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Context: Rehabilitation after an anterior cruciate ligament injury is recommended to be started soon after the injury. When surgery is required, research supports the delivery of physiotherapy before anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (prehabilitation) to optimize recovery and positive outcomes. Individuals attending prehabilitation have never been questioned regarding their adherence to prehabilitation, perception of utility in meeting needs, upcoming events, or anticipated recovery goals. Design: Mixed methods cross-sectional study: Methods: 25 individuals before anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (43% of eligible individuals from 12 clinics during the delivery period) were surveyed on their mindset and recovery expectancies. Semistructured interviews conducted in 9 of 25 participants assessed their lived experience of prehabilitation. Results: Participants reported that preventing a reinjury (96% of responses) and feeling confident during daily activities about their knee (92%) were the higher rating expectations at this stage of their treatment course. Three themes were developed from the interviews and analyses. (1) Participants reported that prehabilitation was a period full of challenges with memories of the injury and uncertainties. (2) They viewed prehabilitation as a step to move forward by finding support and self-motivating. (3) They believed that prehabilitation would have positive impacts on the treatment outcomes. Participants were confident that prehabilitation would accelerate the recovery of muscle volume (88%) and strength (84%). Conclusion: Participants had positive experiences of prehabilitation, aligning with the findings on functional outcomes in the existing literature on prehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The philosophical literature on sport and games has had little to say about boredom beyond presuming that sports and games can be important ways of overcoming or preventing it. But boredom is an interesting and often misunderstood phenomenon with overlooked implications in this context. Boredom has significant human value and motivates play in ways that contribute to well-being and culture, often through encouraging engaged agency and exploration of novelty. Understanding boredom can also help to clarify problems and tendencies in sports and games that qualify them as havens from boredom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic had implications for athletes' mental well-being. This mixed-methods study examined the influence of self-compassion on athletes' coping during the pandemic through the mediator of cognitive appraisal. The prospective design involved 90 athletes completing two online surveys 1 week apart measuring self-compassion, cognitive appraisal, and coping strategies. The PROCESS macro was used for the mediation analysis. A qualitative thematic analysis was used to explore athletes' responses to the pandemic during the second survey. Self-compassion had an indirect negative effect on avoidance-focused coping by appraising the pandemic as less of a threat (95% confidence interval [−0.20, −0.001]) and had a total effect on emotion-focused coping (95% confidence interval [0.02, 0.40]). Based on the thematic analysis, athletes described many raw emotions and a variety of coping strategies during the pandemic. Self-compassion demonstrated promising benefits to athletes who dealt with the challenging situation of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational culture in sports affects well-being, performance, and overall success. Although team culture has been explored within able-bodied teams, little is known about culture development within parasport. Using a descriptive case study approach, our study examined the culture development and experiences of an elite parasport team. Two semistructured individual telephone interviews were conducted with nine participants (athletes and staff), and one athlete-participant completed one interview. An inductive thematic analysis revealed two themes: approach to culture development and team culture components. Culture development was linked with facilitative leadership and important resources. This supported the team to create their shared values and mechanisms, including a behavioral framework, other artifacts (e.g., shared language and team motto), and a relaxed environment. These helped to maintain their agreed culture and benefited their well-being, progress, and team cohesion. Our results offer a starting point regarding research into the culture of elite parasport and have practical implications for managers, coaches, and psychologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into the psychology of coaching has been somewhat neglected in comparison to research on the psychological development of athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a brief online rational-emotive-behavioral-therapy (REBT) program on coach irrational beliefs and well-being. Coaching staff from an elite international canoeing team (N = 4) took part in a three-session (30- to 40-min) REBT program. Participants completed measures of irrational beliefs and mental well-being at preintervention, postintervention, and follow-up (1 month) time points. Visual analyses and social validation revealed that the intervention reduced irrational beliefs and enhanced mental well-being in two participants. However, REBT was more effective for some coaches than others, and follow-up data indicated a return to base levels in some coaches. Limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed, alongside practitioner reflections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions in the GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums) sector serve the public as institutions for cultural heritage, identity, education, experience, and leisure. The goals of these institutions are becoming more closely aligned and they have shared a turn from being collection-centred to a focus on users and visitors. When these institutions also face similar challenges brought on especially by digitalization, there is increasing discourse in scholarly literature and among GLAM professionals about the drivers, impacts and opportunities of convergence for the sector. There remains however, scant empirical examination of user/visitor perception and experience of such convergence. This research addresses this knowledge gap and investigates a converged GLAM case institution, Te Ara 'Atea in New Zealand through a user/visitor survey. The survey findings suggest that users/visitors perceive and experience fewer issues with convergence relative to benefits. A novel insight from this research is that the concept of GLAM convergence can positively contribute to cultural and community wellbeing. As for perceived issue within the convergence space, of particular interest is the concept of unsanctioned touch of displayed objects/artworks, and the alleged unclear behavioral norms in converged environments. The findings also point to further considerations and implications regarding GLAM disciplinary boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Physical changes following activity are well documented, but there is limited information about self-reported outcomes around competitive matches. High training volumes and poor recovery could predispose athletes to overuse injury. The purpose of this study was to identify the changes in