Search Results (295)

Although the psychological consequences of the empty-nest period are heterogeneous, depressive symptoms remain an important concern among empty-nest older adults in China. However, little is known about how depressive symptoms are associated with the self-reported use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies following positive and negative emotional events. This study compared the self-reported use of nine ER strategies following recalled happy and sad events among empty-nest older adults with high versus low depressive symptoms (N = 145) using generalized estimating equations. Older adults with higher depressive symptoms reported more frequent use of rumination and self-criticism following sad events, and more frequent use of cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, experiential avoidance, and self-criticism following happy events. They also reported less frequent problem-solving across both event types and less frequent acceptance and social sharing following happy events. In addition, they reported more frequent rumination following sad events and more frequent cognitive reappraisal and distraction following happy events, whereas the low-depressive-symptom group showed the reverse pattern. They also showed lower overall strategy-use ratings, a smaller strategy repertoire following sad events, and less differentiated repertoire patterns across happy and sad events. These findings provide descriptive evidence that depressive symptoms among empty-nest older adults are associated with distinct patterns of self-reported ER strategy use and repertoire size following recalled sad events. Full article

Facial expression recognition is a pivotal area in computer vision, traditionally focusing on categorical labels such as ‘Happy’, and ‘Sad’. Recent advancements have transitioned towards using the continuous indicators valence and arousal, reflecting the complicated nature of human emotions. This study introduces a method using semi-supervised learning to generate valence and arousal labels for existing categorical datasets, addressing challenges like racial bias. We propose a pseudo-label refinement framework, VAP-Refine (Valence-Arousal Pseudo-label Refinement), which enhances facial expression recognition by combining teacher model predictions and category-level statistics. These predicted labels are adjusted using ground truth category information and combined with actual category labels to train a more robust facial expression recognition model. Our approach improved accuracy from 69.3% to 72.26% and from 62.94% to 67.24% across two datasets. Fine-tuning with a teacher model predicting valence and arousal achieved 75.82% and 91.58% accuracy, with an F1-score of 0.9147, despite data imbalances. These results highlight the potential of semi-supervised learning to enhance facial expression recognition by incorporating continuous emotional indicators, improving model performance and contributing to more accurate affective computing applications. Furthermore, the proposed framework consistently improved performance across various backbone architectures, including ResNet50, SHViT, and DDAMFN++, highlighting its generalizability and versatility. Full article

Smoking behavior (SB) remains a critical public health challenge in China, yet evidence on its longitudinal associations with multidimensional well-being remains limited. This study examines the relationship between smoking and three dimensions of well-being—depression, self-rated health, and happiness—using three recent waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS; 2018, 2020, 2022) with 61,127 observations from 32,329 individuals. Growth curve modeling was employed to assess whether smoking is associated with well-being and whether these associations vary by gender and birth cohort. Three main findings emerge. First, smoking is positively associated with depressive symptoms (β = 0.210, p < 0.001) and self-rated health (β = 0.085, p < 0.001), but shows no significant association with happiness. Second, gender significantly moderates the relationship between smoking and well-being. The association between smoking and depressive symptoms is stronger among women, while gender differences are less pronounced for happiness. Third, cohort differences reveal substantial variation in the smoking-well-being relationship. For depression, smoking is associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms among older cohorts, but this association reverses among younger cohorts, as indicated by a significant smoking × cohort interaction (β = 0.230, p < 0.001). For self-rated health, the positive association between smoking and perceived health weakens across successive cohorts (β = −0.029, p < 0.001). No significant cohort variation is observed for happiness. These findings highlight that the relationship between smoking and well-being is shaped by gender norms and generational change. The results underscore the importance of gender-sensitive and cohort-specific tobacco control strategies, particularly in addressing the vulnerabilities of women and younger populations. Full article

