is caused by cross-section models that do not account for unobserved cultural and institutional effects. Using the World Value Survey 1980-2005, this paper supports a positive relation in a country panel framework that accounts for unobserved, time-invariant country heterogeneity. This study also shows that using supra-national region dummies (by geography or language) in a country-random effects model appears to be a sufficient substitution for omitted country fixed effects.
The relationship between two cognitive personality constructs (explanatory style and dispositional optimism) and retrospective self-reports of maternal and paternal behavior were investigated. College students (62 men and 145 women) completed the Life Orientation Test, Attributional Style Questionnaire, and Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire in a single session. As predicted, dispositional optimism was positively correlated with reported maternal and paternal warmth/acceptance and negatively correlated with aggression/hostility, neglect/indifference, and undifferentiated rejection during middle childhood. Unexpectedly, explanatory style was found to be more strongly associated with retrospective reports of paternal as opposed to maternal behavior. The implications of these results for future research concerning the developmental antecedents of differences in explanatory style and dispositional optimism are discussed.
Optimism and pessimism are positive and negative expectations linked with well-being in adults. Research on the importance of optimism and pessimism in children is limited by the lack of a developmentally appropriate measure of children's expectations.
Based upon the Life Orientation Test-Revised (Scheier, Carver, & Bridges, 1994), the Youth Life Orientation Test (YLOT) is a sixteen-item self-report measure of children's optimism and pessimism.
Reliability and validity of the YLOT was found with 204 3rd-6th graders. Optimism also predicted fewer child-reported depressive symptoms and parent-reported behavior problems assessed three months later. Pessimism predicted more child-reported anxiety symptoms and parent-reported social and academic deficits.
On two occasions separated by one year, Chinese adolescents (N = 2,758) responded to instruments measuring their perceived parental psychological control and psychological well-being, including hopelessness, mastery, life satisfaction, and self-esteem. Pearson correlation analyses revealed that perceived parental psychological control was concurrently related to adolescent psychological well-being at Time 1 and Time 2. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that the relationships between perceived parental psychological control and adolescent psychological well-being over time were bidirectional in nature. Regarding the differential contribution of paternal and maternal psychological control to adolescent psychological well-being over time, paternal psychological control at Time 1 predicted changes in adolescent life satisfaction at Time 2, particularly for adolescent girls. On the other hand, maternal psychological control at Time 1 predicted changes in adolescent self-esteem at Time 2. Relative to those conditions in which one or none of the adolescents' parents was perceived to display high psychological control at Time 1, the psychological well-being of adolescents at Time 2 was poorer under the condition in which both parents were perceived to display high levels of psychological control at Time 1. The clinical implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.
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