Search Results (339)

This study examines the relationships between spirituality, resilience, and happiness among higher education students, exploring the moderating roles of religious belief and years of study based on developmental and religious coping theoretical frameworks. Developmental theory suggests that university students’ psychological resources evolve across academic years, while religious coping theory posits that individual differences in religious commitment may buffer spirituality’s protective effects on well-being outcomes. Using a quantitative cross-sectional approach, data were collected from 459 university students from environmental science programs across public and private universities in northern Peru. Participants were predominantly female (59.04%) and aged 18–24 years (73%). Three validated instruments were administered: the Personal Spirituality Scale, Connor–Davidson Brief Resilience Scale, and Subjective Happiness Scale. Religious beliefs were measured on a 5-point scale, while years of study was categorized by academic year. Results from partial least squares structural equation modeling revealed significant direct effects of spirituality on both happiness (β = 0.256, p < 0.001) and resilience (β = 0.274, p < 0.001), with resilience also significantly influencing happiness (β = 0.162, p < 0.05). The structural model demonstrated exceptional explanatory power, with spirituality explaining 97.1% of variance in resilience, while spirituality and resilience together accounted for 86.2% of variance in happiness. Contrary to theoretical expectations, neither religious beliefs (β = 0.032, p = 0.489) nor years of study (β = −0.047, p = 0.443) showed significant moderating effects. These results suggest that spirituality and resilience serve as universal contributors to student well-being, operating independently of specific religious orientations and academic progression. The findings support integrating spiritual development and resilience-building components into inclusive university student support programs. Full article

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

Most research studies have investigated the impact of pet ownership on the mental and physical well-being of elderly populations, supporting the beneficial effect that pets have on their owners. However, few researchers focused on the well-being of both owner and pet. The present study aimed to explore the well-being of pets owned by elderly individuals using an owner assessment tool and the relationship between elderly characteristics and the pet’s health-related quality of life based on the owner’s assessment of their pet’s well-being. Sixty elderly pet owners who made regular visits to veterinary clinics were selected to complete an electronic questionnaire about their pet’s health-related quality of life. The results identified a high agreement percentage on positive indicators related to the pet’s well-being such as “My pet wants to play and My pet responds to my presence” in the happiness domain, “My pet has more good days than bad days” in mental status, “My pet moves normally” in physical status and “My pet keeps him/herself clean” in hygiene which also resulted in a positive relationship with elderly age. Marital status influenced their responses to “My pet responds to my presence and My pet is as active as he/she has been”. The results also support the use of the applied questionnaire to help identify variables that contribute to a pet’s health-related quality of life. The correlation matrix revealed statistically significant positive associations (p < 0.001) among positively phrased items across all domains, as well as among negatively phrased items. These consistent alignments between direct and between reversed items suggest directional coherence and help mitigate potential response bias. Furthermore, the replication of these patterns across multiple domains reinforces the interpretation that the instrument captures a unified construct of pet well-being, In conclusion, based on subjective evaluation of pet-owner relationships, the ownership of pets by elderly individuals could be mutually beneficial to both elderly owners and their pets. Full article

This paper compares two methods, inferential statistics and Systems Dynamics, to study the evolution of individual happiness after a single dose of drug consumption. In an application case, the effect of alcohol and caffeine on happiness is analyzed through a single-case experimental design, with replication, involving two participants. Both inferential statistical analysis and Systems Dynamics methods have been used to analyze the results. Two scales were used to measure happiness—the Euphoria Scale (ES) and the Smiling Face Scale (SFS)—in trait and state format. A single-case experimental ABC design was used. Phase A had no treatment, and Phases B and C saw both subjects receiving 26.51 mL of alcohol and 330 mg of caffeine, respectively. The participants filled in a form with both scales in a state format every 10 min over a 3 h period, operating in each one of the three phases A, B and C. The main conclusion of the analysis performed is that both methods provide similar results about the evolution of individual happiness after single dose consumption. Therefore, the article shows that inferential statistics and the stimulus response model derived from the Systems Dynamics approach can be used in a complementary and enriching way to obtain prediction results. Full article