The next generation of crewed space missions will take astronauts farther away from Earth than ever before. These missions will necessitate increasingly sophisticated and autonomous control of Life Support Systems (LSS) to ensure astronauts stay alive, healthy and happy. High system autonomy and resilience are therefore critical to mission success. A key enabler for future space missions are Digital Twins (DTs) of LSSs. The use of DTs to date includes a wide range of applications. Nevertheless, they have not yet been adopted for LSSs. Combining LSSs with DTs offers benefits in the development and testing of new LSS technologies, as well as their monitoring once missions are underway. Together with the DT, astronauts can make time-critical decisions on their own, which is a crucial factor for enabling deep space missions. However, implementing DTs comes with its own challenges, such as collecting all the necessary data with appropriate sensors and handling the vast amounts of data generated. Additionally, the DT must be given boundaries in which it can control its physical counterpart so as not to harm valuable equipment. These development issues and possible shortcomings of DTs, as well as the potential of DTs of LSSs are discussed in this paper. Full article

Architectural heritage plays a central role in shaping visitors’ emotional experiences within cultural tourism contexts. However, empirical research examining how specific architectural styles evoke emotional responses remains limited, particularly when using objective measurement techniques. This study investigates emotional reactions to architectural heritage by applying the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) theoretical framework. In this model, architectural styles act as environmental stimuli, emotional processing represents the organismic state, and the resulting emotional activation constitutes the response. An experimental protocol was conducted with a sample of 645 participants exposed to a series of standardized architectural heritage images representing different architectural styles and infrastructure types. Emotional reactions were captured in real time through facial emotion recognition technology, enabling the objective measurement of eight basic emotions: neutral, happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, disgust, anger, and contempt. The collected emotional data were statistically analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to identify significant differences in emotional responses across architectural styles, heritage typologies, and gender. When significant differences were detected, Tukey’s HSD post hoc tests were applied to determine specific group contrasts. The findings reveal that different architectural styles generate distinct emotional patterns, highlighting the role of architectural aesthetics as a powerful mediator of affective engagement with heritage environments. From a theoretical perspective, this research contributes to heritage tourism and environmental psychology by integrating the SOR framework with real-time emotion detection technologies, providing a novel methodological approach for analyzing emotional responses to architectural heritage. Full article

The use of extended reality technologies in cultural heritage contexts raises questions about their effectiveness in enhancing emotional, cognitive, and experiential engagement with artworks, particularly when direct access to original pieces is limited. The aim of this study was to compare emotional, cognitive, and physiological responses elicited by different modes of art presentation and to evaluate their effectiveness relative to direct, in-person museum viewing as a benchmark condition. The study examined visitors’ responses to Caravaggio’s Adoration of the Shepherds through three digital presentation modalities: Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and life-sized screen projection (LSP). Seventy-one voluntary participants completed affective assessments (PANAS, SAM), physiological recordings (heart rate, electrodermal activity, oxygen saturation), and artwork evaluations of creativity, pleasantness, technique, and curiosity. Results indicated significant effects of presentation modality: VR tended to elicit the strongest engagement-related responses, including higher positive affect, greater physiological activation, and more favorable ratings of pleasantness and curiosity, whereas AR and LSP showed more variable patterns. Physiological indicators confirmed increased arousal during VR exposure, supporting its potential to evoke more intense affective involvement. These findings suggest that immersive technologies may complement direct museum encounters by fostering curiosity, emotional engagement, and visitor-centered exploration, thereby enriching cultural heritage experiences and informal learning opportunities. Specifically, significant effects of presentation modality were observed for positive affect (F(2,140) = 6.23, p < 0.01), happiness (F(2,140) = 6.78, p = 0.003), skin conductance (F(2,140) = 7.15, p = 0.002), heart rate (F(2,140) = 4.32, p = 0.017), pleasantness (F(2,140) = 9.64, p < 0.001), and curiosity (F(2,140) = 5.21, p = 0.008), with VR generally yielding the highest scores on these measures. Full article

