188 Mohsen Joshanloo and Samaneh Afshari tasks and challenges‖ (Keyes, 1998, p. 122). Accordingly, Keyes (1998) asserts that there is more to functioning than psychological well-being and believes that to understand optimal functioning and mental health, social scientists should also investigate individuals‘ social well-being. Keyes‘s (1998) multidimensional model of social well-being is an attempt to conceptualize and assess the social aspect of well-being. This model falls into the eudaimonic perspective and addresses social aspects of human functioning. This model consists of five dimensions that indicate whether and to what degree individuals are functioning well in their social world. ―Social Acceptance is a favorable view of human nature and a feeling of comfort with other people; Social Actualization is the belief in the evolution of society and the sense that society has potential that is being realized through its institutions and citizens; Social Contribution is the evaluation of one‘s value to society; Social Coherence is the perception of the quality, organization, and operation of the social world and includes a concern for knowing about the world; and Social Integration is the extent to which people feel they have something in common with others who constitute their social reality (e.g., their neighborhood), as well as the degree to which they feel that they belong to their communities and society.‖ (Robitschek and Keyes, 2009, p. 323). These new measures are distinct from extant measures of social well-being that reflect the interpersonal (e.g., aggression) and the societal levels (e.g., poverty and social capital) of analysis (Keyes and Shapiro, 2004). Since the area of social well-being is so important to the quality of life of the people, researchers have made several attempts to search for the correlates and predictors of social well-being in different cultures. For example, social well-being has been found to correlate with anomie, community involvement, generativity, neighborhood heath, life satisfaction, happiness, and dysphoria in United States (Keyes, 1998). It is related to social participation in United States, Italy, and Iran (Cicognani et al., 2008). Social well-being is related to perceived social support, psychological sense of community, identification with community, self-esteem, and self-efficacy in Iranian university students (Joshanloo, Rostami, and Nosratabadi, 2006). Keyes and Ryff (1998) also found that overall social well-being was correlated with measures of civic engagement and prosocial behavior. Using an Iranian student sample, Joshanloo and Ghaedi (2009) found that social well-being was correlated with life satisfaction, affect balance, and psychological well-being. In that study, it was also found that four basic human values (power, self-direction, conformity, and benevolence) were related to social well-being. Research also shows that society is a source of social wellness. Social well-being increases with education and, in general, with age (Keyes, 1998). Using a national American sample, Keyes and Shapiro (2004) found that social well-being is highest among high status persons, males, and those who are married or never married. In contrast, females, those who are previously married, and those who have low occupational status have the lowest level of overall social well-being.
Big Five Personality Traits as Predictors… 189 RELATION BETWEEN THE BIG FIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS AND ASPECTS OF WELL-BEING The new trait psychology heralded by the Big Five (i.e., five personality traits most commonly labeled extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience; see Costa and McCrae, 1994) ―is arguably the most recognizable contribution personality psychology has to offer today to the discipline of psychology as a whole and to the behavioral and social sciences‖ (McAdams and Pals, 2006, p. 204). Personality traits are important for a wide range of applications (e.g., in the filed of industrial/organizational psychology and predicting problem behaviors, see McCrae, 2004). Related to the scope of this study, they also have been found to be linked to different facets of well-being. Research has shown that external factors (e.g., health, income, etc.) have only a modest impact on subjective well-being reports (Diener et al., 1999). Research instead shows that subjective well-being is often strongly correlated with stable personality traits (Diener, Oishi, and Lucas, 2003). In terms of the Big Five personality traits, extraversion and neuroticism have been found to be the strongest predictors of subjective well-being in many countries (see Schimmack et al., 2002 for a very brief review). However, in the late 1990s, the meta-analysis by DeNeve and Cooper (1998) indicated that two other personality traits, namely agreeableness and conscientiousness also predispose individuals towards subjective well- being. Openness to new experiences does not appear to be a strong and consistent predictor of subjective well-being. Schmutte and Ryff‘s study (1997) revealed consistent linkages between the domains of personality and psychological well-being. Environmental mastery demonstrated strong negative links with neuroticism, as did purpose in life and autonomy, to a lesser degree. Self- acceptance, environmental mastery, and purpose in life were related to extraversion and conscientiousness. Personal growth was related to openness. Positive relations with others was associated with agreeableness and to a lesser degree with extraversion. Finally autonomy was linked with extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness but most strongly with neuroticism. Schmutte and Ryff concluded that the dimensions of psychological well-being are ―distinct from, yet meaningfully influenced by, personality‖ (p. 557). To our knowledge, the only examination of the relation between the Big Five personality traits and social well-being is that of Joshanloo, Rastegar, and Bakhshi (unpublished manuscript). Participants of this study were 236 university students at the University of Tehran. Findings revealed that, among the Big Five personality domains, neuroticism was negatively related to social acceptance, social contribution, and social coherence. Conscientiousness was positively related to social contribution. Openness was positively related to social contribution and social coherence. Agreeableness also was related to social acceptance and social contribution. Finally, no significant correlation was observed between extraversion and facets of social well-being. The brief review presented above shows that all five personality traits are related to at least one aspect of hedonic or eudaimonic well-being. One important point is that openness to experience tends to correlate only with eudaimonic aspects of well-being. This is in line with Keyes, Shmotkin, and Ryff‘s (2002) finding that those with high levels of eudaimonic well- being (as assessed by psychological well-being scales) but low levels of subjective well-being
190 Mohsen Joshanloo and Samaneh Afshari were distinguished from their opposite counterpart (high subjective well-being/low psychological well-being) by their high levels of openness to experience. WELL-BEING RESEARCH IN IRAN Research on well-being is scant in Iran. However, a few studies have examined the relation between personality traits and some aspects of well-being. For example, Joshanloo and Nosratabadi‘s study (2009), using an Iranian student sample, showed that extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and agreeableness could significantly discriminate among the three levels of mental health continuum (i.e., flourishing, moderately mentally healthy, and languishing). In that study mental health was operationalized and assessed based on the Keyes‘s (2002) comprehensive model of mental health, which unlike most of the existing models of mental health, takes all aspects of well-being (emotional, psychological, and social) into account (see Joshanloo and Nosratabadi, 2009; Keyes, 2002). Joshanloo and Afshari (in press) also found that four of the Big Five traits (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) were significantly correlated with life satisfaction in a sample of Iranian university students. Findings of that study revealed that there were some gender differences in the level of life satisfaction and its relation to personality traits. These findings, together with those of other studies conducted in Iran (as mentioned earlier) which are in line with the findings from other countries, give initial support to the applicability of the relatively new constructs (such as different aspects of well-being) and their measures, recently introduced by positive psychologists, to Iranian samples. In addition, these studies confirm the importance and relevance of all five personality traits in predicting different aspects of well-being in Iranian samples. THE PRESENT STUDY The present study, which is an exploratory one, sought to examine the relation between the Big Five personality traits and eudaimonic well-being in an Iranian sample. Based on the brief review provided above, a composite score produced by summing up the scores of purpose in life, personal growth, and social well-being was used to assess overall eudaimonic well-being in this study, given the central role of these three aspects in eudaimonic well-being models. Based on the past studies in Iran (as reviewed above) and all over the world, we expected that all five personality traits would correlate with eudaimonic well-being. Given that significant gender differences have been documented in the aspects of psychological well-being (e.g., Ryff, 1989; Ryff et al., 1994) and social well-being (Keyes, 2008; Keyes and Shapiro, 2004; Joshanloo, Rastegar, and Bakhshi, unpublished manuscript), we were also interested to examine the gender differences and moderating effect of gender on the relation between personality traits and eudaimonic well-being. A sample of Iranian university students was used for the purposes of this study.
Big Five Personality Traits as Predictors… 191 METHOD Participants Participants were 240 undergraduates at the University of Tehran. Groups of varying size completed the questionnaires in classrooms. The sample consisted of 151 female (62.9%) and 88 male (37.1%) students who were recruited from different fields of study. Average age was 21.60 years (SD =2.28). Ninety six (40%) of the participants were from Teheran (the capital of Iran) and 142 (59.2%) of them were from different areas of Iran (including villages). Two students did not report their cities. Measures All scales were translated from English into Persian using the method of back-translation. The following scales were employed: Big Five personality traits. Big Five Inventory (John, Donahue, and Kentle, 1991) was used to measure the Big Five personality traits. It consists of 44 items to measure extraversion (8 items), agreeableness (9 items), conscientiousness (9 items), neuroticism (8 items), and openness to experience (10 items). The items are rated on a 5-point scale (1 = disagree strongly, 5 = agree strongly). Social well-being. Keyes‘s (1998) 33-item scale of social well-being was used. On a scale from 1 to 7, respondents indicated whether they agreed or disagreed strongly, moderately, or slightly that an item described them. This scale assesses the five dimensions of social well- being (social-acceptance, social actualization, social contribution, social coherence, and social integration). Psychological well-being. Purpose in life and personal growth subscales of Ryff‘s (1989) scale of psychological well-being were used to assess purpose in life and personal growth. Each subscale contains nine items. Items are scored on a 7-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Giving all the measures equal presence in the overall eudaimonic score, scores of three scales of social well-being, purpose in life, and personal growth were first transformed to z- scores and then summed up to obtain an overall score of eudaimonic well-being for each student. RESULTS Preliminary Analysis Table 1 presents bivariate intercorrelations, means, standard deviations, and Cronbach‘s alphas for all scales used in the study. Independent t test was used to examine the gender differences in the three dimensions of eudaimonic well-being. The results showed that male students scored significantly higher than female students on social well-being (t(198) = -
192 Mohsen Joshanloo and Samaneh Afshari 2.358, p < .05). No significant gender difference was found for personal growth (t(225) = - 1.404, p = .162) and purpose in life (t(226) = -.135, p = .893). Regression Analysis To examine the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and overall score of eudaimonic well-being, a multiple regression analysis was conducted. Eudaimonic well-being was entered as the dependent variable and all five personality traits were entered as potential predictors. Results of the regression analysis are summarized in Table 2. Table 1. Descriptive statistics, alphas, and intercorrelations among the scales used in the study 1. Purpose in life 1 2 3 45 6 7 8 9 2. Personal growth 1 .68 .47 .87 .13 .20 .42 -.26 3. Social well-being 1 .46 .86 .17 .19 .39 -.26 .19 4. Eudaimonic well- 46.53 1 .77 .18 .30 .30 -.38 .33 8.58 47.92 1 .22 .30 .46 -.40 .14 being .71 7.84 146.19 .04 .10 .001 .24 5. Extraversion .68 26.56 1 1 .17 -.34 .13 6. Agreeableness 1 -.37 .16 7. Conscientiousness .90 .02 25.20 32.63 1 .26 8. Neuroticism 2.53 4.96 4.98 30.86 -.21 .62 5.73 22.97 1 9. Openness - .61 .72 6.70 36.66 .80 5.37 Mean .63 SD Alpha * p<0.05, ** p<0.01. Table 2. Summary of multiple regression analysis for five personality traits predicting overall eudaimonic well-being dependent R2 df F predictors β t variable 12.31** Extraversion .13 1.82 Eudaimonic .304 5, 141 Agreeableness .11 1.52 well-being Conscientiousness .27 3.46* -.23 -2.85* Neuroticism .09 1.28 Openness * p<0.01, ** p<0.001.