daily athlete health measures before, during, and after the day of each match in high- and low-volume groups. Design: Prospective cohort. Methods: Fifty-five soccer athletes (age: 19.8 [1.2] y, 26 males, 29 females) provided daily measures of readiness, physical fatigue, mental stress, sleep quality, and soreness intensity match days, days 1 (D01) and 2 (D02) following matches, and standard practice days. Participants were grouped into high volume and low volume, based off the minutes played during the season. Results: Soreness increased, readiness decreased, and fatigue increased on D01 compared with match days (P <.008) in the high-volume group. Between groups, the high-volume group demonstrated higher soreness on D01 and D02, lower readiness on D01 and D02, and lower fatigue on D01, compared with the low-volume group (P <.008). Conclusions: Soccer athletes demonstrate significant changes in self-reported athlete health variables around competitive matches. These changes are similar to physical outcomes, potentially indicating that the athlete health variables may be used to track athlete recovery from competition, potentially limiting the impact of overuse injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focuses on the diverse relationships between middle-school students and their school library. Students between the ages of 10 and 15 were observed in an urban French middle school during an ethnographic experience. The results show the importance of the school library as a refuge for marginalized, younger, and/or feel bad students as well as those who like to read. The library also contributes to student well-being by acting as a bulwark against the cold and agitation of the playground. The recommendations call on school administrators to recognize the importance of the school library to adolescents and to provide ongoing access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinical Scenario: Athletic identity (AI) can be defined as, "the degree to which an individual identifies with an athlete role, and the values, and social networks associated with that identity," and can pose a problem when athletes do not explore themselves outside of sport. This lack of identity development beyond athletics has the potential to lead to the development of a high AI. High AI in athletes can have positive effects in areas such as performance, however, high AI may also pose negative consequences. The development of such an identity can limit the adaptive responses to substantial life changes such as retirement from sport. This inability to adapt may thereby contribute to mental health problems during the transition. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to better understand the relationship between athletic identity and mental health symptoms so clinicians may provide support to enable positive outcomes after retirement from sport. Clinical Question: What is the influence of athletic identity on mental health symptoms in athletes retiring from sports? Summary of Key Findings: (1) High athletic identity contributes to increased mental health symptoms following retirement. (2) Athletic identity had no relationship to mental health symptoms during the preretirement phase of an athlete's career Clinical Bottom Line: The findings suggest that there is high-quality evidence to support that AI has no relationship with mental health symptoms during the preretirement phase and that athletes with high AI are more likely to experience mental health symptoms during their transition out of or retirement from sport. Strength of Recommendation: The grade of B is recommended by the Strength of Recommendation taxonomy for consistent, limited-quality, patient-oriented evidence that high AI has a strong relationship to mental health symptoms following retirement in athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emerging evidence indicates that the provision or experience of "variety" may be an important determinant of physical activity behavior. Variety refers to diverse endeavors, opportunities, or tasks and, in the context of physical activity, has been examined as a feature of an activity or environment (i.e., variety support) and an experience (i.e., one's felt experience or perceived variety). Objective: The primary aim of our review was to synthesize studies investigating the provision or experience of variety in physical activity settings on health and well-being, behaviors, and motivation. Our secondary aim was to examine quantitative data reporting on different facets of variety in physical activity settings. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of five electronic databases (Scopus, SPORTDiscus, Science Direct, MEDLINE, and the Human Kinetics Library) to identify studies providing a quantitative or qualitative assessment of variety in physical activity settings. Results: We identified 5,576 potentially relevant articles to examine. After title and abstract screening (and removal of duplicates), 74 articles remained for full-text screening, from which 28 studies were deemed eligible. Our findings from qualitative and quantitative (experimental and cross-sectional) studies demonstrate that the provision and experience of variety relates to participation and engagement in physical activity, motivation for exercise and physical activity, and well-being outcomes. Our results also indicate that the provision of variety can increase enjoyment, interest (i.e., motivation), and adherence to a physical activity program. Conclusion: Our findings support the assertion that variety should be considered during planning, implementation, and evaluation of physical activity programs. Additional experimental studies are needed to gain a better understanding of how elements of physical activity and exercise programs, delivery, and environment can be manipulated to increase variety and foster participation in physical activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Talent-school settings may generate stress via demanding expectations. To investigate students representing Norway's growing phenomenon of early adolescent talent schools, we interviewed twenty-seven 14- to15-year-old boys and girls about their experiences with self- and socially imposed expectations. Students were recruited from two sports schools (n = 14) and one school each with talent classes for ballet (n = 7) and music (n = 6). Using reflexive thematic analysis, we found four main themes representing the performers' accounts of (a) self-oriented expectations of persistent hard work, evoking self-doubts, and never-give-up attitudes; (b) coaches'/teachers' socially prescribed expectations, stimulating hard work, and pursuit of approval and opportunities; (c) parental expectations, reflected as helpful support, concerns of letting parents down, and negotiating independence; and (d) struggles with balancing expectations, reflected by demanding workloads, difficulties with prioritizing recovery, and ill-being. Early interventions targeting unhealthy self- and socially imposed expectations in high-expectation settings may be required to safeguard youth performers' healthy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport specialization and intensive training programs are becoming increasingly popular, but there is an ongoing debate as to their value. This study explored how children experience arduous, specialized training and whether they find it enjoyable and meaningful. We also examined their perspective of what parental involvement they needed. One hundred three participants filled out an online questionnaire. Results demonstrated that the participants were almost without exception highly committed to their training. They acknowledged the documented downsides, such as long hours, pain, and repetition, but expressed resounding commitment, giving little indication that they looked for change. They admitted that they preferred their parents not to be involved with their coaching and disclosed that showing pride for them was their main wish. This study demonstrates that passion can engender powerful commitment and satisfaction from training that may be sometimes considered by others as too challenging for a young person to undertake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-regulation is essential for optimal development, performance, and well-being in sport, and smartphones may support and hinder this self-regulation. The relationship between smartphones and self-regulation has seldom been investigated in sport. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine self-regulatory processes, conditions, and outcomes related to athletes' smartphone usage. Twenty-four competitive and high-performance athletes from eight sports participated in individual interviews informed by the models of self-regulated learning and self-regulatory strength. Themes created from a directed content analysis aligned with components of both models and were integrated with new themes to form the "Self-regulation and Smartphone Usage Model" (SSUM). The SSUM illustrates a cyclical model of self-regulation and smartphone usage across five components: self-regulation capacity, processes, conditions, outcomes, and competencies. While self-regulation demands can be increased because of smartphones and lead to depletion, smartphones can be powerful vehicles to strengthen self-regulation competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This feasibility study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention on stigma toward mental health symptoms and disorders, mental health literacy, and help-seeking intentions among U.K. semielite women rugby players. Seven semielite women rugby players participated. An A-B-A single-case experimental research design was used to assess stigma toward mental health symptoms and disorders, mental health literacy, and help-seeking intentions at baseline, intervention, and follow-up phases. The intervention was successful in enhancing the players' mental health literacy and reducing stigmatizing attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help. Acknowledging the study's small sample size, the findings revealed that there is a need for scaffolding to support future developments, advancements, and maintenance of mental health support in women's rugby. Practical implications of future findings from a larger-scale study may lead to policy reformation across the game to inform and improve systemic mental health support for women rugby players. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The team identification–social psychological health model outlines that fans of local sport teams are more likely to experience feelings of social connectedness compared with fans of distant teams. We tested this proposition across two sufficiently powered studies. In both studies, sport fans (Study 1: N = 291, Study 2: N = 430) completed online surveys assessing their levels of identification with a favorite sport team and social connections derived from their fandom for that team. Team localness was operationalized based on team location (Study 1) or responses to survey questions assessing team localness (Study 2). In both studies, the positive association between team identification and social connectedness was not moderated by team localness. This research contributes to the team identification–social psychological health model and our general understanding of fan behavior by showing that the social benefits of being a highly identified sport fan are not limited to fans of local teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the impact of contractures in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) on daily functioning and participation and the impact of received contracture management. We included 14, non-ambulant AYA with SMA types 2/3 (10 females and 4 males), aged 16–30 years. Interviews focused on two topics: perceived impact of contractures on daily functioning and of previous contracture management. We used inductive thematic analysis for interview analysis. In general, participants experienced muscle weakness to be more of a hindrance than contractures; they had adapted to their contractures over time. Participants considered contracture treatment useful when goals were meaningful and realistic. Participants mentioned that their perspective on contracture management would change in light of a promise of improved motor function due to disease-modifying treatment. Despite the relatively low impact of contractures in comparison to the loss of muscle strength, non-ambulant AYA with SMA should be informed on the potential impact of contractures and benefits and potential adverse effects of their management. This information can support the shared decision-making process. While respecting individual choices, allows for incorporating interventions into daily life and the promotion of daily functioning and participation when children with SMA are growing up. The variability of the perceived impact of contractures in non-ambulant adolescents and young adults with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) underscores the need for individualized assessment and contracture management based on discussions about challenges, benefits and burden. In the treatment plan for contracture management in SMA it is important to take into account: 1) that adolescents often experienced physiotherapy as additional comfort, with less feeling of stiffness, and 2) that most perceived orthosis and standers as unnecessary and burdensome as contracture management. Clinicians should consider postural management in an early stage given the improved prognosis on motor development of children with SMA. Clinicians should monitor and revisit treatment goals, benefits and adverse effects on a regular basis as part of the shared goal-setting and decision-making in contracture management for children with SMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The opioid epidemic has heavily affected adults of childbearing age, leading to thousands of children impacted by parental substance use. Few programs provide longitudinal support to these children. This article describes an innovative pediatric medical home model for substance-impacted children and their families, at an urban safety-net hospital. The team-based program directly serves children, and also devotes significant resources to parental health and recovery. In the program's first 3 years, 95% of enrollees were engaged in care, meeting the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommended periodicity schedule for preventive health visits. On-time receipt of childhood vaccines ranged from 95% (pneumococcal conjugate) to 100% (human papilloma virus). The program's high engagement in care shows promise in engaging vulnerable families over time. Future work should explore how to engage children from more diverse backgrounds, and should examine whether the model impacts other indicators of health and well-being for children impacted