Background: It is well known that the university period is an important stage for young adults, involving significant academic and psychosocial adjustments. Students with greater Mental Health Literacy (MHL), which is defined as the knowledge, beliefs, and skills individuals have regarding mental health and mental illness, are better able to identify difficulties, seek help, and adopt healthier coping strategies. This study aims to describe the MHL levels of undergraduate health students and identify associated factors related to academic life, mental health and psychological state. Methods: A cross-sectional, self-administered, web-based survey was conducted using a non-probability sampling strategy among undergraduate students in health-related degrees at a Portuguese higher-education institution. Data was collected using a general characterization questionnaire and the following instruments: MHL Questionnaire, Academic Life Satisfaction, Subjective Happiness Scale, Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Bivariate and linear regression analyses were employed to identify factors associated with MHL. Results: A total of 306 students (79% female, mean age = 21.6 years; 59% nursing students) participated. The median MHL score was 70 (range: 30–80). The linear regression model explained 17.5% of the variance in MHL. Higher MHL levels were associated with having the course as a first choice, holding a previous degree, reporting taking psychotropic medication use (which may reflect previous mental health service utilization), and higher levels of psychological well-being. Conclusions: This study provides evidence on factors associated with MHL among undergraduate health students, suggesting that higher MHL is associated with greater psychological well-being, highlighting the potential importance of integrating strategies to promote MHL and psychological well-being in health and nursing education. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution due to the single-institution convenience sample, potential self-selection and reporting biases, and cross-sectional design, which limits causal inferences. Full article

This study assesses whether the mainstreaming hypothesis, derived from cultivation frameworks developed during the mass audience era, remains operative in a digital media environment characterized by fragmenting media and cultural taste publics. In particular, we consider evolving conceptions of mainstreaming that stimulated our research questions and hypotheses in four surveys conducted from 2015 to 2024. We broaden our view of media to see if entertainment content—especially film genres—can provide common ground in attracting people with little else in common. Results suggest that such “cultural mainstreaming” may occur by providing common gratifications and impact global indictors of our lives—happiness, community attachment, feelings about our quality of life, and perceived cosmopoliteness. But the results are limited to a general adult population, not the younger students studied. The findings apply only to the general adult population and not to the younger student sample examined. Overall, the results indicate that the cultivation effect is relatively weak; the small number of significant relationships observed does not appear to exceed what might be expected by chance. Taken together, these findings suggest that mainstreaming and media influence operate as more complex processes in the digital era. Full article

The Carbon Generalized System of Preferences (CGSP), theoretically rooted in value co-creation, serves as a vital policy tool for household carbon mitigation, yet faces an awareness-behavior gap during implementation. In this study, theoretical and empirical analyses were conducted to reveal the dual-pathway mechanism underlying the residents’ participation in the CGSP. The findings demonstrate that the residents’ participation behavior is positively influenced by the two-way communication between government and residents, as well as the residents’ sense of responsibility. Specifically, these two factors can also enhance participation by fostering egoistic and altruistic values, respectively. Notably, face culture weakens the positive effects of both values on participation, which embodies the paradigm conflict between traditional cultural and modern environmental governance systems. Residents with higher work happiness and women demonstrate significantly higher participation rates. The findings yield three policy recommendations for enhancing CGSP participation and operational sustainability. Full article

People are generally willing to help others maintain a basic life, but their willingness to help others pursue a luxury life—and the motivations underlying such decisions—remain unclear. Study 1 examined willingness to help and emotion expectancy in response to demand for necessary versus luxury items, taking helpers’ agreeableness and the controllability of the causes of others’ adversity into account. Study 2 further tested whether helpers’ cost of helping or the utilitarian goals of what others wanted would explain willingness to help and emotion expectancy. A total of 308 university students, acting as potential helpers, were randomly assigned to different helping scenarios. Study 1 found that demand for luxury items reduced both willingness to help and expected happiness, regardless of personality or situational factors. Study 2 showed that among participants low in agreeableness, low utilitarian goals consistently reduced willingness to help, suggesting an other-centric motivation. Among participants high in agreeableness, low utilitarian goals reduced willingness to help only when helping costs were high, indicating a trade-off between other-centric and egocentric motivations. These findings reveal that although people tend to be unwilling to help others pursue a luxury life, the motivations guiding this reluctance depend on individuals’ levels of agreeableness. Full article

