Optimism and subjective well-being in nursing home older adults: The mediating roles of gratitude and social support

Lifestyle factors and subjective well‑being among older adults in China: A national community-based cohort study

There has been limited research on the relationship between health habits and subjective well-being (SWB) among Chinese oldest older adults. This study aims to explore lifestyle factors associated with SWB in this population. We analyzed data from three waves (2008-2014) of the CLHLS, including 28,683 older adults. Lifestyle factors analyzed included fruit and vegetable intake, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical exercise, and social participation. Results suggested that high frequency of fruit and vegetable intake, current and past physical exercise, and high levels of social participation were associated with increased SWB. SWB was lower in older adults who never smoked compared to persistent smokers and in those who never drank alcohol or ceased drinking compared to persistent drinkers. We encourage older adults to enhance SWB through increased fruit and vegetable intake, physical exercise, and social participation. However, quitting smoking and drinking may not necessarily improve SWB, particularly in the context of China.

The relationship between social support and professional identity of health professional students from a two-way social support theory perspective: chain mediating effects of achievement motivation and meaning in life

BACKGROUND

Studies has suggested that receiving social support improves the professional identity of health professional students. According to the two-way social support theory, social support includes receiving social support and giving social support. However, the effect of the two-way social support on health professional students' professional identity has not been clarified yet.

METHODS

To explore the mechanism of how two-way social support affects health professional students' professional identity, an observational, cross-sectional study was conducted among a convenience and cluster sample of 1449 health professional students from two medical schools in western China. Measures included a short version of the two-way social support scale, a health professional students' professional identity questionnaire, an achievement motivation scale, and a meaning in life scale. Data were analyzed by use of SPSS26.0 software and PROCESSv4.0 plug-in.

RESULTS

Receiving social support, giving social support, achievement motivation, meaning in life, and professional identity were positively correlated with each other. Receiving and giving social support not only directly predicted health professional students' professional identity, but also indirectly predicted health professional students' professional identity through the mediating roles of achievement motivation and meaning in life, and the chain mediating roles of achievement motivation and meaning in life, respectively. The effectiveness of predicting health professional students' professional identity varied among different types of two-way social support, which could be depicted as two-way social support > mainly giving social support > mainly receiving social support > low two-way social support.

CONCLUSION

In the medical education, the awareness and ability of health professional students to receive and give social support should be strengthened. More attention should be drawn on the chain mediating effect of achievement motivation and meaning in life between two-way social support and professional identity. The current results shed new light on exploring effective ways of improving health professional students' professional identity, which suggested that more attention should be paid to the positive effects of mainly giving social support and two-way social support rather than only on the effects of receiving social support.

The impact of epidemic infectious diseases on the relationship between subjective well-being and social class identity in older adults: The mediating role of Self-rated health

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between subjective well-being, social class identity, and Self-rated health among older persons,. Focusing on the mediating role of health and the impact of epidemic infectious diseases on these relationships.

METHODS

Based on the 2018 and 2021 China General Social Survey (CGSS) databases, the data were screened, and processed. Using Stata17, we employed ordered probit regression to examine the relationships among variables and Bootstrap methods to assess mediation effects, and the CGSS data for 2018 and 2021 were compared and analyzed.

RESULTS

Our results revealed that factors such as social class identity, health status, and personal income significantly positively impact older persons' subjective well-being (P<0.01). Notably, there was a partial mediating effect of health status between the subjective well-being of the elderly and social class identity. And findings showed that when older adults were affected by epidemic diseases, their subjective well-being, social class identity, and Self-rated health remained significantly positively correlated. Subjective well-being, social class identity. What is more noteworthy is that when affected by epidemic infectious diseases, older adults' subjective well-being, social class identity, and Self-rated health remained significantly positively correlated. The mediating role of self-rated health in older adults' subjective well-being and social class identity increased from 9.6% to 12.4%.

CONCLUSIONS

In the face of epidemic infectious diseases, we need to pay more attention to the Self-rated health of the elderly, and the Chinese government should take effective measures to improve their health level, which will in turn improve the subjective well-being of the elderly and realize the goal of healthy aging.

The health status, social support, and subjective well-being of older individuals: evidence from the Chinese General Social Survey

Objectives

This study aims to investigate the impact of health status and social support on the subjective well-being of older individuals.

Methods

Using data from the China General Social Survey 2017, this research analyzed 5,187 Chinese citizens aged 60 years and older. The predicted effect of each variable on subjective well-being was evaluated through hierarchical regression analysis. The direct and indirect effects of social support and health status on subjective well-being are examined based on a structural equation model.