Big Five Personality Traits as Predictors… 193 Table 3. Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for moderating effect of gender on the relation between the Big Five personality traits and eudaimonic well-being predictors β t R2 (adjusted) ∆R2 .304 (.279) Step 1 .13 1.82 .11 1.52 Extraversion .27 3.46** Agreeableness -.23 -2.85** Conscientiousness .09 1.28 Neuroticism Openness Step 2 .326 (.297) .022 Gender .15 2.12* Step 3 .407 (.359) .081 Extraversion ˟gender .90 2.13* 1.77 3.44** Agreeableness ˟gender Conscientiousness ˟ .49 .91 gender .14 .47 Neuroticism ˟gender -.48 -.82 Openness ˟gender * p<0.05, ** p<0.01. As displayed in the table, results of the regression analysis showed that 30.4% of the total variance in eudaimonic well-being was explained by the Big Five traits (R2= .304, adjusted R2= .279, F (5, 141) = 12.31, p<.001). Two personality traits, namely, conscientiousness and neuroticism significantly contributed to the prediction of eudaimonic well-being. Moderating Effect of Gender A hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the moderating effect of gender on the relation between personality traits and eudaimonic well-being. The predictors (the Big Five traits) were entered in the first block and the moderator (gender) was entered in the second block. Finally, the interaction terms between predictors and moderator were entered in the last block. Generally, a significant interaction term is taken as an indication of a significant moderating effect. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis are displayed in Table 3. At step 1, conscientiousness and neuroticism significantly predicted eudaimonic well- being. At step 2, gender was a significant predictor of eudaimonic well-being (β = .154), indicating that male students scored higher than female students on eudaimonic well-being. Finally, at step 3, there were significant interactions between gender and extraversion and gender and agreeableness. The positive betas (.90 and 1.77, respectively) indicated that the relation between these two traits and eudaimonic well-being were stronger for male students than female students. Other interaction terms were not significant.
194 Mohsen Joshanloo and Samaneh Afshari DISCUSSION This study sought to examine the relation between the Big Five personality traits and eudaimonic well-being in Iran. In this study, purpose in life, personal growth, and social well- being scales were used to assess eudaimonic well-being. Consistent with the expectations, results of bivariate correlation analysis showed that all five personality traits were significantly correlated with overall eudaimonic well-being (see Table 1). Furthermore, Consistent with Schmutte and Ryff‘s (1997) findings in an American sample, purpose in life and personal growth also were significantly correlated with all the Big Five traits in this Iranian sample. Regarding the intercorrelations between the Big Five personality traits and overall eudaimonic well-being, the largest correlation coefficients were found between eudaimonic well-being and two traits of conscientiousness (r=.46) and neuroticism (r=-.40). Openness to experiences also was correlated with eudaimonic well-being (r=.24). Given that Joshanloo and Afshari (in press) found that openness was not a significant correlate of one aspect of hedonic well-being (life satisfaction) in an Iranian student sample, it can be concluded that openness contributes solely to eudaimonic aspects of well-being in this cultural context. These findings are in line with those of Keyes, Shmotkin, and Ryff (2002), showing that of the personality traits, openness to experience, neuroticism, and conscientiousness were higher among participants with eudaimonic well-being greater than hedonic well-being than among those with hedonic well-being greater than eudaimonic well-being. To further examine the relation between personality traits and eudemonic well-being and control for overlapping variance among the variables, regression analysis was used. Results of the regression analysis showed that a substantial amount of the total variance (30.4%) in eudaimonic well-being was explained by the Big Five traits. This finding is in line with the finings of past studies in Iran and other countries (e.g., DeNeve and Cooper, 1998; Keyes, Shmotkin, and Ryff , 2002; Schmutte and Ryff, 1997), indicating that personality traits are strong and consistent predictors of different aspects of well-being. Furthermore, results indicate that although there are significant correlations between all the Big Five personality traits and eudaimonic well-being, conscientiousness and neuroticism are the most vigorous predictors of eudaimonic well-being in the used sample. In a study with Iranian undergraduates, Joshanloo and Afshari (in press) found that, among the Big Five traits, extraversion and neuroticism significantly predicted one aspect of hedonic well-being (life satisfaction). Taken together, findings of the present study and those of Joshanloo and Afshari‘s study lead us to the conclusion that neuroticism is a vigorous predictor of both hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of well-being in Iran while conscientiousness is a better predictor of eudaimonic well-being and extraversion is a better predictor of hedonic well-being. These findings are interpretable in view of the fact that extraversion is an affect-related trait of personality and therefore is expected to relate to emotional (hedonic) aspects of well- being. On the other hand, conscientiousness has much more to do with functioning than affectivity and therefore is expected to relate to functional (eudaimonic) aspects of well- being. Finally, findings concerning neuroticism attest to the importance of this trait for both affective and functional aspects of well-being.
Big Five Personality Traits as Predictors… 195 Studies using American samples show that women tend to score significantly higher than men on personal growth (e.g., Ryff, 1989; Ryff et al., 1994). In addition, prior research in United States shows that men score higher than women on social well-being (Keyes and Shapiro, 2004). In view of these findings, we expected to find significant gender differences in scores of at least two dimensions of eudaimonic well-being (social well-being and personal growth) in this sample. Consistent with these expectations, findings of the present study showed that there was a significant gender difference in the level of social well-being in the used sample. Results revealed that in the used sample, male students scored significantly higher than female students on social well-being. However, no significant gender difference was found for personal growth and purpose in life. That female students scored lower on social well-being and did not differ with male students on personal growth (unlike American women who tend to score higher than men on personal growth) may be interpreted in view of the traditional gender role expectations in Iranian society. Although the social status of women has improved during the last decades, their social status is still lower than men. For example, it appears that many parents prefer male children to female children. Girls also have the lowest position in the hierarchy of the family. As women living in a traditional-religious society, Iranian women are expected to adhere to much stricter codes of conduct than men. Collectively, such social conditions may lead to lower well-being for female students in Iran. In the present study gender moderated the relation between eudaimonic well-being and two traits of extraversion and agreeableness. These relations were significantly stronger for male students than female students. Nevertheless, it is not easy to explain these gender differences yet, mainly because research on personality traits and aspects of well-being and their relations with socio-economic variables is rare in Iran. Therefore, exploring the reasons of these differences remains an interesting topic for the future research. Nonetheless, the significant gender differences found in this study along with those found in past studies on well-being in Iranian samples suggest that, it is wise to control for gender in future well-being studies in Iran. Overall, it is possible to conclude that these findings support the association between the Big Five personality traits and eudaimonic well-being. However, more research is needed to confirm these patterns, in different age groups and national contexts. In this study we focused on the relation between broad personality traits and eudaimonic well-being. Further research should test how narrower personality traits (e.g., self-esteem) and personality processes relate to eudaimonic well-being. Finally, further research is needed to examine possible mediators of the patterns of relationship found in this study. Though the present findings are quite promising, the study had several limitations. One of the limitations of the present study was the cross-sectional design. All variables were assessed at one moment in time in the same questionnaire. In addition, with a university student sample, caution must be applied. It is not clear how well these results would generalize to other age groups, because of the noticeable differences between students and adult samples. Finally no systematic control of some sociodemographic variables of the sample was carried out. For example, while replicable patterns of age differences in aspects of well-being have been documented, age was not taken into account, mainly because there was very little dispersion of this variable in the sample. Despite these limitations, this study adds to the sparse literature on the relation between personality domains and social and psychological functioning in Iran.
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In: Psychological Well-Being ISBN 978-1-61668-180-7 Editor: Ingrid E. Wells, pp. 199-211 © 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Chapter 8 HEALTH, JOB COMMITMENT AND RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH SELF-REPORTED WORK- RELATED STRESS IN HEADTEACHERS: CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY Samantha Phillips Working Health Solutions, Waterlooville, Hampshire, United Kingdom ABSTRACT Background. Work-related stress is known to be a cause of ill health and decreased productivity and work in the education sector is thought to be particularly stressful. However few studies have considered health outcomes or personal risk factors predictive of work-related stress and health in head teachers. Aims. To investigate health and job commitment in head teachers in West Sussex, UK and to determine personal risk factors most likely to predict cases of work-related stress and those with poor health in this group. Methods. A cross sectional study, by postal questionnaire, in a population of 290 head teachers and college principals. The measuring instrument was a validated questionnaire, ASSET (a short stress evaluation tool) and additional questions derived from previous studies. ―Caseness‖ was defined as respondents who felt work was ―very or extremely stressful‖. Results were compared with those for a general population of workers (GPN) and a group of managers and professionals (MPN). Results. Prevalence rate of work-related stress in head teachers was 43%. Head teachers had higher levels of job commitment but poor physical and mental health when compared to a general population group. Psychological well-being, particularly of females and primary head teachers, was also worse than a comparative group of managers and professionals. Teaching less than 5 hours per week was a significant predictor of caseness. Female gender was a significant predictor of poor psychological well-being.
