Search Results (187)

Background: Bullying is a significant problem worldwide and in Lithuania, especially among children and adolescents. This study aimed to assess the associations of bullying with adolescents’ subjective sense of happiness and general health. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using an anonymous written questionnaire. Adolescents at various schools across Lithuanian cities and districts were surveyed to investigate the frequency of bullying among them over the past six months and its impact on their subjective sense of happiness and well-being. Results: This study included 4124 students from seventh to tenth grade; their average age was 14.48 ± 1.15 years, with 49.35% being boys. Over the past six months, the highest bullying incidence occurred at school, accounting for 25.79% of the cases. Only half of the respondents (48.81%) felt happy, and a little more than half felt healthy (63.11%). It was found that bullying at school (ρ_s = −0.224; ρ_s = −0.197), outside school (ρ_s = −0.207; ρ_s = −0.180), and online (ρ_s = −0.175; ρ_s = −0.110) is associated with adolescents’ sense of happiness and health. Conclusion: Bullying is common among Lithuanian adolescents and has a negative impact on their subjective happiness and well-being. It is crucial to develop prevention initiatives to decrease bullying in schools and within the community. Full article

Public attitudes toward immigration in Spain are influenced by media narratives, individual traits, and emotional responses. This study examines how portrayals of Arab and African immigrants may be associated with emotional and attitudinal variation. We address three questions: (1) How are different types of media coverage and social environments linked to emotional reactions? (2) What emotions are most frequently associated with these portrayals? and (3) How do political orientation and media exposure relate to changes in perception? A pre/post media exposure survey was conducted with 130 Spanish university students. Machine learning models (decision tree, random forest, and support vector machine) were used to classify attitudes and identify predictive features. Emotional variables such as fear and happiness, as well as perceptions of media clarity and bias, emerged as key features in classification models. Political orientation and prior media experience were also linked to variation in responses. These findings suggest that emotional and contextual factors may be relevant in understanding public perceptions of immigration. The use of interpretable models contributes to a nuanced analysis of media influence and highlights the value of transparent computational approaches in migration research. Full article

School has been identified as a suitable arena for targeting improvements in the health of children and young people. Teachers are highlighted as crucial contributors to student health which has resulted in changes in the teaching profession. The aim of this study is to examine the students’ perspective on the role of the teacher in working with student health. Interviews with 34 students aged 16–19 years were carried out. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis with theoretical underpinnings from pragmatism and symbolic interactionism. This approach identified four dominating roles for teachers: (1) a creator of joyful learning, (2) a creator of a sense of control, (3) a spreader of happiness, and (4) a creator of feeling valued. This study shows that the role of the teacher in working with student health is in acting, not in being, and that this role is constantly (re)created through interaction. The student perspective on the role of the teacher in student health work has close similarities to the role of the teacher in inclusive teaching, merging relational competence with didactic skill. In conclusion, we argue that developing teachers’ didactic as well as relational competency, along with understanding competence within a pragmatic and symbolic interactionist theoretical framework, could improve student health practices. Full article

Contemporary educational literature suggests that academic emotions and emotion regulation should be explored in tandem, while academic motivation has been discussed both as a self-regulation metacognitive construct and as a construct inherently tied to motivation. The present study uses a person-centered approach to explore profiles of university students based on academic emotions, emotion regulation, academic self-regulation, and approaches to learning. In addition, the impact of students’ profiles on academic performance (GPA) is investigated. The sample consists of 509 university students studying at a Greek university social science department. Cluster techniques and multivariate analysis of variance are used to identify the profiles and test for differences among them. Students were grouped in clusters that revealed both consistent and dissonant patterns of scores on the relevant variables. Analysis reveals three distinct profiles: (a) the “Anxious, effectively-engaged, and organized learners”, (b) the “Deep, Happy, and intrinsically motivated learners” and (c) the “Disengaged, Bored, and Suppressing Learners”. These profiles open new insights into educational literature, revealing links among learning, emotional, and motivational factors. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed. Full article