The aim of this paper is to analyze how young people in Slovakia perceive individual attributes of quality of life and to highlight the positive correlation with ethical values acquired primarily through family upbringing and, significantly, through the national education system. Quality of life is understood as a multidimensional concept encompassing opportunities, fulfillment of human needs, and subjective well-being, including dimensions such as happiness and life satisfaction. These aspects are strongly influenced by ethical values, which are particularly shaped by compulsory ethics or religious education provided to children aged 6–15 within the Slovak national curriculum. To explore the link between ethically grounded education and perceived quality of life among youth, a questionnaire-based survey was conducted. The findings reveal significant correlations between ethical or religious education and various quality of life indicators, emphasizing the importance of ethical education in shaping socially responsible and value-oriented young citizens. This study contributes to understanding the cultural and educational context influencing youth perceptions of quality of life in Slovakia. Full article

This paper advances two interrelated theses. As for the first thesis, it distinguishes well-being, on the one hand, from happiness, on the other hand. As for the second thesis, it differentiates between two important facets of happiness: what this paper calls “happiness-as-tranquility” and “happiness-as-aspiration”. Actually, in order to differentiate the two facets of happiness, we first need to distinguish happiness from well-being. This is the case because happiness, after all, is a by-product of reflecting upon and ruminating over well-being. Given it is the same well-being, how could it give rise to different facets of happiness? It can only do so if we stop conflating happiness with well-being. This entails taking to task the widely accepted concept of “subjective wellbeing”. Such concept is expressly designed to obfuscate the difference between well-being and happiness. As for the two facets of happiness (the second thesis), this paper relies upon the contrast of two famous works of literature: the story of Job and the story of Faust. The contrast uncovers the criticality of the temporal dimension in the acts of reflection upon and rumination over well-being. If people reflect on past accomplishments, they experience backward-looking happiness along the Job story—i.e., happiness-as-tranquility. If people reflect on desire, they experience forward-looking happiness along the Faust story—i.e., happiness-as-aspiration. While the two facets of happiness seem contradictory, they are indeed complementary if we recognize the temporal element when one reflects upon and ruminates over well-being. Full article

The aim of this article is to critically and reliably assess the potential of current emotion recognition technologies for practical applications in human–computer interaction (HCI) systems. The study made use of two databases: one in English (RAVDESS) and another in Polish (EMO-BAJKA), both containing speech recordings expressing various emotions. The effectiveness of recognizing seven and eight different emotions was analyzed. A range of acoustic features, including energy features, mel-cepstral features, zero-crossing rate, fundamental frequency, and spectral features, were utilized to analyze the emotions in speech. Machine learning techniques such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs), long short-term memory (LSTM) networks, and support vector machines with a cubic kernel (cubic SVMs) were employed in the emotion classification task. The research findings indicated that the effective recognition of a broad spectrum of emotions in a subject-independent approach is limited. However, significantly better results were obtained in the classification of paired emotions, suggesting that emotion recognition technologies could be effectively used in specific applications where distinguishing between two particular emotional states is essential. To ensure a reliable and accurate assessment of the emotion recognition system, care was taken to divide the dataset in such a way that the training and testing data contained recordings of completely different individuals. The highest classification accuracies for pairs of emotions were achieved for Angry–Fearful (0.8), Angry–Happy (0.86), Angry–Neutral (1.0), Angry–Sad (1.0), Angry–Surprise (0.89), Disgust–Neutral (0.91), and Disgust–Sad (0.96) in the RAVDESS. In the EMO-BAJKA database, the highest classification accuracies for pairs of emotions were for Joy–Neutral (0.91), Surprise–Neutral (0.80), Surprise–Fear (0.91), and Neutral–Fear (0.91). Full article