200 Samantha Phillips Conclusion. Prevalence of stress in head teachers in West Sussex is high and has an effect on psychological well-being in particular. Compared to other similar professionals head teachers have poor psychological health. Gender and school type influences outcome, female head teachers have worse health outcomes. INTRODUCTION The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines work-related stress (WRS) as ―the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them‖ [1]. In a press release in November 2005 [2] the NAHT stated its concern with regards to stress in head teachers following the finding by their staff absence insurers that 38% of all absence amongst head teachers is through work-related stress. In their recent cross-sectional study the authors investigated the prevalence of WRS, and reported stressors, in head teachers and principals of Colleges of Further Education in West Sussex [3]. The prevalence, at 43%, was more than double that found in workers in the HSE Bristol study [4]. The two main self-reported stressors identified using the ASSET questionnaire [5], were workload and work-life imbalance (in particular working long hours and work interfering with home life). The average hours per week (HPW) worked by the respondents were in excess of the Working Time Regulations recommendations [6]. Working excessive hours has been associated with poor performance, low productivity [7], stress [4,8] and ill health [9-12].Other stressors that ranked high when compared to a general population group were change, performance monitoring and difficult ―customers‖. With respect to stressors specific to managers in education, the highest ranked stressors included inspection by Ofsted, legislation and performance. Change as a stressor is not surprising given the significant changes which have taken place to the organisation of education and the role of head teachers in the UK, post 1980 and the Education Reform Act 988; the modern head teacher is a manager first and teacher second [13, 14]. Parents are now viewed as consumers in the education marketplace and this has resulted in the increasing, sometimes unreasonable, demands upon head teachers [15]. The study also investigated whether there were differences in physical and psychological health outcomes and in job commitment of head teachers compared to a general population group (GPN) and a peer group of managers/professionals (MPN). It also looked to identify personal factors that might predict cases of WRS and poor health as an outcome. (Some of these findings were outlined in a short report in Occupational Medicine [16].) We now report in detail on these findings. METHODS A cross-sectional survey of head teachers and principals, from all maintained schools listed on the West Sussex Grid for Learning Website and government-funded further education colleges in West Sussex, was conducted by postal questionnaire between September – December 2005. Special schools were not included. The total population was 290 head teachers and principals.
Health, Job Commitment and Risk Factors… 201 The questionnaire used was a short stress evaluation tool (ASSET) [5] produced by Robertson Cooper. It is a validated questionnaire which allows comparison of the study population data with a large database of information gained from previous ASSET studies in general population and other groups of workers. An overview of the ASSET questionnaire is given in Appendix 1 [3]. The ASSET ―norm‖ groups which were used as comparators in this study were a general population group (GPN) consisting of over 25 000workers and a group of managers/professionals (MPN) comprising nearly 6000 people from public and private sector organisations in the UK. ASSET scores for four measures - physical health, psychological health, commitment of organisation to employee and commitment of employee to organisation -are reported here. These measures are referred to as ‗outcomes of stress‘ by ASSET but we avoid this terminology since causality cannot be established in a cross-sectional study. However ASSET questions on psychological well-being are comparable to the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) [17]. In addition to the ASSET questionnaire supplementary questions sought responses on perception of WRS, job satisfaction and perceived causes of managerial stress specific to education (Appendix 2 of earlier paper [3]). These questions were derived from previous work by Kelly [18] and Chaplain [19] (with their permission) or were new questions altogether. Cases of WRS were defined as individuals who felt that their work was very or extremely stressful(following the Bristol study design) [4]. Ethical approval was given by the University Of Manchester ethics committee. Statistical analysis of the data was carried out using ASSET software, SPSS for Windows 11.5 and STATA v9. ASSET scores from head teachers were compared to the mean results for the norm groups using one-sample t tests. For each measure, ASSET software was used to derive a group STEN score for the comparison with each norm group: STEN scores have a scale of 0-10 with a score of 4-7 being considered ―average‖. Regression analysis (logistic regression for WRS) was used to investigate personal factors and aspects of the job and school which might be predictive of WRS, of poor physical health and of poor psychological health as measured by the ASSET tools. The list of factors considered included: age, sex, disability, marital status, family size, training and experience, type of school, location, size, number of staff, hours worked and hours spent teaching. We also had information on other factors which might be associated with poor outcomes – such as alcohol usage, smoking, making time to relax, to exercise or for hobbies and usage of health services. However since these factors could plausibly be consequences of poor physical and mental health, we did not consider them as possible predictors. In the preliminary regression analyses for WRS and each health measure, each predictor was considered separately and any factor for which p ≤0.10 was noted. Only results for these factors are shown. In the second stage all such factors were considered together in a single regression; results from this regression are also reported. For WRS, the power of the regression analyses was reasonable (80% with a 5% significance level) to detect increases in risk of 2 or more associated with a factor but would be less for factors which have less strong predictive ability. Age was included as a possible predictor of physical health in the final regression regardless of statistical significance.
202 Samantha Phillips Table 1. Information on school and personal demographics for respondents School demographics for respondents Number Percent (%) Catchment area 8 4 Inner city 56 30 39 21 Mainly urban 50 27 Suburban 30 16 3 2 Mainly rural A mixture 21 11 97 52 Not answered 37 20 13 7 Size by number of pupils 11 6 <100 6 3 1 1 100 - 300 301 - 500 159 86 501 - 1000 25 13 1001 – 1500 0 0 2 1 > 1500 Not answered 66 36 52 28 School type 25 13 Primary school 32 17 Secondary school 95 College of F E 21 No response 117 63 Respondents‘ own 68 37 1 0.5 demographics 16 9 No. of years as head 63 34 0–5 101 54 53 6–10 11 11 –15 16 –20 42 94 51 >20 77 41 Missing 95 21 Gender Female Male Missing Age Group 31-40 41-50 51-60 >60 Missing Academic Level A level or equivalent Degree Higher Degree Other Missing
Health, Job Commitment and Risk Factors… 203 School demographics for respondents Number Percent (%) Marital Status 132 71 Married 17 9 11 6 Living with partner 4 2 Single 17 9 4 2 Separated 1 1 Divorced Widowed 89 48 32 17 Missing 29 16 No. of children ≤ 18 yrs 10 5 2 1 0 24 13 1 2 75 40 3 22 12 4 51 27 Missing 15 8 4 2 No. of children > 18 yrs 19 10 0 1 136 73 2 16 9 3 34 18 4 Missing Partner works Yes No Missing Table 2. One sample t test comparing the respondents’ mean results for ASSET “outcomes” of stress with the GPN and MPN mean values ASSET Number of Mean One sample t test comparing to One sample t test comparing to MPN category respondents score GPN (SD) Test mean 95% CI of Test mean 95% CI of (mean the (mean the difference) difference 19.1 (5.9)** 5.2 to 6.5 difference) difference Commitment 179 25 20.2 (5)** 4.3 to 5.5 of organisation (4.2) to employee 184 21.2 15.6 (5.6)** 5.2 to 6.0 17.1 (4.1)** 3.7 to 4.5 Commitment (2.7) of employee to organisation 175 14.8 13.8 (0.9)* 0.4 to 1.5 13.3 (1.5)** 0.86 to 2.1 23.1 (2.5)** 1.6 to 3.5 (4.0) Physical health Psychological 182 25.6 23.2 (2.5)** 1.5 to 3.4 health (6.7) * Difference is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). ** Difference is significant at the 0.001 level (2-tailed).
204 Samantha Phillips RESULTS Response rate was 64%. The distribution of the respondents was very similar to that of the survey population for age, school type and gender [3]. No principals of Further Education colleges responded. Head teachers were asked to provide information about the catchment area, size and type of their school and background information about themselves [Table 1]. Information was also sought on the average number of hours worked per week (HPW); mean value was 57.5 HPW. Secondary school head teachers worked, on average, significantly longer hours than primary head teachers. The prevalence rate of WRS, as reported was 43%. [3] Responses to questions on work commitment and health (taken as measures of ―outcomes‖ of stress in ASSET) were considered in comparison to the general population (GPN) and management/professional normative (MPN) groups. One-sample t tests were used to compare head teachers mean results to the mean results for the GPN and MPN groups. Head teachers had significantly higher commitment and worse health outcomes (physical and psychological) compared to both GPN and MPN [Table 2]. Using the ASSET sten scoring system, head teachers‘ results for commitment were above average compared to both GPN and MPN groups. Head teachers‘ psychological well-being was poor compared to both groups and their physical health was poor compared to the GPN [Figure 1]. Results by gender and school type for ASSET ―outcomes‖ of stress were analysed by comparison to the MPN group. All the groups, other than males, had above average commitment. Physical health outcomes were average for all the groups and psychological well being was average in male and secondary head teachers but poor in primary and female head teachers [Figure 2.] Psychological well-being n=182 Physical health n=179 GPN MPN Commitment of employee to organisation n=184 Commitment of organisation to employee n=179 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sten scores for head teachers when compared to \"norm\" groups Figure 1. ASSET ―outcomes‖ of stress for head teachers compared to general population and management professional norm groups, using STEN scores.