In recent years, the role of flourishing in mental health has gained growing recognition, making the establishment of psychometrically and culturally validated instruments crucial for advancing theory and practice. The aim of this study is twofold: first, to adapt the Multidimensional Flourishing Scale for use in Turkey and investigate its psychometric properties; second, to explore the interrelationships between indicators of flourishing and psychological distress symptoms using network analysis. A total of 529 undergraduate students, comprising 316 females (59.7%) and 213 males (40.3%), with a mean age of 21.65 years (SD = 1.67), participated in the study. The Multidimensional Flourishing Scale, the Flourishing Scale, and the Kessler Distress Scale (K10) were utilized for data collection. Confirmatory factor analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, and the EBICglasso algorithm for network analyses were performed. The findings revealed that the Turkish version of the Multidimensional Flourishing Scale demonstrated a three-dimensional structure consistent with its original version, with satisfactory psychometric properties, including structural and convergent validity as well as reliability. Domain-level network analysis demonstrated that psychological well-being emerged as the most central node within the network, closely followed by psychological distress. Additionally, psychological distress was negatively associated with all domains of flourishing. At the item level, two symptoms of psychological distress, feeling depressed and feeling restless or fidgety, as well as three indicators of flourishing, feeling positive, feeling happy, and perceiving life as full of meaning, emerged as the most central nodes. These findings provide valuable insights into the central features of flourishing and psychological distress, which could potentially guide clinical practice. Further discussion and implications are elaborated upon in the study. Full article

Background/Objectives: Swedish schools are mandated to counteract gender norms that restrict students’ life opportunities. School personnel also bear the responsibility of fostering students’ democratic responsibilities and healthy behaviors, which is crucial not only for their mental wellbeing but also for their academic performance, as stressed by the European Commission. Aim: The purpose of the present study is to explore adolescents’ performativity of gender when discussing social barriers to mental and emotional wellbeing. Methods: Fifty adolescents were interviewed in small gender-divided groups, and the transcribed text was analyzed using thematic analysis. Theoretically, interactionist perspective and gender analytic discourses are applied. Results: Emotional barriers to mental wellbeing were identified based on too cogent gender norms. Boys describe challenging each other and the environment by using a social facade that includes “stoneface” and harsh language, seldom showing sadness, even among close friends. The girls’ facade includes maintaining a “happy face” and trying to be attractive. Both genders underline the need for belonging, and most of them fear social exclusion from peers. According to the interviewees, it is socially acceptable for girls to display most feelings, even mental difficulties such as anxiety or phobia, but among boys, gender norms still hinder them from showing emotional vulnerabilities such as sadness and risking exclusion. Conclusions: Young people’s emotional wellbeing needs to be further developed and included in the curriculum. It is time for adults to focus on boys’ sadness and depressive emotions, as well as girls’ aggressiveness and frankness rather than their appearance, to push the river of equality forward. Full article

Background/Objectives: The prevalence of child and adolescent breakfast skipping is concerning, and limited existing evidence suggests an association between skipping breakfast and negative emotional wellbeing outcomes. However, positive emotional wellbeing outcomes have been neglected from research in this space. Methods: This study explored child and adolescent breakfast skipping and associations with both positive and negative emotional wellbeing outcomes. We utilised existing population-level data (n = 80,610, aged 8–18 years) collected in 2023 via a statewide census among children and adolescents in South Australian schools, the Wellbeing and Engagement Collection. Results: Adjusted linear regression analyses indicated lower scores on positive wellbeing outcomes for students who skipped breakfast every day compared to students who never skipped breakfast, ranging from β = −0.19 for happiness (95% CI = −0.21, −0.17) to β = −0.23 for optimism (95% CI = −0.25, −0.21). Results also highlighted higher scores on negative wellbeing indicators, sadness (β = 0.12, 95% CI = 0.10, 0.15), and worries (β = 0.05 95% CI = 0.03, 0.08) among students who always skipped relative to those who never skipped breakfast. Conclusions: Findings support the potential for child and adolescent emotional wellbeing to be fostered through interventions designed to promote daily breakfast consumption. Future research focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the circumstances surrounding child and adolescent breakfast consumption behaviours is needed to inform the development of effective interventions to increase breakfast consumption. Full article

This study contributes to the understanding and promotion of mental health among sexual minority college students by examining a comprehensive range of mental health outcomes, including psychological distress and indicators of well-being. Using survey data from 521 students at a US state university, we applied the minority stress model and the minority resilience model, while also considering the minority mental health paradox, to compare mental health outcomes between sexual minority and heterosexual students. Our findings indicate that sexual minority students report higher levels of depression, anxiety, and self-harming behaviors compared to their heterosexual peers. Additionally, they score lower on measures of positive mental health and well-being, including inner peace, environmental mastery, happiness, life satisfaction, life purpose, self-perceived health, and fulfilling relationships. We further found that sexual minority students exhibit lower resilience, largely due to insecurities related to safety, food, and housing. These findings underscore the need for targeted programs and services to support the well-being of sexual minority students and foster healthier college environments. Full article