by parental substance use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While dual-caring responsibilities have increased for some middle-aged adults, due to caring for parents and children, limited research exists on the effects on well-being of this dual care role on working carers, and specifically with respect to women. For this ‘Sandwich Generation’, especially for those who work outside the home, these increased demands may adversely affect their life and job satisfaction, and their well-being, inclusive of their general health. The present research explored the impact of care responsibilities on the overall self-reported quality of life of women dual carers who work. It explored the usefulness of resources for working dual carers, in supporting them in their distinct roles. Employed women (N = 433, aged 23–69, M = 51.27 years) mainly from the United Kingdom and Australia completed an online structured survey. Findings indicated that higher levels of personal and work resources, in particular optimism, self-efficacy, job autonomy, skill discretion, and social support, were able to buffer deleterious outcomes, such as poor well-being (depression, anxiety, stress, negative affect), while supporting well-being (positive affect, general health), increasing job satisfaction and life satisfaction. The dual carer role was not a significant predictor of the participants’ well-being, with only the women’s general health being slightly reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrating Fredrickson’s (2001) broaden-and-build model of positive emotions with Snyder’s (1994) theory of hope, the present prospectively designed study sought to examine positive mood as a predictor of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being (e.g. life satisfaction, psychological well-being), and to determine if hope agency and pathways accounted for any prospective association identified between positive mood and indices of well-being. One hundred and thirty-six adults completed a measure of positive mood at Time 1, a measure of hope agency and pathways at Time 2 (1 month later), and measures of well-being at Time 3 (2 months later). Results of mediation testing indicated that hope agency, but not hope pathways, had indirect effects on each of the three indices of well-being examined. Taken together, these prospective findings provide further evidence for the importance of positive mood in building hope agency as an important explanation for how positive mood might foster well-being in adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of online self-compassion trainings have emerged in recent years including the Gift of Self-Compassion (GSC), a 30-day online course. This study examined the effects of the GSC course and a modified expressive writing (EW) paradigm in a non-clinical sample. Measured outcomes were self-compassion, life satisfaction, positive and negative affect, and subjective well-being. Participants were 219 adults randomly assigned to either the GSC or EW condition. Seemingly unrelated regression models were used to estimate outcomes between groups and the relationship between curriculum usage and outcomes. Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in well-being; however, compared to EW, GSC participants reported significantly greater improvements in self-compassion. Our hypothesis that the amount of curriculum usage would impact outcomes was partially supported. The GSC course appears to be an effective online training tool that improves self-compassion skills and is at least as effective as expressive writing in enhancing subjective well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed Methods Results Conclusions So What? This article explores how belonging can enhance well‐being for takatāpui (a traditional Māori term that embraces all Māori with diverse genders, sexualities and sex characteristics) who are trans and non‐binary across a range of contexts.We drew data from the 2018 Counting Ourselves, a nationwide community‐based survey of trans and non‐binary people in Aotearoa (New Zealand) (N = 1178); of which 161 (13.7%) identified as Māori, the Indigenous people of Aotearoa.Based on generalised regression models, feelings of belonging with friends, takatāpui communities, Māori communities, and work communities were correlated to higher feelings of life satisfaction, life worthwhileness, and identity pride for takatāpui who are trans and non‐binary. In Te Ao Maōri (the Māori worldview), such concepts of belonging and relationships are collectively known as whanaungatanga.Our findings affirm whanaungatanga as foundational to well‐being among trans Māori people, enabling them to locate themselves within nurturing and supportive networks.Whanaungatanga is a key policy agenda, alongside other system‐level change, that is needed to buffer takatāpui who are trans and non‐binary from poverty, stigma, and racism they face. This will require changes to the current policy and practice context. We argue that whanaungatanga, while an important strategy of well‐being for trans and non‐binary people, must also occur alongside wider system transformations to address transphobia, racism, and cisheteronormativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dignity is integral to palliative care. Illness can diminish it, causing hopelessness and the wish to hasten death. Yet, dignity is a complex multidimensional phenomenon, influenced by values and context. Understanding its varying interpretations can inform practice and policy. The aim of the study is to explore the understanding of dignity in adult patients with palliative care needs from a Lebanese perspective and how it is preserved during illness and while receiving health services. Design: Qualitative interview study underpinned with a social constructionist lens. Fourteen patients recruited from home-based hospice and outpatient clinics in Lebanon. Data analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Four themes were developed across all the interviews: (a) Dignity anchored through faith in God and religious practices; (b) Family support in maintaining physical, psychological wellbeing, and social connectedness; (c) Physical fitness, mental acuity, and healthy appearance through which patients may escape the stigma of disease, (d) accessible, equitable, and compassionate healthcare. Discussion: Dignity is elusive and difficult to define but faith and religious beliefs play a significant contribution in this study. For the participants, illness is seen as a natural part of life that does not necessarily diminish dignity, but it is the illness related changes that potentially affect dignity. Findings show the importance of family and children in preserving dignity during illness and how their active presence provide a sense of pride and identity. Participants aspired to restore physical, social, and mental well-being to reclaim their dignity and normalize their lives. Challenges related to physical appearance, memory loss, vitality, and social stigma associated with illness diminished dignity. Accessible, equitable and compassionate healthcare services are also crucial in preserving dignity. Participants valued clear communication, respect, and empathy from healthcare providers and identified affordability of care essential for maintaining dignity. Conclusion: Faith in God, and strong family ties are dominant elements to maintaining dignity in the Lebanese context. Relational connectedness with family, children