Health, Job Commitment and Risk Factors… 205 Psychological well-being Physical health Secondary head teacher Primary head teacher Commitment of employee to Male head teacher organisation Female head teacher Commitment of organisation to employee 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 STEN scores when compared to MPN group Figure 2. ASSET ―outcomes‖ of stress for head teachers grouped by gender and category of institution when compared to the management professional norm group, using STEN scores. Personal risk factors likely to predict WRS and poor physical or psychological health were considered [Tables 3-5]. Personal risk factors which individually predicted WRS (using P<0.10 as a cut-off criterion) were: having a disability, having no management training, working in an urban/city catchment area and fewer hours teaching. The association with hours worked was not a significant predictor but is included in the table for interest. Disability and management training could not be included in the multiple regression because of problems with zeros. However all disabled head teachers were stressed as were all those with no management training in the reduced (n=150) dataset used for the regression. When the other factors are analysed together using multiple regression analysis to remove the effects of confounding, the only factor which significantly predicted WRS was teaching less than 5 hours per week (p=0.038) [Table 3.] The mean score on the physical health scale was 14.8 (range 6-24) with high values indicating poorer health. Personal risk factors predicting poor physical health were; living alone, having a disability and being female. Increasing length of service as a head teacher was associated with better physical health as was working in a school with more than 500 pupils. Older people had slightly higher scores but age was not a significant predictor; nevertheless it was included in all models. When all these factors, together with age, were analysed together, to account for their confounding effects on each other living alone was a significant predictor of worse physical health (p=0.018) with an odds ratio of 2 and increasing length of service was significantly associated with better physical health (p=0.02). [Table 4].
206 Samantha Phillips Table 3. Multiple regression analysis of personal risk factors as predictors of work- related stress Personal risk factors Unadjusted Unadjusted 95% confidence * Adjusted *Adjusted * 95% odds ratio p value interval odds ratio p value confidence interval Fixed/semi permanent characteristics of school or job: 1.86 0.047 1.01 – 3.45 1.64 0.175 0.80 – 3.36 Catchment area (urban/city vs other) 0.94 0.862 0.48 – 1.83 1.19 0.649 0.57 – 2.47 Hours teaching (1-4 0.21 0.003 0.07 – 0.59 0.31 0.038 0.10 – 0.94 hours vs 0) ( 5+ hours vs 0) 1.70 0.16 0.82 – 3.55 1.37 0.463 0.59 – 3.15 Hours worked per 1.78 0.22 0.71 – 4.44 1.73 0.315 0.60 – 5.00 week** (>51-60 vs ≤ 50) (>60 vs ≤ 50) Fixed/semi permanent personal characteristics related to training/experience: Management training (no 8.55 0.049 1.01 – 72.5 vs yes) Personal characteristics: Disability 8.95*** 0.003 1.06 – 76.0 *Adjusted for others in group n= 150. ** Included despite p>0.10 because of interesting association shown. *** Calculated using special formula [20] because of zero cell in 2x2 table: all six disabled heads had stress. The mean score on the psychological health scale was 25.6 (range 11-43) with high values indicating poorer mental health. Having a disability, being female and living alone were also predictors of poor psychological well being, while those working in a large school (>500 pupils) had reduced scores. When these factors were analysed together only female gender was a significant predictor for poorer psychological health (p=0.022). [Table5] CONCLUSION ―A most distressing case of suicide occurred recently at Woolwich. The headmaster of the Woolwich-Common Military College shot himself on Saturday last. His brother gave evidence to the effect that the deceased had often complained that the work was killing him, saying that the trouble of teaching did not affect him so much as the worry of management.‖ (The Schoolmaster 6 December 1879). [21] Work-related mental ill health amongst head teachers is therefore not a new concept. The high prevalence of WRS in this study, is double that of the Bristol study [4], although this study was undertaken during a period of change, including the introduction of PPA (planning, preparation and assessment) time for teachers, which may have resulted in a temporary increase in stress. However this study also considers those individual and personal ‗risk factors‘ most likely to predict WRS and corroborating information on health. The
Health, Job Commitment and Risk Factors… 207 psychological wellbeing scale provides a valid assessment of mental health and shows good convergent validity with the GHQ [17]. It provides an objective measure of stress outcome, although in a cross sectional study causality cannot be determined. Also non-work factors and individual predisposition remain unknown and are possible sources of confounding. In this study the ASSET psychological wellbeing score for head teachers differed significantly to the norm groups: very poor compared to the general population group and poor compared to other managers. Constant tiredness, feeling unable to cope, avoiding contact with others and having difficulty concentrating were the highest scoring items in this group. Primary head teachers‘ mental health appeared worse than secondary head teachers but the difference was not significant. Female head teachers‘ mental well being was very poor compared to other managers/professionals, poor compared to the general population and significantly worse than that of their male colleagues. When the personal risk factors which were significantly associated with poor psychological well being were analysed together only female gender remained a significant predictor (p=0.022) for poorer psychological health. Previous studies have documented poor mental health in head teachers, especially primary head teachers [22,23]. In a national study of head teachers in 1988 [22], female primary and male head teachers had worse mental health outcomes than the ‗normative population‘. Direct comparison between our study and this earlier work is not possible as different measures of mental well-being were used; the difference in outcomes may also be related to the changes in society and education that have also taken place in the intervening years. Nevertheless, the findings of this current study is in keeping with those of many other studies into WRS, where females tend to declare stress and poor mental health more readily [24- 27]. Head teachers working in a large school (>500 pupils) had reduced scores on the psychological and physical health scale, possibly reflecting the greater organisational/staff support that is available in larger schools. Although there was no statistical association with size of school and WRS 11% of those who made comments specifically mentioned difficulties inherent in heading a small school and previous studies have commented on the relationship between small schools and headteacher stress [13, 28]. Teaching commitment of less than 5 hours per week was the single most important predictor of WRS in our study group. In an earlier NZ study [29] head teachers with full time teaching responsibilities had lower stress ratings, but as they also came from the smaller schools this could have been a confounding factor. Our study suggests that teaching is one of the more enjoyable aspects of a head teachers‘ job. However, the nature of headship has changed over the last 20 years with the emphasis moving away from time spent teaching to leadership. Working in an urban/city catchment area was significantly associated with individuals subsequently reporting WRS. There was a progressive increase in risk of WRS with increase in hours worked although this association was not significant. Comparison with European head teachers would be interesting as there is some evidence that UK teachers work longer hours, perceive more job demands and have lower job satisfaction than their European counterparts [30]. All disabled head teachers reported WRS [31, 32]. Although having a disability and having had management training could not be included in the final regression analysis for WRS, for each of these factors the risk of WRS was increased eight fold. However due to the small numbers involved the confidence intervals for these groups are large and the results
208 Samantha Phillips should be interpreted with caution. Training courses for managers are of dual benefit: they engender discussion on the subject of stress thereby exploding some of the myths, and also provide individuals with coping ideas and skills, of particular benefit if there is a pre-existing physical or psychological disability. Physical health scores for head teachers differed significantly to the norm groups with poor outcomes compared to the general population group and average compared to other managers. Again female and primary head teachers (mainly female) had worse outcomes than their male and secondary counterparts. Individual risk factors predicting poor physical health scores were living alone, having a disability and being female. Although older head teachers had slightly higher scores, age was not a significant predictor of physical health outcome. Following multiple regression analysis the main predictors of physical health outcome are; living alone (p=0.018), associated with worse physical health and increasing length of service as a head teacher (p=0.02), associated with better physical health. Increased length of service may be protective through individual, adaptive behaviour acquired through experience and over time or as a result of ―healthy worker effect.‖ In previous studies where physical health was assessed it was not noted to be of concern although in most instances no validated measures were used. Job commitment was also considered in comparison to the norm groups. Head teachers results showed an above average level of commitment despite the high prevalence of stress and poor psychological health. Many commented that their commitment was to their school rather than to the wider education organisation. Their enthusiasm for the job may mean that they do not consider the possible negative outcomes of some of the stressors identified in this profession and in our earlier paper [3], in particular working long hours, and a poor work-life balance. In conclusion, therefore, our study shows that compared to other similar professionals head teachers have poor psychological health and female and primary head teachers‘ health is worse than for their male and secondary counterparts. Considering part time, more flexible working conditions and increasing business support for primary head teachers and allowing more time for teaching may be useful options to explore. Health promotion may also have a role to play. REFERENCES [1] HSE. Definition of Stress. http://www.hse.gov.uk/stress/index.htm (5th February 2006, date last accessed.) [2] NAHT. ―Worrying Levels of Work Stress Related Absence for HeadTeachers‖. Available at www.naht.org.uk/webnewsview.asp/ID=2050 (18th November 2005, date last accessed.) [3] Phillips S, Sen D, McNamee R. Prevalence and causes of self-reported work-related stress in head teachers. Occupational Medicine 57[5]: 367-376. 2007. [4] Smith A, Johal S, Wadsworth E, Davey Smith G, Peters T. The scale of occupational stress The Bristol Stress and Health at Work Study. 265/2000. 2000. HSE Books. [5] Cartwright S, Cooper CL. ASSET Management Guide. 2002. Robertson Cooper Ltd.