Background: Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Japan, and globally, face disparities in mental health and well-being, driven by stigma, exclusion, and minority stress. While social capital is known to enhance well-being, no previous research has examined the distinct roles of gay versus heterosexual social capital in relation to subjective happiness. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey of 1564 MSM in Greater Tokyo, using geosocial networking applications. Social capital was measured using an adapted Resource Generator to assess access to resources from MSM and heterosexual network members. Subjective happiness was assessed using the Japanese version of the Subjective Happiness Scale. Multivariable linear regression identified correlates of happiness. Results: Gay social capital was the strongest predictor of subjective happiness, exceeding the effects of self-rated health, education, employment, and age. High levels of heterosexual social capital were also associated with greater happiness but to a lesser extent. Unemployment, poor health, and attendance at gay cruising venues were negatively associated with happiness. Conclusions: These findings provide the first global evidence of the differential associations between gay and heterosexual social capital on subjective happiness. Community-based interventions that affirm identity and build peer connection may substantially improve well-being among MSM in Japan. Full article

Background: This study examines the psychosocial factors influencing resilience in Colombian victims of armed conflict, highlighting the role of personal, family, and community resources in mitigating trauma. Resilience is a dynamic process that enables individuals and communities to adapt to adversity. Given Colombia’s prolonged violence and forced displacement, trauma has significantly impacted both physical and emotional health. Methods: 200 adult conflict victims were recruited through snowball sampling and completed validated scales via a secure online platform. The Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10), the APGAR Family Scale, and the Brief Resilience Coping Scale assessed resilience, social support, and psychological well-being. Results: Findings indicate that family support was strongly associated with higher resilience, with participants exhibiting higher family support scores (mean = 15.6, SD = 4.47) demonstrating significantly greater resilience (p < 0.001). Additionally, resilient coping strategies (Exp(B) = 0.772, p < 0.001) and higher subjective happiness (Exp(B) = 0.864, p = 0.001) were identified as key predictors of resilience. Significant correlations were found between resilience and mental health outcomes, with higher resilience linked to lower anxiety (ρ = −0.388, p < 0.001) and depression (ρ = −0.388, p < 0.001). Education, employment, and socioeconomic status also positively influenced resilience, with individuals with higher educational levels (χ² = 21.265, p = 0.006) and income (χ² = 8.945, p = 0.030) showing higher resilience scores. In contrast, alcohol consumption (Exp(B) = 0.813, p = 0.014) was negatively associated with resilience. Conclusions: This study shows that resilience in conflict victims is influenced by both individual and social factors. Strengthening family and community support, along with improving coping strategies, is essential for long-term recovery, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to enhance psychosocial well-being in affected populations. Full article

The relationship between income and subjective well-being (SWB) has been widely studied. While previous research has shown that the correlation between income and SWB is not always strong, there is limited research examining how the choice of SWB index influences this relationship. Drawing on survey data collected from 32 countries between 2015 and 2017, this study explores how the income–SWB relationship varies across different SWB indices. The dataset encompasses both developed and developing nations. We analyzed six types of SWB indices documented in the literature—covering a broader range than is typically included—and conducted comparative analyses. To account for the possibility of a nonlinear relationship between income and these SWB measures, we used a semiparametric approach by applying generalized additive models. Our findings show that these six indices can be categorized into three groups: (1) mental health and affect balance, (2) subjective happiness and eudaimonia, and (3) life satisfaction and the Cantril Ladder. These results underscore the significant impact that the selected SWB index can have on the income–SWB relationship. While economic development is often assumed to enhance SWB, our analysis reveals that this relationship does not hold consistently across all SWB indicators. In particular, certain indicators show little or no improvement in well-being despite increasing income levels, suggesting the presence of excessive or inefficient consumption that fails to contribute to genuine human flourishing. These findings challenge the conventional growth-centric paradigm and call for a deeper societal and academic inquiry into what constitutes “true prosperity.” From a sustainability perspective, aligning economic progress with authentic improvements in well-being is essential. This requires not only more careful selection and interpretation of SWB metrics, but also a broader re-evaluation of consumption patterns and policy goals to ensure that future development contributes meaningfully to human and ecological well-being. Full article