or God is also a need in maintaining dignity in other communal countries with variations in emphasis. The study indicates that religious and cultural context shapes the needs and perceptions of dignity during illness. These findings are likely to be transferable to many Middle Eastern countries but also countries with strong religious and family ties globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate whether Heartfulness meditation practice, compared to Gratitude practice, leads to measurable changes in mental wellbeing among healthcare providers across the US. Method: Participants were randomly assigned to one of the following 6-week interventions: the trainer-guided virtual Heartfulness meditation program or the podcast-based self-guided gratitude practice group. The Professional Quality of Life Scale-5 (ProQOL-5) was used to determine Compassion Satisfaction (CS) and risk for Burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS). The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) was used to assess vigor, dedication, and absorption at work. Outcomes were collected at baseline and the end of the study period. Qualitative questions regarding the experience of learning and practicing were also offered at the end of the six weeks. Results: The majority of participants were nurses (50%), followed by allied healthcare professionals (37%) and physicians (13%) (N = 83). There was a general trend towards increases in CS in the Heartfulness group compared to the gratitude group. However, this was not statistically significant. Strong evidence suggests there was a significant improvement in BO for the Heartfulness group between Week 0 and Week 6 (p = 0.002), as well as STS (p = 0.0004) and vigor (p = 0.0392). Qualitative data analysis revealed that the subjects in the Heartfulness arm reported improved sleep and decreased reactivity to stress. Subjects in the gratitude arm reported improved mood and favorable results using gratitude practices at home with family members. Conclusion: In our study, Heartfulness meditation practice was associated with a significant improvement in burnout and vigor at work, with a trend towards compassion satisfaction after six weeks compared with gratitude practices. Qualitative analysis indicates the benefits of both Heartfulness and Gratitude practices. Further randomized trials with a larger sample size are needed to explore these science-based practices for the wellbeing of healthcare workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a high number of Ukrainian refugee children came to the Czech Republic, a country with little previous experience with refugee schooling. This study explored how Czech lower secondary schools in the 2022/2023 academic year managed to adapt to Ukrainian refugee students. We collected data from six schools that received high numbers of Ukrainian students; we interviewed principals, teachers, Ukrainian students, and their parents. The findings show that principals and teachers prioritised the psychological dimension of school adaptation in terms of the well-being of the Ukrainian students, and the sociocultural dimension in terms of building their social relationships with Czech peers and teachers. Academic adaptation took second place. This prioritisation contributed to creating a pleasant schooling experience for the Ukrainian students but also resulted in lower academic demands on them. This may negatively affect their future educational opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ‘Bad’ is often described as more influential than the ‘Good’. We examined this possibility for relationships between well-being and feedback from others about their diets among vegetarians, and we found that the ‘Good’ was stronger than the ‘Bad’. Participants were 982 vegetarians who completed measures of well-being (depression, anxiety, satisfaction with life, purpose and search for meaning in life, self-esteem, and loneliness). They also answered questions about the approval and disapproval they perceived they received because of their diets from friends, family members, and strangers. Each measure of well-being was regressed onto measures of perceived approval and perceived disapproval, separately for each source. The analyses found that for feedback from all three sources, well-being was related to perceived approval more consistently than it was related to perceived disapproval. Approval may influence well-being more than disapproval does, at least within the context we studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this perspective is to promote the theory of salutogenesis as a novel approach to addressing ophthalmologic inflammatory conditions, illustrating several concepts in which it is based upon and how they can be applied to medical practice. This theory can better contextualize why patients with similar demographics and exposures are not uniform in their clinical presentations. Stressors in daily life can contribute to a state of ill-health and there are various factors that help alleviate their negative impact. These alleviating factors are significantly impaired in people with poor vision, one of the most common presentations of ophthalmologic conditions. Salutogenic principles can guide the treatment of eye conditions to be more respectful of patient autonomy amidst shifting expectations of the doctor-patient relationship. Being able to take ownership of their health and feeling that their cultural beliefs were considered improves compliance and subsequently gives more optimal outcomes. Population-level policy interventions could also utilize salutogenic principles to identify previously overlooked domains that can be addressed. We identified several papers about salutogenesis in an ophthalmological context and acknowledged the relatively few studies on this topic at present and offer directions in which we can explore further in subsequent studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College students are known to have high stress levels, which can have negative consequences on their academic performance. In Austria (Europe) there are no tuition fees and students are allowed to enroll in as many degree programs as they want simultaneously. The unique setting of Austria allows examination of the impact of parallel enrollments on students' stress dimensions. Therefore, this study aims to exploratively determine associations between performance and well-being, stress coping and resource load of students in one and multiple enrolled programs. 