Health, Job Commitment and Risk Factors… 209 [6] Directive 2003/88/EC. The European Union Working Time Directive. Available at www.eu-working-directive.com (1st June 2006, date last accessed.) [7] Kodz J, et al. Working long hours: a review of the evidence. Volume 1. 2003. Department of Trade and Industry. [8] Ahlberg J, Kononen M, Rantala M, Sarna S, Lindholm H, Nissinen M et al. Self- reported stress among multiprofessional media personnel. Occupational Medicine 53: 403-405. 2003. [9] Tung RL, Koch JL,. School Administrators: Sources of Stress and Ways of Coping with it. Cooper CL, Marshall J editors. White Collar and Professional Stress. [3], 63-91. 1980. Chichester, John Wiley and Sons. Wiley Series on Studies in Occupational Stress. Cooper, C. L and Kasl, S.V [10] Dembe AE, Erickson JB, Delbos RG, Banks SM. The impact of overtime and long work hours on occupational injuries and illnesses: new evidence from the United States. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 62, 588-597. 2005 [11] Sparks K, Cooper C, Fried Y, Shirom A. The effects of hours of work on health: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology 70[4], 391-400. 1997. [12] Harrington JM. Health effects of shift work and extended hours of work. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 58, 68-72. 2001. [13] Boydell D. ―…The Gerbil on the Wheel‖: Conversations with Primary Headteachers about the implications of ERA. Education 3-13 [18 (2)], 20-24. 1990 [14] Hellawell D. The Changing Role of the Head in the Primary school in England. School Organization 11[3], 321-327. 1991 [15] Jones N. The Changing Role of the Primary School Head. Educational Management and Administration 27[4], 441-451. 1999. [16] Phillips S, Sen D, McNamee R. Risk factors for work-related stress and health in head teachers. Occupational medicine 58[8], 584-586. 2008. [17] Johnson s, Cooper C. The construct validity of the ASSET stress measure. Stress and Health 19[3], 181-185.2003. [18] Kelly MJ. Occupational stress among headteachers and principals/ directors of public sector education establishments in the UK. 1991. UMIST. [19] Chaplain RP. Stress and Job Satisfaction among Primary Headteachers A Question of Balance? Educational Management and Administration 29(2), 197-215.2001. [20] Jewell N. On the bias of commonly used measures of association for 2x2 tables. Biometrics 1986; 42: 351-358. [21] Quoted on Page 2 of Stress in Teachers Past, Present and Future. Dunham J, Varma V editors. 1998. London, Whurr Publishers Ltd. [22] Cooper C, Kelly M. Occupational stress in head teachers: a national UK study. British Journal of Educational Psychology [63], 130143.1993. [23] Savery LK, Detuik M. The Perceived Stress Levels of Primary and Secondary Principals. Journal of Educational Administration 24 [2], 272-281. 1986. [24] Work Stress and Health: Findings from the Whitehall II Study. Ferrie JE, editor. 2005. [25] Collins PA, Gibbs ACC. Stress in police officers: a study of the origins, prevalence and severity of stress-related symptoms within a county police force. Occupational Medicine 53[4], 256-264. 2003.
210 Samantha Phillips [26] Bogg J, Cooper CL. An examination of gender differences for job satisfaction, mental health, and occupational stress among senior U.K. civil servants. International Journal of Stress Management 1[2], 159172. 1994. [27] Fotinatos- Ventouratos R, Cooper C. The role of gender and social class in work stress. Journal of Managerial Psychology 20[1], 14-23. 2005. [28] The Handbook of Educational Leadership and Management. Davies B, West- Burnham J, editors. 2003. London, Pearson Education Limited. [29] Galloway d, Panckhurst F, Boswell K, Boswell C. Sources of stress for primary school head teachers in New Zealand. British Educational Research Journal 12[3], 281-288. 1986. [30] Griva K, Joekes K. UK Teachers Under Stress: Can we predict wellness on the basis of characteristics of the teaching job? Psychology and Health 18[4], 457. 2003. [31] Feuerstein M, Thebarge RW. Perceptions of disability and occupational stress as discriminators of work disability in patients with chronic pain. J. of Occup. Rehab, vol1, no.3, 1991. [32] Merikangas et al. The impact of comorbidity of mental and physical conditions on role disability in the US household population. Arch Gen. Psychiatry 64:1180-1188. 2007. APPENDIX 1 ASSET has four sections: Background demographics Stressors: perceptions of your job: scored 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree) Stressors/outcomes of stress: attitudes towards your organization: scored 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). Outcomes of stress: your health: scored from 1 (never) to 4 (often). The responses on sources of stress are grouped into eight categories: Work relationships Work-life balance Overload Job security Control Resources and communication Aspects of the job Pay and benefits ASSET scoring system: mean scores from responses are converted into a ‗sten‘ score. A sten is a standardized score based on a scale of 1–10, with a mean of 5.5 and a standard deviation of 2 (25). Most people (68%) score between sten 3 and sten 8. Thus, in the ASSET guidelines, sten scores between 4 and 7 are regarded as being an ‗average outcome‘ with scores outside this range taken to be above or below ‗average‘. While in statistics ‗average‘
Health, Job Commitment and Risk Factors… 211 implies a single mean score rather than a range, this ASSET terminology will be used for consistency. In the ASSET scoring system mean scores of: Less than sten 3 indicate very low levels of the stressor/commitment or very good health, Less than sten 4 indicate low levels of the stressor/commitment or good health, Sten 4–7 average levels of the stressor/commitment or average health, Greater than sten 7 high levels of the stressor/commitment or poor health, Greater than sten 8 very high levels of the stressor/commitment or very poor health.
In: Psychological Well-Being ISBN 978-1-61668-180-7 Editor: Ingrid E. Wells, pp. 213-221 © 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Chapter 9 THE NEED FOR CULTURAL CONTEXTUALISATION IN ESTABLISHING PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLNESS OR ILLNESS Adebayo O. Adejumo Department of Psychology, Faculty of the Social Sciences, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria ABSTRACT Even though the wellbeing literature in psychology is fairly massive, earlier attempts at defining the term have failed to emphasize the pertinence of cultural factors in obtaining a more socially appropriate definition of the term. Hitherto, diagnostic manuals and authors in the area of mental health have been largely driven by medically related models as backgrounds in giving explanations in the area of psychological wellbeing. However, many societies (with their pre-historic values and precepts) had long existing frameworks for establishing psychological health or illness before the advent of current nosological approaches. While it is inappropriate to question the scientific basis of current theories, advancing knowledge within the vicissitudes of our historical past in the context of newer information require the adoption of current gains in scientific transformation of the area of psychological health; considering peculiar traditional perception of mental health and illness across cultures. This paper attempts to illustrate the relevance of culture and sub-cultural practices in defining the concept of psychological well being, yet appreciating the need to situate these within the global definition of psychological health. When this is adopted by psychologists and other mental health practitioners, establishing individual and group norms on the mental health-illness continuum will be more society and context specific. The divergence will also yield broader explanations to the existing dogmas in diagnostic criteria in mental health literature. With this in view, the discipline of psychology will be adding value to evidence based assessment and diagnosis, strengthening the insistence on reliability and validity in psychology. e-mail : [email protected]/[email protected], Mobile Tel: (+234) 803 491 9002.
214 Adebayo O. Adejumo BACKGROUND The wellbeing literature in psychology is fairly massive. Psychological well being is a subjective term that means different things to different people. Many authors have defined the concept in different ways (Adejumo, 2008, Helliwell, and Putnam, 2004, Keyes, 1998). Psychological health, otherwise called mental health is a relative state of mind in which a person who is healthy is able to cope with and adjust to the recurrent stresses of everyday living in an acceptable way. The World Health Organization defines mental health as \"a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community‖ (World Health Organization, 2005). Hales and Hales (1995) define mental health as: the capacity to think rationally and logically, and to cope with the transitions, stresses, traumas, and losses that occur in all lives, in ways that allow emotional stability and growth. In general, mentally healthy individuals value themselves, perceive reality as it is, accept its limitations and possibilities, respond to its challenges, carry out their responsibilities, establish and maintain close relationships, deal reasonably with others, pursue work that suits their talent and training, and feel a sense of fulfillment that makes the efforts of daily living worthwhile (p. 34). As observed by Kobayashi (1999), there are at least two main problems with the definition of good mental health in modern psychology. First, the definition diminishes the value of human relationships, and cultural variations, especially in non-western societies. Second, it is not healthy for everyone in the world to follow a pre-determined ideology housed within a specific culture. Mental health can be socially constructed and socially defined; that is, different professions, communities, societies, and cultures have very different ways of conceptualizing its nature and causes, determining what is mentally healthy, and deciding what interventions are appropriate (Weare, 2000). Thus, different professionals will have different cultural and religious backgrounds and experiences, which may impact the methodology applied in conceptualisation, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness (Wapedia, 2009). This is why many mental health professionals are beginning to, or already understand, the importance of competency in religious diversity and spirituality (Richards, Bergin, 2000). It was previously stated that there was no one \"official\" definition of mental health. From the above definitions, some similarities and differences could be observed. Cultural differences, subjective assessments, and competing professional theories all affect how \"mental health\" is defined (World Health Report, 2001). TOWARDS A BROADER DEFINITION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH: THE ROLE OF RELATED THEORIES AND CONCEPTS Obtaining a broader definition of the concept ―psychological well-being‖ requires the identification of the constituents of psychological health and well-being; review of the related theories; and to a greater existent examination of the role of socio-cultural factors in obtaining
The Need for Cultural Contextualisation in Establishing Psychological Wellness… 215 a definition of mental health within the context of cultural variations in different societies (Britt-Mari Sykes, 2007, Ed Diener, Oishi, and Lucas, 2003). Others have also argued that a holistic model of mental health generally includes concepts based upon anthropological, educational, psychological, religious and sociological perspectives (Witmer and Sweeny, 1992; Hattie, Myers, and Sweeney, 2004). Resolving these transcend the traditional boundaries of psychology. To understand psychological health, there have been attempts in the past to provide mutual relationships between the discipline of psychology and related fields. Viktor Frankl, from his multi-disciplinary background, through his theory of Logotherapy highlighted the historical foundations of existential analysis (Victor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy, 2009, Sykes, 2007). This posits that every psychological health theory has a philosophy of human kind at its core. Längle‘s theory is no exception. It outlines the basic structure of a fulfilling existence, the criterion for and outcome of mental health. Whether stated implicitly or explicitly, every psychological theory has something to say about what constitutes health, well-being and what it means to live a fulfilling and productive existence. In relation to the discipline of sociology, Keyes (1998) stressed the need to identify the similarities and differences in the definition of psychological well being. According to him, positive functioning includes social challenges and tasks; and he proposed five dimensions of social well-being. Whereas psychological well-being represents more private and personal criteria for evaluation of one's functioning, social well-being epitomizes the more public and social criteria whereby people evaluate their functioning in life. These social dimensions consist of social coherence, social actualization, social integration, social acceptance, and social contribution. Individuals are functioning well when they see society as meaningful and understandable, when they see society as possessing potential for growth, when they feel they belong to and are accepted by their communities, when they accept most parts of society, and when they see themselves contributing to society. FACTORS ESSENTIAL IN THE DETERMINING PSYCHOLOGICAL WELLBEING Like many other psychological terms, there are certain concepts that underlie the determination of psychological wellbeing (Christopher, 2001). Even though there is no rigid framework or consensus in existing literature, there exists an agreement on a summative evaluation of existing viewpoints. The domain of psychological well-being consists of the outcomes of life circumstances and achievements. Psychological well-being indicators attempt to understand people‘s evaluations of their minds and lives. In the opinion of and Ryff's and Keyes (1995), positive functioning consists of six dimensions of psychological well-being; self- acceptance, positive relations with others, personal growth, purpose in life, environmental mastery, and autonomy. In another dimension, Zangmo (2009) in his study among Bhutanese, identified four broad categories, they are; life satisfaction, emotional well-being, spirituality, and coping with stress. These could also be evaluated in the form of cognition, or in the form of affect. The cognitive part, an information-based appraisal of one‘s life, is when a person gives conscious evaluative judgments about one‘s satisfaction with life as a whole. The affective part is a