Family diversity is a reality in Spanish Early Childhood Education schools. However, there is little research on the perspective of teachers and families on this type of diversity, and even fewer studies on the viewpoint of children in Early Childhood Education. This study analyzed the perception of family diversity among 156 Early Childhood Education children from three schools in the province of Granada (Spain). Alongside the use of the ‘Family Diversity Questionnaire for Children’, a quantitative study was conducted with a non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional, and comparative design. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and mode) and frequencies were calculated. After assessing the normality of the data using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, inferential analyses were performed, using Student’s t-tests and ANOVA tests to determine whether there were any significant differences. The results showed that the nuclear family was the most recognized family structure by the children, in contrast to the one-person family, which was the least recognized. As for the happiness level, the extended family was identified as the happiest typology, while the divorced family was the one with the lowest happiness level. Full article

Background: Childhood obesity is a growing public-health concern in China and globally, a trend influenced by multiple factors, including poor eating behaviors and insufficient physical activity. While interactive health games have shown promise in improving children’s nutrition education and healthy eating behaviors, few have been tailored for the Chinese context. This study aimed to develop and evaluate Happy Farm, Happy Meal (HFHM), an alternate reality game (ARG) integrated into Chinese elementary students’ daily routines to enhance their nutrition knowledge and improve their eating behaviors. Methods: This pilot study employed a quasi-experimental design with two third-grade classes, which were randomly assigned to the HFHM intervention group (n = 40) or a no-game control group (n = 39). The game design was informed by a pre-intervention survey and interviews with caregivers and teachers, which identified key dietary challenges such as picky eating, slow eating, and food waste. Over a two-week period, the HFHM group engaged in food- and nutrition-focused tasks that were incorporated into their lunchtime routines. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected on nutrition knowledge, food waste, picky eating, and meal duration, with daily progress tracking in the HFHM group. Results: Compared to the control group, the HFHM group showed a significant increase in nutrition knowledge (p < 0.05), reduced food waste (p < 0.01), decreased picky eating (p < 0.01), and improved meal duration (p < 0.05). However, the small sample size and short intervention period limit generalizability. Conclusions: These findings suggest HFHM is a promising tool for improving nutrition education and dietary behaviors in Chinese children. Future research should validate these findings in a larger sample and assess long-term impacts. Full article

The demands of the labor market are a constant challenge for universities, emphasizing the crucial importance of competency-based education to make our students more academically and professionally competitive. The benefits of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Subjective Well-Being (happiness/life satisfaction) (SWB) have been evidenced as necessary competencies in personal, academic, and professional contexts. Our research assessed these variables in a sample of 300 university students from Madrid (Spain), comprising 68 (22.7%) men and 232 (77.3%) women, aged between 18 and 47 years (M = 21.72; SD = 0.42). Our objective was to determine their baseline levels, study their relationship with Academic Achievement (AA), analyze their changes after a positive emotional intervention, and determine if they are predictors of AA. For this, we used a quasi-experimental pre/post-test design with experimental/control groups. Our results show medium–high baseline levels of EI, SWB, and AA in our students; positive correlations, which improved in intensity in the post-test, between EI (clarity and repair) and SWB, between AA and EI (attention), and between AA and happiness (OHI); and better scores in EI and happiness in the post-test compared to the pre-test, and in the experimental group compared to the control group, as a result of our intervention. Finally, the findings indicate that EI (attention) and SWB (life satisfaction) jointly predict a small part of AA. The data are discussed for their implications for change in higher education, towards competency-based education interventions that improve the outcomes and employability of our students and bridge the university/industry gap. Full article

This study explored how Korean students’ happiness impacts depression during their transition from middle to high school, emphasizing teacher relationships as a mediator and peer and parental relationships as moderators. Utilizing data from 2147 students (1150 male, 997 female) in the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey, this study assessed happiness, depression, and relationships with teachers, peers, and parents in 2020 and 2021. Data analyses involved Pearson’s correlations, descriptive statistics, and the SPSS 28.0 macro-PROCESS model for mediation and moderated mediation. Happiness in third-grade middle school students (M = 3.0509, SD = 0.4583) was positively linked to high school teacher relationships (β = 0.1958, p < 0.001) and negatively linked to depression (β = −0.1732, p < 0.001). Teacher relationships mediated the link between happiness and depression, with an indirect effect of β = −0.0339 (p < 0.001). Reduced negative parental attitudes strengthened the link between happiness and teacher relationships (β = −0.1045, p < 0.01). Teacher–student relationships are vital for adolescent emotional health, particularly during academic stress. Policies should encourage such relationships, enhance parenting, and develop students’ social skills. Full article