213 students took part in a survey and their answers were merged with their performance indicators of the last academic year, retrieved from the university's internal database. The questionnaire was sent out during the finals- and examination phase prior to the summer holidays. Multivariate linear regression analyses with performance as outcome were conducted on three analysis levels: (1) unfiltered dataset, (2) students with one enrollment and (3) students with two or more enrollments. Results show that well-being, stress coping and resource occupation are associated with performance indicators, but differently on each analysis level. Students with one study program and students in multiple simultaneous programs may be treated as different populations performance-wise. Due to the correlative nature of this study, the outcomes and predictors are likely influencing each other, making future research on the causal relationships warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to shed light on how participation in Skrekkur (stage fright) can affect young people’s well-being and self-esteem. Through a playbuilding process, young people gain the opportunity to perform seven minutes of on-stage production, in Skrekkur, (English: stage fright), a youth theatre-based competition, for lower secondary schools in Reykjavík, Iceland. The research is grounded in the qualitative tradition, classified as a case study. The findings reveal that the participants saw the project as an empowering aspect of their studies, and it boosted the students’ self-esteem and increased their well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Methodology Results Conclusions Counsellors and psychotherapists working with trauma experience constant exposure to clients' adverse events, placing their well‐being in jeopardy. The pivotal role of empathy in maintaining their well‐being is underscored, given the imperative for these professionals to sustain empathetic engagement with clients. However, prior research has solely focussed on other helping professions.This study employed semi‐structured interviews to explore the subjective experiences of 14 psychotherapists and counsellors in trauma‐informed settings regarding the role of empathy and its implications for well‐being. Reflexive thematic analysis was utilised to analyse these data.Three main themes were identified from the analysis: Empathy is crucial, empathy as a risk factor and empathy can be regulated and developed.The study's findings reinforce previous research and provide new insights into empathy's development and management in the context of professional trauma work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functioning describes how well a person handles life, but the constituents of functioning and its measurement remain subjects of debate among researchers. However, approaches investigating how the concept of functioning is understood among laypeople and practitioners have received less attention. The present study uses a bottom‐up approach to explore the concept of functioning among laypeople and mental health professionals in a Scandinavian context. Participants were asked to describe a person doing well in life and a person not doing well in life, resulting in a total of 2,345 statements from 128 laypeople and 78 mental health professionals. Initially, statements were rated according to the meta‐concepts of Agency and Communion. This analysis revealed a dominant prevalence of Agency across groups, with laypeople demonstrating a heightened emphasis on Agency when characterizing an individual not doing well in life, suggesting an intensified focus on personal responsibility and achievement when describing dysfunction. Next, an independent semantic domain analysis was used to elucidate and identify distinctive features of functioning within the statements. This revealed a shared conceptualization of functioning among both laypeople and mental health professionals based on three main domains: (1) thriving; (2) daily activities and social roles; and (3) personality features. The findings underscore the importance of considering subjective experiences of thriving, efficacy in managing daily tasks and roles, and personality traits in attaining a comprehensive understanding of functioning levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Background Method Results Conclusion This study examines single mothers' mental health and life satisfaction trajectories around re‐partnering transitions, and the driving factors of these associations.Single mothers are a particularly disadvantaged group in terms of their mental health and life satisfaction. According to the resource model, re‐partnering has a positive effect on these outcomes because it provides additional social, emotional, and financial resources. In contrast, the crisis model suggests that when a mother re‐partners, her mental health and life satisfaction further decline because re‐partnering can trigger conflicts in the family.Using long‐term annual panel data from Germany and the United Kingdom, fixed‐effects regressions reveal effects among 1101 single mothers from Germany and 549 from the UK.Life satisfaction was positively affected by re‐partnering in Germany, mainly driven by income‐related factors. The positive association in the UK was less strong. Patterns of mental health trajectories indicate clearer differences between the two countries: based on point estimates, we observed an increasing trajectory in Germany and a declining trajectory in the UK after the re‐partnering transition. There were no significant mental health patterns observed in either country.The findings suggest varying associations between well‐being and re‐partnering. Positive trends for life satisfaction in Germany and partially in the UK highlight the importance of financial resources. However, less clear patterns were observed for mental health, revealing differences between countries and underscoring the role of family policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Passive exercise involves limb movement via an external force and is an intervention providing an immediate postexercise executive function (EF) benefit. It is, however, unknown whether EF is improved simultaneous with passive exercise--a salient question given the advent of passive (and active) exercise workstations designed to enhance productivity and wellbeing for individuals engaged in sedentary occupations. Methods: Here, participants (N = 23) completed separate 20-min conditions involving active (i.e., via volitional muscle activation) and passive (i.e., via mechanically driven cycle ergometer) cycle ergometry and a non-exercise control condition. EF was assessed prior to (i.e., preintervention), simultaneous with, and immediately after (post-intervention) each condition via the antipointing task. Antipointing involves a goal-directed limb movement mirror-symmetrical to a target and is an ideal tool for the current investigation given that the task is mediated via EF inhibitory control networks that show response-dependent changes following a single bout of exercise. Results and discussion: Results showed that passive exercise produced a simultaneous and post-intervention reduction in antipointing reaction time (RT), whereas active exercise selectively produced a post-intervention--but not simultaneous--RT reduction. Thus, passive and active exercise elicited a postexercise EF benefit; however, only passive exercise produced a simultaneous benefit. That passive--but not active--exercise produced a simultaneous benefit may reflect that the intervention provides the necessary physiological or psychological changes to elicit improved EF efficiency without the associated dual-task cost(s) of volitional muscle activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is emerging empirical evidence indicating that differences in self‐reported sensory processing may be associated with differences in levels of stress in the adult populations. Understanding how sensory processing relates to stress is of clinical relevance, given the well‐established impact of stress on physical health, mental health and well‐being. Although several studies have examined the association between sensory processing and stress in adult populations, no published reviews have systematically summarised and synthesised these findings. We aimed to fill this gap by conducting a systematic review to synthesise the available evidence