216 Adebayo O. Adejumo hedonic evaluation guided by emotions and feelings such as the frequency with which people experience pleasant/unpleasant moods in reaction to their lives. The assumption behind this is that most people internally evaluate their life as either good or bad enabling them to communicate their judgments. Further, people nearly always experience moods and emotions, which have an enormous range of effects on the quality of experience. From an economic, industrial or organisational viewpoint, psychological wellbeing leads to desirable outcomes, including economic ones. However, economic outcomes do not always lead to positive psychological wellbeing outcomes. In a research done by Ed Diener, Oishi, and Lucas, (2003), people who score high in psychological wellbeing later earn high income and perform better at work then people who score low in wellbeing. It is also found to have a positive relationship with physical health (Ed Diener, Oishi, and Lucas, 2003). THE NEED FOR CULTURAL CONTEXTUALISATION Culture, often defined as the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next, is essentially the lens through which a person sees their world (Neff and Suizzo, 2006). What is completely healthy and normal in one culture may readily be defined as deviant in another. Despite the reliability of existing manuals and tools for measuring and evaluating psychological health in both clinical and non-clinical settings, many of the indices and variables considered are potentially incongruous with the values and standards in many cultures (Christopher, 2001). Considering that the diagnostic tools used for determining psychological well being in psychology is meant for individuals in different societies, and not vice versa, it is simply logical to expect divergent interests, and acceptability of the existing framework for determining psychological health in different cultures. Wellbeing even for individuals requires interdependence among people who tacitly agree to approve and support each other in particular ways that have been shaped by culture and history. Relevant social world is arranged and practiced differently, incorporating different cultural models of what is good, moral, or what is self. Well being may assume forms other than those currently described and documented in the psychological literature. What counts as well being depends on how the concepts ―well‖ and ―being‖ are defined and practiced. And these variations can make a difference not only for the content or the meaning of well being. It is not just that different things make people happy in different cultural contexts-this is obviously the case. More significantly, it is the way of ―being well‖ and the experience of ―well-being‖ that are different (Kobayashi, 1999). Cultural practices and meanings define the most natural and ordinary ways of acting in a variety of mundane everyday situations such as saying hello and goodbye, having conversations , playing sports etc (Cole, 1996). No matter how natural or ordinary they might seem at first glance, a closer scrutiny reveals that these everyday situations are in fact regulated and constituted by an intricate, although often haphazard collection of socially shared cognitions, beliefs, images, and behavioural patterns, beneath which one can sometime discern implicit cultural assumptions and premises. Individual and group behaviours that are acceptable in one society may be regarded as completely deviant in other settings. Even within specific cultures, there are unique sub-
The Need for Cultural Contextualisation in Establishing Psychological Wellness… 217 cultural traits that yield significant peculiarities aside from practices within the larger culture. Specific attributes of various social institutions also determine the pattern and standards of behaviour in a given society. In South-western Nigeria for example, women in labour freely express labour pains by screaming to alert family members and attending midwives that labour is progressive. This behaviour forms a yardstick for determining the rhythm and strength of uterine contractions. Whereas among the Fulanis of North-eastern Nigeria, such expressions of emotions are regarded as bizarre and hardly acceptable as normal. The idea of concealing or masking emotional expression of labour pains may be a major reason for the high maternal mortality rate in Northern Nigeria (UNICEF, 2009). It is therefore necessary to examine peculiar attributes and values in various societies that account for significant and unique variations as a step towards refining the definition of psychological wellbeing. YORUBAS AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH Yoruba is one of the three major ethnic groups, and the second most populous tribe in Nigeria. The people occupy the south western part of the country, stretching from the upland area to the hinterland of the Lagoon. They speak the Yoruba language. The definition of psychological wellness like many other social phenomena is culturally determined, and, therefore, the explanation of health and illness is a function of culture among the Yorubas. As a result, this has significant implications for health-seeking behaviour (Jegede, 2002). In the Yoruba society, Osunwole observed that ―Traditional diagnostic methods examine the totality of man with reference to his biological, spiritual, psychological as well as social make-up‖ (Osunwole, 1989). Generally in the culture, virtue is seen as a valuable personality characteristic expected of a psychologically stable individual. However, occasional breaches in expectations of a gentlemanly character (including threatening others with weapons) is expected of a genuine descendant of notable warrior families. At such times, within the culture it is believed that ―were ile baba re n‘gun,‖ meaning that the madness in his ancestors has come upon him. In thee scenario, the society sees nothing wrong in one‘s failure to maintain ―psychological balance‖ on inhibition in a deliberate effort to maintain sanity. As a result, in a Yoruba subculture among the Ondos, a person frivolously provoked could say ―ma a mu pekun kori e konu‖ meaning I‘ll behead you with a machete for being angered. Within he psychological state, the angered person could proceed to decapitate the offender. Many other similar anti- social behaviours are found among youths from the Urhobo and Isoko tribes in the volatile Niger Delta region of South western Nigeria. Similarly, Muslim youths in Northern Nigeria have been frequently alleged to have resorted to mass killing of Christians and non natives, occasionally slashing their victims‘ throats with daggers in the process, without any consensus of tagging it as extremist or psychological illness, as long as it was perpetrated on the premise of religion. Even though modernisation and enforcement of criminal law in the society has reduced such practices, cultural norms in these societies still leave room for justifying occasional flashes of ―insanity‖ manifested in behaviours similar to the above examples.
218 Adebayo O. Adejumo JAPANESE AND PSYCHOLOGICAL HEALTH The collectivist nature of the culture of mainstream Japan has profound effect on issues dealing with mental health in the society. This includes how psychopathological behaviour is defined and manifested among Japanese, and the reaction of society to the mentally ill. The Japanese knows that their honne, true feelings are often in contrast with their tatemae, public face. Thus, as a result of such cultural and social entities, restraining one‘s feelings is very appropriate and often encouraged in a good number of public, daily interactions with people. In every culture the defining feature of mental illness or psychopathology is necessarily a deviation from the normal. Although the existence of psychopathology is universal, the way by which society views and treats those people with mental illness varies dramatically. It is interesting to point out that while mental illness is seen as a stigma in Japan, physical illness is quite acceptable. Thus, it is often the case that universal psychopathologies such as depression and schizophrenia will first manifest as somatic complaints in Japan. Every culture has its own ―idiom of distress,‖ the pattern of behavior by which people in that culture signify that they are ill (Alloy, Jacobson, and Acocella, 1999). Thus, a Japanese patient with utsu- byou, which is depression, may go to their physician with complaints of weakness, dizziness, and headache, while an American patient is more likely to go directly to a therapist with complaints of lack of pleasure and gloominess. The American patient may not even discuss any somatic abnormalities. AMERICA AND DEFINITION OF MENTAL HEALTH Because modern psychology evolved from Europe and North America, and the latter has played a large role in the health field, the core of most psychological literature on the definition of psychological health rests on the American fundamental ideology of individualism (Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler and Tipton, 1985; Berscheid and Reis, 1998; Sampson, 1988; Triandis;1995). Modern American psychology would have us believe that a mentally healthy individual is one who is autonomous, free from social context, stable, and with constant characteristics in any context (Markus and Kitayama, 1994). In order to sustain individualism, two core values are implied in most aspects of American‘s lives: (1) autonomy, and (2) freedom from any external force. In the US many schools of physiotherapy (Sue and Sue, 1990), the educational system (Tobin, Wu, and Davidson, 1989), child rearing and socialisation methods (Weisz, Rothbaum, and Blackburn, 1984), and the institution of marriage (Dion and Dion, 1993) attempted to adjust to the standard of autonomy and freedom, For example, the common axiom, ―the pursuit of happiness,‖ generally refers to individual happiness and usually does not incorporate the idea that the individual contributes to the welfare of the society in order to be happy. Also implied is the idea that every individual should be self sufficient and self actualized. In order words, to be healthy human, the general thinking is that an individual should be independent, self sufficient and possess a strong character that is not easily influenced by any outer forces. Conformity, obedience, and interdependence have come to be viewed as signs of weakness and helplessness in modern psychology (Markus and Kitayama, 1994). In summary, within
The Need for Cultural Contextualisation in Establishing Psychological Wellness… 219 the modern psychological framework, healthy human beings have constant characteristics in any context, are self sufficient and are self-realised (or self actualised). CONCLUSION This paper attempts to illustrate the relevance of culture and sub-cultural practices in defining the concept of psychological well being, yet appreciating the need to situate these within the global definition of psychological health. Psychology should become the science and practice of the identification and promotion of adaptationally significant competencies. By embedding individual problems in a socio- psychological matrix the construct can serve to unify the basis of defining psychological wellbeing (Masterpasqua, 1989). Many therapeutic systems and self-help books offer methods and philosophies espousing strategies and techniques vaunted as effective for further improving the mental wellness of otherwise healthy people. A holistic model of mental health generally includes concepts based upon anthropological, educational, psychological, religious and sociological perspectives (Witmer, Sweeny, 1992, Hattie, Myers, Sweeney, 2004). Defining psychological well being as contentment, satisfaction with all elements of life, self-actualization (a feeling of having achieved something with one's life), peace, and happiness appears illustrative. However, while the above characteristics are goals to strive toward, it is rather unrealistic for a person to feel all of these elements at the same time. While this seems to be a rather non-technical definition, behavioural scientists should know that too many issues have polarised ―western‖ and ―non-western‖ cultures. Attempting a rigid insistence on foreign prescription of values may further reduce the expected global appeal (Christopher, 2001). The time to consider broader viewpoints in scientific explanation of social phenomena is now, without which very simple concepts will assume too dissimilar meanings in different cultures. REFERENCES Adejumo, A.O. (2008). Influence of Social Support, Work Overload, and Parity on Pregnant Career Women‘s Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research,13, 4, pp. 215–228. Alloy, L. B., Jacobson, N. S., and Acocella, J. (1999). Abnormal Psychology: Current Perspectives (8th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill. Bartlett, C.J., and Coles, E.C. (1998). Psychological health and well-being: why and how should public health specialists measure it? Part 1: rationale and methods of the investigation, and methods of the investigation and review of psychiatric epidemiology. Journal of Public Health 21, 3, 281-287. Bellah, R.N., Madsen, R., Sullivan, W.M., Swidler, A; and Tipton, S.M. (1985). Habits of the heart: Individualism and commitment in American life, New York: Harper and Row. Berscheid, E., and Reis, H.T.(1998). America and close relationships. In D.T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske, and G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology, (Vol. 2, 4th ed., pp 192-281). New York: McGraw Hill.