To maximize the potential of sex education, it is essential to optimize aspects related to the environment, the trainer–trainee interaction, and the quality of training. The objective of the present study was to identify and describe the satisfaction of higher education students with sex education training. An exploratory, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was carried out using the Student Satisfaction with Higher Education questionnaire, which was applied to a sample of 132 higher education students from several countries. In the statistical analysis using the SPSS software version 28, non-parametric tests were used, namely, the Mann–Whitney test and the Kruskal–Wallis test, in addition to Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Overall, the participants considered themselves very satisfied with the sex education training provided (χ = 4.77). The largest contribution to the satisfaction of the higher education students with the sex education training was the “quality of the training organization (environment and content)” (χ = 4.79). Educators and policymakers have the role of designing, implementing, and evaluating programs that satisfy college students and encourage them to strive for more sex education training aimed at promoting well-being, happiness, and sexual health. Full article

This study aims to explore the impact of the timing (day vs. night) and location (green space vs. non-green space) of outdoor physical activity on college students’ mental health. We designed a cross-sectional study based on self-reported data, asking participants to recall their physical activity and mental health status over the past month through a questionnaire. Specifically, a survey was conducted at a university in Chongqing, collecting data on outdoor physical activity and mental health indicators (including anxiety, depression, mental well-being, life satisfaction, happiness, and stress) from 418 students (75 females). The questionnaire was distributed via an online platform, allowing students to complete it using either their mobile phones or computers. The data collection took place in December 2024. The results showed that about half of the participants preferred engaging in outdoor physical activity in the nighttime, with most choosing green spaces. Regression analysis revealed that participants who engaged in outdoor physical activity at night had significantly lower anxiety levels compared to those who engaged in outdoor physical activity during the day (mean difference (MD) = −1.015; 95% CI = −1.974 to −0.055; p = 0.038). Additionally, compared to participants who engaged in outdoor physical activity in green spaces, those who engaged in physical activity in non-green spaces reported lower levels of mental well-being (MD = −1.531; 95% CI = −2.480 to −0.582; p = 0.002) and subjective happiness (MD = −0.462; 95% CI = −0.917 to −0.007; p = 0.047). Sensitivity analysis indicated that, for those who participated in nighttime activities, engaging in outdoor physical activity in green spaces was associated with higher levels of mental well-being (MD = 2.025; 95% CI = 0.810 to 0.324; p = 0.001) and happiness (MD = 0.583; 95% CI = 0.026 to 1.140; p = 0.040). Sensitivity analysis also revealed slight gender differences; however, the findings related to females should be interpreted with caution due to the insufficient sample size. Overall, despite some differences in time and location choices, engaging in outdoor physical activity at night in green spaces appears to associate with college students’ health, particularly their happiness and mental well-being. This study provides preliminary evidence of the potential benefits of nighttime green outdoor physical activity for improving college students’ mental health and offers directions for future research in this area. Full article

Background/Objectives: Adequate sleep is critical for adolescents’ physical and mental health. However, academic demands and lifestyle habits lead to insufficient sleep among many adolescents. This study examined the relationship between sleep patterns and general characteristics, health behaviors, and mental health among South Korean adolescents. Methods: Data were obtained from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, involving 21,283 students aged between 13 and 18 years. Self-reported sleep duration was categorized as adequate (8–10 h) or insufficient (less than 8 h on both weekdays and weekends), and 20 independent variables across demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, health-related behavioral, and psychological factors were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the effects of insufficient sleep. Results: Insufficient sleep was more prevalent among female students (odds ratio [OR]: 2.064) and older students (OR: 16.588 for Grade 12 vs. Grade 7) and was associated with higher stress levels (OR: 4.338 for almost always vs. never), suicidal ideation (OR: 1.826), and unhealthy behaviors such as alcohol consumption (OR: 2.009), smoking (OR: 1.998), and smartphone overdependence (OR: 2.313 for severe vs. normal). In contrast, adolescents with adequate sleep reported greater happiness (OR: 4.167 for very much vs. not at all) and better academic performance (OR: 1.377 for very high vs. very low). Conclusions: The findings show that insufficient sleep significantly affects adolescent well-being, highlighting the need for tailored interventions and increased societal awareness. Future research should explore the mechanisms underlying gender differences and weekday–weekend sleep disparities to enhance sleep quality in this population. Full article