Background: Adolescence is a developmental window of heightened vulnerability to psychological distress, yet the interplay between pathology and protective factors remains understudied in a low-to-middle-income urban district in North Lima, Peru. This study examined the network structure of resilience, happiness, and mental health indicators in Peruvian adolescents to identify precise intervention targets. Methods: A sample of 559 adolescents (49.9% boys; M_age = 14.72, SD = 1.43) recruited from public secondary schools in Carabayllo, a low-to-middle-income urban district in North Lima, Peru, completed validated measures of resilience (CD-RISC-25), subjective happiness, and mental health (anxiety, depression, and stress). A Gaussian Graphical Model was estimated using non-regularized partial correlations. Node centrality, predictability, and network stability were assessed, and a Network Comparison Test evaluated structural differences by sex. Results: Anxiety, depression, and stress formed a tightly interconnected core, with the strongest edge between stress and anxiety. Among the psychological resources, self-regulation and external resources showed the highest centrality and predictability, followed by personal competence and tenacity. Happiness occupied a peripheral position but maintained a negative association with depression. The network demonstrated strong stability (CS = 0.75). No significant structural or global strength differences emerged between boys and girls. Conclusions: Findings challenge generic well-being approaches, revealing that happiness is a distal factor rather than a central buffer in this population. Instead, the network architecture suggests that interrupting the stress–anxiety loop and fostering self-regulation skills constitute the most effective pathways for school-based mental health protection, regardless of student gender. Full article

Background/Objectives: In Phenylketonuria (PKU), engaging in regular physical activity and exercise (PA/E) is important for physical and psychological health, but additional considerations may be required to facilitate uptake and performance as well as to optimise metabolic control. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate the stakeholder perspectives on the barriers, facilitators, and solutions to completing PA/E, sport, and nutrition in PKU. Methods: In total, 7 in-person and 6 online semi-structured focus groups (FGs) were conducted with individuals with PKU (n = 31), caregivers (n = 13), clinicians (n = 17), and medical industry professionals (n = 14) in PKU (n = 75 total participants). Three main questions about the barriers, facilitators, and solutions to performing PA/E with PKU were explored. Identified themes were mapped onto the capability, opportunity, motivation, and behaviour (COM-B) model of behaviour change with anonymous quotes from relevant stakeholders used to illustrate the findings. Results: Five common themes were identified. Most notably, individuals with PKU and their caregivers stated fatigue, poor recovery, low energy, and fear around the impact of exercise on blood phenylalanine (Phe) control were barriers to PA/E. Individuals with PKU were aware of the potential benefits of exercise, stating PA/E impacted positively on their mental well-being, daily functioning, and happiness and improved their self-confidence and long-term health. Identified solutions to PA/E participation included greater knowledge in regard to the impact of PA/E on Phe levels, improvements in advice on amount and supplementation with protein substitutes, tailored PKU nutritional advice, more awareness of PA/E within and outside the PKU community, specific PKU guidelines for PA/E, more scientific research, and PA/E events. Misalignment was evident, such that individuals with PKU reported additional barriers to PA/E, whereas other key stakeholder groups perceived the same barriers as the general public. Conclusions: There seems to be a misalignment between individuals with PKU, caregivers, clinicians, and industry professionals regarding PA/E, sport, and nutrition. Individuals with PKU and caregivers reported additional barriers to undertaking PA/E, sport, and nutrition compared to the general public. This suggests that further education and collaboration is needed through stakeholders to better understand how such barriers could be overcome in respect of PA/E, sport, and nutrition in individuals with PKU. Full article