examining the association between self‐reported sensory processing and self‐reported measures of stress in the adult population. The review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA‐S) checklist. Twenty studies were included in the final review. Quality assessment was conducted with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Overall, the evidence is strong for an association between differences in sensory processing and self‐reported stress in adults. This association was found across a range of populations and measures of stress, in cross‐sectional studies. The most commonly used measure of sensory processing was the Highly Sensitive Person Scale, which was consistently moderately associated with a range of measures of stress. The quality of the included studies was generally good, with most meeting four or five out of five criteria. Longitudinal studies are lacking. There is strong evidence for a cross‐sectional association between sensory processing and stress in an adult population. Further research, in particular longitudinal studies and studies including clinical populations, would be of benefit in order to establish causality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic interest in well-being has blossomed, to the point that numerous forms of well-being have been proposed, covering myriad aspects of the person (e.g. mental, physical, social, spiritual) and of life more broadly (e.g. communal, economic, environmental). This proliferation of forms raises the question of how they might ideally interrelate, and whether there is some kind of overall well-being that draws them together. To that end, this paper argues that a zenith of ultimate or complete well-being would involve managing to sustain well-being across numerous systems (i.e. configurations of different processes and entities), such that they are in balance and harmony. These systems include: (a) the various dimensions of the person; (b) self-and-other (c) people-and-environment; and (d) time. We suggest that attaining all these various forms of sustainable well-being constitutes an ideal of flourishing to which people and societies can and should aspire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that Appreciative Inquiry (AI) and strengths development interventions can foster well-being, engagement, and performance in the workplace. However, additional studies are needed to develop effective interventions and test their effects on these variables, notably from a comparative perspective. The objective of this research was therefore to measure and compare the effects of AI and strengths development interventions on employee well-being, engagement, and performance at work. Two quasi-experimental studies were conducted among workers in France (n = 202; in-person intervention protocol) and Canada (n = 70; online intervention protocol). Results of analyses of variance indicate that AI and strengths development interventions led to improvements in well-being and engagement. Additionally, results suggest that AI and strengths development interventions produce distinct effects on the studied variables. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The World Health Organization urged governments to prioritize the health and work well-being of nursing staff by promoting a positive working environment. A safe and healthy physical and psychosocial work environment is a basic human right for nurses. Job crafting is a necessary skill when facing challenging working conditions. Objectives: This cross-sectional correlational research based on the Job Demands-Resources Model aimed to explore the correlation between psychosocial work environment and work well-being among nurses working in the intensive care unit (ICU) and determine whether personal perceived health could mediate the relationship and whether job crafting can moderate the mediating effect. The study hypothesized that: 1. The psychosocial work environment would impact nurses' work well-being; 2. Personal perceived health would play a role as a mediator in the relationship between psychosocial work environment and work well‐being; 3. Job crafting would moderate the relationship between personal perceived health and work well‐being. Methods: A total of 655 registered nurses (RNs) from 7 ICUs in a teaching hospital in Beijing participated in this study. The RNs completed a battery questionnaire measuring their health, psychosocial work environment, well-being, and job crafting. PROCESS macros analysis was used to test mediating and moderating effects. Results: Personal perceived health mediated the relationship between psychosocial work environment and work well-being (b = 0.012, 95% CI [0.008, 0.016]). The moderated mediated analysis revealed that job crafting moderated perceived health’s impact on work well-being (b = -0.007, 95% CI [− 0.010, − 0.003]). Conclusion: A better psychosocial work environment with well-designed work organization and job content through job crafting could positively impact nurses’ health and work well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study aimed to conduct a scoping review of stressors in higher education institutions (HEIs), exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify successful interventions. Methods: We reviewed 79 studies published between January 2020 and January 2023. Results: Stressors were organized into psychosocial, organizational, and environmental categories. They included high job demand/low control, work/personal life imbalance, pressure to publish, lack of resources, low perceived organizational support, and fear of infection. Interventions included providing back-up childcare, employee assistance programs, financial well-being resources, paid medical leave, flexible work arrangements, greater transparency in decision making, leadership development, and adaptive physical space design. Conclusions: Mental health and well-being interventions directed at faculty and staff in HEIs are needed given the many stressors faced by this workforce. Several interventions are highlighted in the literature, but most are speculative regarding their impact, given the limited number of outcome studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the locales where hydropower dams in the Mekong River Basin have been constructed, ethnically and economically marginalized groups who depend on rivers and their tributaries for well-being often bear the greatest burdens: loss of fisheries and river-based livelihoods, riverbank gardens, and sacred sites, to name a few. In December 2018, the controversial Lower Sesan 2 Dam in northeastern Cambodia started operations, exacerbating old challenges and creating new ones for the riverine communities along the Sesan and Srepok Rivers. In this article, I employ a feminist political ecology framework to explore the varying ways that personal and community well-being are impacted in two ethnic Lao locales of Sre Kor (Na Kor in Lao language) commune and Phluk village as a result of the Lower Sesan 2 Dam. While the dam has disrupted flows of water and fish habitats and migrations, rendering new ecological circumstances, I argue that infrastructural violence can variably hide intimate geographies of well-being and un-wellness. Only by interrogating the silences of intimate geographies of the body and home in local villages and communal ethnic spaces will such impacts of violence become visible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study sought to determine