This study aims to evaluate the effects of a Walking Football (WF) programme on physical fitness, body composition, health-related quality of life (QoL), and happiness in men and women over 60 years. WF is proposed as a safe and accessible activity to counteract physical inactivity and chronic conditions in ageing populations. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted with 120 participants (both sexes), assigned to either an experimental group (WF intervention) or a wait-list control group. The six-month intervention includes bi-weekly sessions with skills training, match simulations, and fitness exercises. Assessments will be performed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Primary outcome measures will be: body composition (weight, BMI, fat and lean mass), muscular strength, aerobic endurance, agility, range of motion, and subjective well-being (QoL and happiness scales). Linear mixed-effects models and ANCOVA will be used to analyse the data. It is expected that WF will lead to improvements in physical and mental health, contributing to active ageing. This study may also support WF as a tool for social inclusion and well-being in older adults. Full article

As a cornerstone of agricultural modernization, agricultural mechanization plays a pivotal role in driving rural revitalization and establishing agricultural competitiveness. Drawing upon the theoretical framework of happiness economics, this study investigates the impact, mechanisms, and heterogeneous effects of agricultural machinery adoption on farmers’ subjective well-being, utilizing comprehensive household survey data collected from Jiangxi Province in July 2023. The empirical results demonstrate a significant positive correlation between agricultural machinery adoption and farmers’ subjective well-being, a finding that remains robust after addressing endogeneity concerns through instrumental variable approaches. The mechanism analysis reveals that the enhancement of well-being is primarily mediated through facilitated transitions to non-agricultural employment. The purpose of the mechanism analysis is to explain why agricultural mechanization adoption improves farmers’ subjective well-being. This analysis finds that agricultural mechanization adoption improves farmers’ subjective well-being by helping them transition to non-agricultural employment more smoothly. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the beneficial effects are more substantial among male farmers, individuals with higher educational attainment, and younger demographic groups. These findings suggest that policy interventions should focus on enhancing innovation in agricultural machinery technology, optimizing subsidy programs for agricultural equipment, improving rural education systems, and facilitating the structural transformation of rural labor markets. 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

Improving the equity of urban public green space is crucial for residents’ well-being and is a key objective in green space planning. While most existing studies focus primarily on the spatial distribution characteristics of green space resources, fewer explore the mechanisms influencing residents’ subjective perceptions and preferences. This study, based on a survey of 1419 residents in Hunan Province, constructs a structural equation model (SEM) to investigate the impact of the unequal distribution of urban public green space on residents’ happiness, mediated by social–psychological factors such as environmental perception, sense of security, and neighborhood cohesion. Additionally, a random forest (RF) algorithm is employed to identify the main factors influencing residents’ green space usage preferences. The results demonstrate that equity in green space distribution significantly influences residents’ happiness through environmental perception (path coefficient γ = 0.744, p = 0.001), security (γ = 0.664, p = 0.001), and neighborhood cohesion (γ = 0.830, p = 0.001). Key factors influencing residents’ preferences for green space use include age, housing prices, and walkability, with walkability contributing 17.5%, green space equity contributing 11.0%, and age contributing 10.2% to the frequency of green space use. These findings are critical for developing fairer and more effective urban green space policies, contributing to the creation of a more sustainable, equitable, and satisfying urban environment. Full article

The United Nations Organization states that well-being consists of universal goals and aspirations in human life throughout the world. The arrival of the digital age has a profound impact on humans’ way of production and life. While material living standards continue to improve, happiness has become the pursuit of social residents. Based on the theory of happiness economics, we use the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data to construct an Ordered Probit fixed-effect model and systematically investigate the dividend and disparities of digital literacy on rural residents’ subjective well-being in China, such as age, gender, region, education attainment, and so on. The results indicate that digital literacy significantly strengthens rural residents’ subjective well-being. Under the influence of digital literacy, subjective well-being is heterogeneous in individuals’ natural and social attributes. Further mechanism tests show that rural residents’ digital literacy strengthens subjective well-being through income generation, consumption upgrading, and social belonging effects. In consequence, the government should promote the construction of digital infrastructure, focus on the penetration and quality of digital technology, digital skill education and training, and guiding residents to utilize digital technology properly. Our study furthers the understanding of residents’ well-being and highlights digital literacy as a means to boost well-being, reduce regional development gaps, and support sustainable development. Full article