Results

The mental health and social support positively impact subjective well-being. Mental health mediates the effect of physical health on subjective well-being, and social support mediates the relationship between physical and mental health and subjective well-being.

Conclusion

The findings provide strong evidence for the interrelationship mechanisms among the factors influencing subjective well-being. Consequently, improving mental health services and social support systems is advantageous for enhancing the well-being of Chinese seniors.

Quality of life profiles and its association with predictors amongst Chinese older adults in nursing homes: a latent profile analysis

BACKGROUND

Recently developments in the field of positive psychology have provided new perspectives for understanding the connection between individual variation in Quality of life (QoL) and positive aspects of human potential, strengths, and resources, commanding increasing attention. This study aimed to examine self-reported quality of life (QoL) profiles and the association of QoL profiles with positive psychosocial characteristics in Chinese older adults.

METHODS

A convenient sample of 354 older adults in nursing homes was recruited from Guangdong Province, China, between November 2020 and January 2021. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was conducted to explore QoL profiles using the four WHOQOL-BREF domains as input variables. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to explore the association between latent profiles and predictors.

RESULTS

LPA identified three latent QoL profiles: "low QoL with poor psychological health" (18.1%), "moderate QoL" (46.0%) and "high QoL" (35.9%). Frequency of weekly activity, optimism, gratitude, and social support were associated with the increased likelihood of belonging to the moderate-to-high QoL classes. Furthermore, Class 2 (moderate QoL group, reference) was compared with Class3 (high QoL group), higher frequency of weekly physical activity and spending more time on physical activity exhibited higher odds of belonging to high QoL class.

CONCLUSION

Using the domains of the WHOQOL-BREF scale, the QoL profiles Chinese older adults can be identified. We found that psychosocial variables and demographic characteristic, including lower level of optimism and gratitude, lack of social support, low frequency of physical activity, and shorter activity duration time, heighten the risk for lower levels of QoL. Identifying classification may help focus on those at elevated risk for poor QoL and for developing tailored QoL improvement programs.

Mental health latent profiles and emotion regulation in women with polycystic ovary syndrome: A cross-sectional study

This cross-sectional study aimed to identify latent mental health subgroups of reproductive-aged women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and examine differences in emotion regulation and social support. A total of 477 samples (age = 27.22 ± 5.37) diagnosed with PCOS were included in this study, all of whom were of the same ethnicity. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted in Mplus version 8.3 to identify mental health latent profiles in women with PCOS based on the dual-factor approach. The current study identified three distinct mental health profiles within women with PCOS: High-Symptom and High-Well-being Profile, Low-Symptom and High-Well-being Profile, and High-Symptom and Low-Well-being Profile, with group proportions of 52.3%, 35.7%, and 11.1%, respectively. This study revealed that cognitive reappraisal and social support are important protective factors for the mental health of women with PCOS, whereas expressive suppression is a negative factor for their mental health.

The association between quality of life and subjective wellbeing among older adults based on canonical correlation analysis

Introduction

The study explored the relationship between subjective well-being and the quality of life among older adults. It highlights the importance of understanding how these factors are interconnected in the context of an aging population.

Methods

Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the scores of general demographic characteristics, subjective wellbeing and quality of life. Simple correlation analysis and canonical correlation analysis were employed to analyze the relationship between subjective wellbeing and quality of life among older adults.

Results

Data from 892 older adults were collected. Canonical correlation analysis revealed four pairs of canonical variables, with the first four pairs of canonical correlation coefficients all being statistically significant (0.695, 0.179, 0.147, 0.121) (p < 0.05), and the first pair of canonical variables explaining 93.03% of the information content. From the canonical loading coefficients, Vitality and mental health contributed the most to the quality of life (U1) canonical variable. The canonical variable V1, which corresponded to subjective wellbeing, was reflected by a combination of positive affect, negative affect, positive experience and negative experience. X1 (physical functioning), X2 (role-physical), X3 (bodily pain), X4 (general health), X5 (vitality), X6 (social functioning), X7 (role-emotional) and X8 (mental health) were positively correlated with Y1 (positive affect) and Y3 (positive experience), negatively correlated with Y2 (negative affect) and Y4 (negative experience). Cross-loadings revealed that physical functioning, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning and mental health were the main factors reflecting the subjective wellbeing of older adults.

Discussion

As quality of life among older adults was highly correlated with subjective wellbeing, appropriate measures should be taken to account for individual characteristics of older adults, and various factors should be integrated to improve their subjective wellbeing.