if dispositional optimism/pessimism and facets of the tripartite model of meaning in life (viz., comprehension, purpose, & mattering) represent important and additive prospective predictors of subsequent well-being (assessed 3 months later) in 166 adults. Results from hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the presence of optimism, but not the absence of pessimism, consistently predicted subsequent positive affect, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness. Moreover, beyond the variance accounted for by future expectancies, comprehension was found to predict life satisfaction, whereas purpose was found to predict positive affect. Mattering was found to predict subjective happiness and, to a weaker extent, positive affect. Overall, these findings not only indicate that the presence of optimism is important for experiencing future well-being in adults, but they go further to clarify which specific facets of meaning in life also play an important additive role in contributing to future well-being in adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID‐19 pandemic disrupted life around the globe and negatively impacted mental health (MH), including among military veterans. Building on previous research with U.S. veterans, the present study examined the association between a broad array of pandemic stressors and well‐being on MH outcomes. A total of 372 veterans (51.3% women) from all service eras completed measures of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression during early (timepoint 1 [T1]) and peri‐pandemic (timepoint 2 [T2]) periods. Pandemic‐related stressors and well‐being (satisfaction in life domains) were assessed at the peri‐pandemic timepoint (T2). Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate associations between stressors and well‐being with the likelihood of a probable MH diagnosis at T2 controlling for T1 MH status. More negative physical and MH impacts of the pandemic in addition to fewer positive consequences and lower satisfaction with paid work, finances, health, romantic relationships, and social life were associated with a higher likelihood of a probable T2 MH diagnosis. COVID infection was associated with lower odds of a probable T2 MH diagnosis. There were significant indirect effects, such that physical and MH impacts of the pandemic were associated with T2 MH via well‐being. Overall, these findings highlight the role of stress and well‐being on MH during a global pandemic. Interventions to address well‐being may be important to address veteran MH during other periods of stress. Future research should examine the generalizability of study findings and further investigate factors that contribute to veterans' MH resilience during stressful life experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been argued that habitually appraising stressful events as more of a threat (i.e., situational demands exceed personal coping resources) may increase one's risk of ill‐health (e.g., depression). However, while first theorized 15 years ago, little research has tested this assertion. Thus, this study offered a novel test of the associations between trait challenge and threat appraisals and health‐related outcomes (i.e., mental health symptomology, psychological well‐being, and physical health complaints). Three hundred and ninety‐five participants (251 female, 144 male; Mage = 22.50 years, SD = 5.33) completed valid and reliable measures of trait challenge and threat appraisals, mental health (i.e., symptoms of depression and anxiety), well‐being (e.g., subjective vitality), and physical health complaints (e.g., respiratory illnesses). Regression analyses revealed that trait challenge and threat appraisals accounted for a significant proportion of variance in all outcomes after controlling for age and gender, with a tendency to appraise stressful events as more of a threat associated with poorer mental health (i.e., greater depression symptomology), well‐being (e.g., lower vitality), and physical health (e.g., more respiratory illnesses). Taken together, the findings highlight the importance of trait challenge and threat appraisals for health, although further research is needed using stronger designs (e.g., longitudinal) to enable a more causal understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine group differences between employed and unemployed Veterans with mental illnesses utilizing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) emotion toolbox factors including negative affect, psychological well‐being, stress, and social relationships. Data was collected from three samples from 2018 to 2020. The first sample (Sample 1) is 156 Veterans with mental illness from Amazon MTurk; the second sample (Sample 2), recruited from a higher education institution, is 232 veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms; and the final sample (Sample 3), recruited from a higher education institution, is 129 Veterans with disabilities, including psychiatric disabilities. Independent‐samples t‐tests were carried out to test our objectives. Sample 1 results revealed that employed Veterans with mental illnesses had lower levels of depression and stress and higher levels of positive emotion, life satisfaction, meaning in life, and social relationships compared to unemployed Veterans. Sample 2 results revealed that employed Veterans with PTDS symptoms had lower levels of stress and higher levels of positive emotion and lower levels of stress compared to unemployed Veterans with PTSD symptoms. Sample 3 results revealed that employed Veterans with disabilities including psychiatric disabilities had lower levels of depression and higher levels of positive emotion and social relationships. Our findings are consistent with the previous research documenting that employment plays a central role in optimal psychological and physical health in both civilians and veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Factors originating at the organizational, work, and individual levels are closely interrelated and intricately intertwined, affecting health rates. There was limited research on the interdependence and aggregate effects between multi‐source factors and occupational health and well‐being (OHW). It is challenging to achieve management goals. Therefore, considering cross‐level factors and across the "work environment‐stress‐exposure‐OHW" chain, individual vulnerability was considered. A Fuzzy Bayesian Belief Network (FBBN) driven by both domain knowledge and data was constructed to carve out the logic between multi‐source factors and OHW. Workers from four coal mines were surveyed twice in 6 months. 714 valid samples were included in the analysis. The interdependencies among multi‐source factors were identified by the Interpretive Structure Modeling method and the visual probability estimation was achieved based on FBBN. It revealed that the work and the organizational level were the root factors. Eight factors involved in work stress were mainly mediating, and actual exposure and individual vulnerability were direct factors. Pathway interventions and joint interventions were proposed. The prediction ability and scheme feasibility of FBBN were verified. The approach developed allows robust assessments of aggregate effects and obtains multi‐source factor importance. This study provides vital insights and evaluation tools for understanding workplace stress and OHW management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]