Aim: As the global population is aging rapidly, promoting physical activity in later life is increasingly seen as a good strategy to enhance and sustain the social and psychological well-being of older adults from a positive aging perspective. This study explored how social capital influences the relationship between playing football and happiness in veteran footballers. Specifically, it aimed to understand if social capital acts as a mediator between these two factors. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on a convenience sample of 423 veteran footballers aged from 38 to 59 years who completed a survey at 35th Sakarya Veterans Football Tournament in Sakarya in north-west Turkey. Football participation was assessed using the Serious Leisure Inventory. Social capital was assessed in both cognitive and structural aspects. A single-item scale assessed general happiness. Data were analyzed with Pearson correlation coefficients and were calculated using SPSS (version 24) to assess the direction and strength of the links between the investigated variables. Path coefficients were calculated through regression analyses. For testing mediation effects, the study utilized Hayes’ bootstrapping method, executed with the Version 4.2 Beta of the PROCESS macro. Results: According to the research findings, the direct effect of football participation on happiness was determined to be 0.43 (p < 0.01). While community involvement played a significant mediating role with a coefficient of 0.11 (95% CI [0.05, 0.15]), the social trust and neighborhood dimensions of social capital did not yield statistically significant effects. Collectively, the model explains 24% of the variance in happiness (R² = 0.24), with a total effect of football participation calculated at 0.57 (p = 0.000). Conclusions: it is believed that social environments that include participation in sport can contribute to successful and comfortable aging by greatly enhancing the overall well-being and happiness of older athletes/adults. Full article

Background: In today’s dynamic healthcare environment, Changi General Hospital (CGH) has positioned staff wellbeing and engagement as fundamental priorities that underpin workforce sustainability and quality care delivery. Recognizing that allied health professionals (AHPs) face unique emotional demands and potential empathy fatigue, the CGH Allied Health Division (AHD) uses three strategic pillars: individual empowerment, leaders as key stewards and institutional support systems to address staff wellbeing and engagement. This paper will evaluate the outcomes of implementing the programs and identifying the barriers and enablers to achieving staff wellbeing and engagement. Methods: It adopts a mixed-methods approach using both quantitative survey data and qualitative feedback. Results: A total of 314 AHPs participated with a mean employment duration of 8.89 years. While 95% agreed that their work was meaningful and 76.8% reported happiness at work, 40.8% did not experience being recognized by the organization and approximately 30% did not find higher management responsive to their needs or transparent in their communication. Qualitative analysis revealed concerns about psychological safety of sharing one’s opinions and concerns, and a desire for better renumeration and career progression. Conclusions: AHPs reported happiness and meaningfulness in their clinical work. However, issues with organizational recognition, higher management responsiveness and transparency, as well as psychological safety were elicited. Working towards addressing fostering psychological safety and enhancing recognition and communication with management are important in order to develop and sustain a thriving healthcare workforce capable of high-quality patient care. Overall, the findings reinforced AHD direction of putting employee wellbeing and engagement as a strategic priority. Full article

Throughout her oeuvre, Mary Lavin (1912–1996) engages with the nuances of “celibate moments” within masculine life cycles. This periodic sexlessness is often expressed through the complexities of strained or upended marital unions, as in “A Happy Death”, as well as the homosocial and fraternal relationships depicted in “The Joy Ride” and “The Becker Wives.” Within these overlooked narrative spaces, we can consider the relational implications of sexlessness, singleness and marital struggle on interpersonal relationships and the intimacies of masculine sexual identity in post-independent Ireland. In Lavin’s work, the short story is not a conclusive form, and celibacy is not always a permanent practice or observed behaviour. Instead, celibacy can be transient, often silent but equally charged with generative or destructive potential. This article will theorise male celibacy as part of Lavin’s commitment to silence and restraint and include this as part of her refusal of conventional romantic closures. Celibacy in this case takes on a significant positionality within interpersonal characterisations, not merely as a passive symptom of unhappiness or a given consequence of marital decline or spousal death, but as an active and at times frustrated response to hegemonic expectation. To conceive of masculine celibacy in these works, this article considers how celibacy functions within domestic short fiction and Lavin’s conceptualisation of everyday estranged intimacies. Full article