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In: Psychological Well-Being ISBN 978-1-61668-180-7 Editor: Ingrid E. Wells, pp. 223-230 © 2010 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Chapter 10 INTERNAL CONSISTENCY RELIABILITY OF THE ESTONIAN TRANSLATION OF THE OXFORD HAPPINESS MEASURE: CONTRIBUTING TO POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY IN ESTONIA Ahto Elken1, Leslie J Francis2 and Mandy Robbins 1. Tallinn University, Estonia 2. Warwick University, England ABSTRACT The Estonian translation of the Oxford Happiness Measure (a derivative from the Oxford Happiness Inventory) was completed by a sample of 154 students. Two main conclusions can be drawn from the data generated by the study. The first conclusion concerns the coherence of this Estonian translation of one of the instruments within the Oxford family of happiness indices. Given the high level of internal consistency reliability of the careful translation of the parent instrument, it is reasonable to assume that this translation is accessing the same psychological domain as the parent instrument. On the basis of the present findings it is clearly worth investing in further validation studies using the Estonian instrument. The second conclusion concerns the broader value of the Oxford Happiness Measure. While the present study appears to have been the first formal attempt to publish on the psychometric properties of this derivation from the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the data suggest that this more straightforward and more economical version of the original instrument functions with a similar high level of internal consistency reliability. On the basis of the present findings it is clearly worth investing in further reliability studies using the original English language form of the instrument. Corresponding author. Tel: 024 7652 2539. e-mail: [email protected].
224 Ahto Elken, Leslie J Francis and Mandy Robbins INTRODUCTION Within the broad domain of positive psychology and the concern to identify and to operationalise the components of psychological wellbeing, happiness has emerged as a central but elusive construct. In this context a sustained attempt was made by Michael Argyle and his colleagues to provide a psychologically-grounded and psychometrically-tested measure (or family of measures) of happiness. The best established measure within this family is the Oxford Happiness Inventory documented by Argyle, Martin, and Crossland (1989). Drawing on earlier discussion by Argyle and Crossland (1987), they suggested that happiness comprises three components: the frequency and degree of positive affect or joy; the average level of satisfaction over a period; and the absence of negative feelings, such as depression and anxiety. Working from this definition, they developed the Oxford Happiness Inventory by reversing the twenty-one items of the Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Hock, and Erbaugh, 1961) and adding eleven further items to cover aspects of subjective wellbeing not so far included. Three items were subsequently dropped, leading to a twenty-nine item scale. Each item invited the respondents to select one of four options, designed to reflect the following incremental steps: unhappy or mildly depressed (eg, ‗I do not feel happy‘); a low level of happiness (eg. ‗I feel fairly happy‘); a high level of happiness (eg. ‗I am very happy); and manic (‗I am incredibly happy‘). Argyle, Martin, and Crossland (1989) reported an internal reliability of 0.90 using alpha (Cronbach, 1951), and a 7-week test-retest reliability of 0.78. The concurrent validity of 0.43 was established against happiness ratings by friends. Construct validity was established against recognised measures of the three hypothesised components of happiness showing correlations of +0.32 with the positive affect scale of the Bradburn Balanced Affect measure (Bradburn, 1969), -0.52 with the Beck Depression Inventory, and +0.57 with Argyle‘s life statisfaction index. A series of studies employing the Oxford Happiness Inventory in a range of different ways has confirmed the basic reliability and validity of the instrument and begun to map the correlates of this operational definition of happiness. For example, Argyle and Lu (1990a) found that social competence was a strong significant predictor of happiness among 63 adults. In a study among 114 adults, Lu and Argyle (1991) found that happiness was correlated positively with self-esteem, social skills, and cooperation. In a study conducted among 65 adults, Lu and Argyle (1992) found that happiness was predicted by satisfaction with relationships with people from whom support had been received. Rim (1993) found a significant relationship between happiness and coping styles among 88 undergraduates in Israel. In a study conducted among 36 adults between the ages of seventeen and sixty-one years over a period of six weeks, Valiant (1993) found that happiness was more stable than depression. While depressive mood was significantly related to negative events and to a negative evaluation of these events, happiness was independent of life events and of the cognitive evaluation of these events. Lu and Argyle (1993) found an inverse relationship between happiness and the total time spent watching television among 114 adults. Noor (1993) found that locus of control was a strong significant predictor of happiness among 145 adult women. Lu and Argyle (1994) found that happiness was positively correlated with engagement in a serious leisure activity among 114 adults. Noor (1995, 1997) found a strong
Internal Consistency Reliability of the Estonian Translation… 225 association between happiness and an index of general health among two samples of 231 and 145 adult women. Hills and Argyle (1998a) found that happiness was positively correlated with intensity of musical experience among 231 residents of South Oxfordshire. Hills and Argyle (1998b) found that happiness was positively correlated with participation in sports among 275 residents of Oxfordshire. Chan and Joseph (2000) found that happiness was correlated positively with self- actualisation, self-esteem, likelihood of affiliation, community feeling and self-acceptance. Neto (2001) found that happiness was correlated positively with satisfaction with life, self- esteem, sociability and self-rated attractiveness, and correlated negatively with embarrassability, loneliness, shyness, and social anxiety. Hills and Argyle (2001a) found that happiness correlated positively with life regard, self-esteem, life orientation and affiliative tendency. Pannells and Claxton (2008) found that happiness was positively correlated with creative ideation in a sample of 171 University students. The most securely established finding regarding the psychological correlates of happiness as operationalised by the Oxford Happiness Inventory concerns the location of this construct within the dimensional model of personality proposed by Hans Eysenck and his associates (see Eysenck and Eysenck, 1991). In this context a number of studies have demonstrated that higher levels of happiness are associated with stable extraversion, including Argyle and Lu (1990b), Furnham and Brewin (1990), Lu and Argyle (1991), Brebner, Donaldson, Kirby, and Ward (1995), Francis, Brown, Lester, and Philipchalk (1998), Francis (1999), Furnham and Cheng (1999), Lu (1995), Noor (1996), Furnham and Cheng (2000), Chan and Joseph (2000), Cheng and Furnham (2001), Hills and Argyle (2001b), and Robbins, Francis, and Edwards (in press). Although the Oxford Happiness Inventory has demonstrated good psychometric properties, there remains one significant disadvantage with this instrument. Since each of the 29 items had been designed with four fixed-response options, the instrument requires quite a lengthy questionnaire. In order to address this problem, Hills and Argyle (2002) proposed the development of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, an instrument which has retained the same 29 basic issues of the parent instrument, but re-expressed each issue in terms of the conventional Likert-type six-point response format: strongly disagree, moderately disagree, slightly disagree, slightly agree, moderately agree, and strongly agree. In order to counter against response setting, 12 of the 29 items were reverse coded. Employing the two instruments side-by-side in the same study, Hills and Argyle (2002) reported a correlation of .80 between scores recorded on the Oxford Happiness Inventory and scores recorded on the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. A second adaptation of the Oxford Happiness Inventory has been offered for on-line completion at www.coachingtohappiness.com and for the purposes of the present study will be named the Oxford Happiness Measure. While the Oxford Happiness Inventory proposed 29 sets of four items each intended to define different and incremental levels of happiness, the Oxford Happiness Measure has basically taken the 29 items originally intended to characterise the ‗manic‘ level (with five of the items somewhat modified) and arranged them for scoring on a five-point scale from less true to more true. The test developers have not yet published the psychometric properties of the Oxford Happiness Measure. While the Oxford family of happiness measures were developed and originally published in English, research employing these instruments has been extended well beyond the English speaking community. The Oxford Happiness Inventory has been translated and tested in
226 Ahto Elken, Leslie J Francis and Mandy Robbins Arabic (Abdel-Khalek, 2005), Chinese (Lu and Shih, 1997; Lu, Shih, and Ju, 1997; Lu and Lin, 1998; Lu, Gilmour, Kao, Weng, Hu, Chern, Huang, and Shih, 2001), Japanese (Furnham and Cheng, 1999), Hebrew (Francis and Katz, 2000), Persian (Liaghatdar, Jafarc, Abedi, and Samiee, 2008; Bayani, 2008), Portugese (Neto, 2001), and German (Lewis, Francis, and Ziebertz, 2002). As part of a wider concern with the provision of Estonian psychometric instruments (see Elken, Francis, and Robbins, in press), the aim of the present study is to provide and to test the Estonian translation of the Oxford Happiness Measure. This measure was chosen in preference to the Oxford Happiness Inventory in view of its comparative brevity (29 items rather than 116) and in preference to the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire in view of its transparent continuity with the parent instrument. Recognising the complexity of psychological measurement and the need to ensure equivalence of each item across translation, the strategy generally employed in this field of test development includes translation and then back-translation by different translators unfamiliar with the original text. This method was adopted in the present study. METHOD Participants A sample of 154 students participated in the survey (123 from a secular university and 31 from a Lutheran theological institute). The majority of the participants were female (79%) and 21% were male; 54% were between the ages of 18 and 20 years, 24% were in their twenties, 9% were in their thirties, and the remaining 12% were aged forty or over. Measure The Oxford Happiness Measure (www.coachingtohappiness.com) proposes a set of 29 items, all designed originally to reflect a high (manic) level of happiness. In the present study each item was rated on a five-point Likert-type scale: agree strongly, agree, not certain, disagree and disagree strongly. These response categories were deemed to map more appropriately onto the items than the categories proposed by the website (www.coachingforhappinness.com) Analysis The data were analysed using the SPSS statistical package, employing the reliability, factor analysis, correlation and descriptive routines.
Internal Consistency Reliability of the Estonian Translation… 227 RESULTS Table 1 presents the item rest-of-test correlation coefficients for each of the 29 items of the Estonian translation of the Oxford Happiness Measure, together with the alpha coefficient (Cronbach 1951). This table also presents the loadings on the first unrotated factor proposed by principle components analysis, together with the proportion of variance explained by that factor. The data support the internal consistency reliability of this instrument. Table 1. The Oxford Happiness Measure: scale properties I am incredibly happy r f I feel that the future is overflowing with hope and promise .56 .64 I am completely satisfied about everything in my life I feel that I am in total control of all aspects of my life .56 .62 I feel that life is overflowing with rewards .52 .58 I am delighted with the way I am .39 .46 I always have a good influence on events .47 .52 I love life .55 .63 I am intensely interested in other people .51 .57 I can make all decisions very easily .55 .60 I feel able to take anything on .33 .37 I always wake up feeling rested .39 .45 I feel I have boundless energy .61 .67 The whole world looks beautiful to me .29 .32 I feel mentally alert .34 .37 I feel on top of the world .46 .50 I love everybody .49 .54 All past events seem extremely happy .55 .60 I am constantly in a state of joy and elation .26 .28 I have done everything I ever wanted .29 .33 I can fit in everything I want to do .49 .54 I always have fun with other people .41 .45 I always have a cheerful effect on others .47 .52 My life is totally meaningful and purposive .48 .53 I am always committed and involved .56 .63 I think that the world is an excellent place .38 .43 I am always laughing .55 .61 I think I look extremely attractive .51 .54 I am amused by everything .33 .39 .48 .54 alpha/ % variance .38 .44 Note r = item rest of test correlations. f = factor loading. .89 26.7%
228 Ahto Elken, Leslie J Francis and Mandy Robbins CONCLUSION This study set out to propose and to test the Estonaian translation of the Oxford Happiness Measure. Two main conclusions can be drawn from the data generated by the study. The first conclusion concerns the coherence of this Estonian translation of one of the instruments within the Oxford family of happiness indices. Given the high level of internal consistency reliability of the careful translation of the parent instrument, it is reasonable to assume that this translation is accessing the same psychological domain as the parent instrument. On the basis of the present findings it is clearly worth investing in further validation studies using the Estonian instrument. The second conclusion concerns the broader value of the Oxford Happiness Measure. While the present study appears to have been the first formal attempt to publish on the psychometric properties of this derivation from the Oxford Happiness Inventory, the data suggest that this more straightforward and more economical version of the original instrument functions with a similar high level of internal consistency reliability. On the basis of the present findings it is clearly worth investing in further reliability studies using the original English language form of the instrument. The main weakness of the present study concerns the relatively small number of participants and the reliance on a student sample. Nonetheless, the study provides a useful foundation on which to continue to develop a distinctive stream of research in Estonia concerned with positive psychology. REFERENCES Abdel-Khalek, A.M. (2005). Happiness and death distress: two separate factors. Death Studies, 29, 949-958. Argyle, M., and Crossland, J. (1987). Dimensions of positive emotions. British Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 127-137. Argyle, M., and Lu, L. (1990a). Happiness and social skills. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 1255-1261. Argyle, M. and Lu, L. (1990b). The happiness of extraverts. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 1011-1017. Argyle, M., Martin, M., and Crossland, J. (1989). Happiness as a function of personality and social encounters. In J. P. Forgas and J. M. Innes (Eds.), Recent advances in social psychology: An international perspective (pp. 189-203). North Holland: Elsevier Science Publishers. Bayani, A.A. (2008). Test-retest reliability, internal consitory, and construct validity of the Farsi version of the Oxford Happiness Inventory. Psychological Reports, 103, 139-144. Beck, T., Ward, C. H., Mendelson, M., Hock, J., and Erbaugh, J. (1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 7, 158-216. Bradburn, N. M. (1969). The Structure of Psychological Well-being. Chicago: Aldine. Brebner, J., Donaldson, J., Kirby, N., and Ward, L. (1995). Relationships between happiness and personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 19, 251-258.
Internal Consistency Reliability of the Estonian Translation… 229 Chan, R., and Joseph, S. (2000). Dimensions of personality, domains of aspiration, and subjective well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 28, 347-354. Cheng, H., and Furnham, A. (2001). Attributional style and personality as predictors of happiness and mental health. Journal of Happiness Studies, 2, 307-327. Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16, 297-334. Elken, A. Francis, L.J., and Robbins, M. (in press). The Estonian translation of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity: Internal consistency reliability and construct validity. Eysenck, H. J., and Eysenck, S. B. G. (1991). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Scales. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Francis, L. J. (1999). Happiness is a thing called stable extraversion: A further examination of the relationship between the Oxford Happiness Inventory and Eysenck‘s dimensional model of personality and gender. Personality and Individual Differences, 26, 5-11. Francis, L. J., Brown, L. B., Lester, D., and Philipchalk, R. (1998). Happiness as stable extraversion: A cross-cultural examination of the reliability and validity of the Oxford Happiness Inventory among students in the UK, USA, Australia and Canada. Personality and Individual Differences, 24, 167-171. Francis, L. J., and Katz, Y. (2000). The internal consistency reliability and validity of the Hebrew translation of the Oxford Happiness Inventory. Psychological Reports, 87, 193- 196. Furnham, A., and Brewin, C. R. (1990). Personality and happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 1093-1096. Furnham, A., and Cheng, H. (1999). Personality as predictors of mental health and happiness in the East and West. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 395-403. Furnham, A., and Cheng, H. (2000). Lay theories of happiness. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1, 227-246. Hills, P., and Argyle, M. (1998a). Musical and religious experiences and their relationship to happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 25, 91-102. Hills, P., and Argyle, M. (1998b). Positive moods derived from leisure and their relationship to happiness and personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 25, 523-535. Hills, P., and Argyle, M. (2001a). Happiness, introversion-extraversion and happy introverts. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 595-608. Hills, P., and Argyle, M. (2001b). Emotional stability as a major dimension of happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 1357-1364. Hills, P., and Argyle, M. (2002). The Oxford Happinesss Questionnaire: A compact scale for the measurement of psychological well-being. Personality and individual differences, 33, 1073-1082. Lewis, C. A., Francis, L. J., and Ziebertz, H. - G. (2002). The internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the German translation of the Oxford Happiness Inventory. North American Journal of Psychology, 4, 211-220. Liaghatdar, M.J., Jarfarc, E., Abedi., M.R., and Samiee, F. (2008). Reliability and validity of the Oxford Happiness Inventory among university students in Iran. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 11, 310-313. Lu, L. (1995). The relationship between subjective well-being and psychosocial variables in Taiwan. Journal of Social Psychology, 135, 351-357.
230 Ahto Elken, Leslie J Francis and Mandy Robbins Lu, L., and Argyle, M. (1991). Happiness and cooperation. Personality and Individual Differences, 12, 1019-1030. Lu, L., and Argyle, M. (1992). Receiving and giving support: Effects on relationships and well-being. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 5, 123-133. Lu, L. and Argyle, M. (1993). TV watching, soap opera and happiness. Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences, 9, 501-507. Lu, L., and Argyle, M. (1994). Leisure satisfaction and happiness: a function of leisure activity. Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Science, 10, 89-96. Lu, L., Gilmore, R., Kao, S.F., Weng, T.H., Hu, C.H., Chern, J.G., Huang, S.W., and Shih, J.B. (2001). Two ways to achieve happiness: when the East meets West. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 1161-1174. Lu, L., and Lin, Y.Y. (1998). Family roles and happiness in adulthood. Personality and Individual Differences, 25, 195-207. Lu, L., and Shih, B. (1997). Personality and happiness: is mental health a mediator? Personality and Individual Differences, 22, 249-256. Lu, L., Shih, J.B., and Ju, L.S. (1997). Personality and environmental correlates of happiness. Personality and Individual Differences, 23, 453-462. Neto, F. (2001). Personality predictors of happiness. Psychological Reports, 88, 817-824. Noor, N. M. (1993). Work and family roles in relation to women‘s well-being. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford. Noor, N. M. (1995). Work and family roles in relation to women‘s well-being: A longitudinal study. British Journal of Social Psychology, 34, 87-106. Noor, N. M. (1996). Some demographic, personality, and role variables as correlates of women‘s well-being. Sex Roles, 34, 603-620. Noor, N.M. (1997). Work and family roles in relationship to women‘s well-being: The role of negative affectivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 23, 487-499. Pannels, T.C., and Claxton, A.F. (2008). Happinness, creative ideation, and locus of control. Creative Research Journal, 20, 67-71. Rim, Y. (1993). Happiness and coping styles. Personality and Individual Differences, 14, 617-618. Robbins, M., Francis, L.J. and Edwards, B. (in press). Happiness as stable extraversion: internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire among undergraduate students. Current Psychology. Valiant, G. L. (1993). Life events, happiness and depression: The half empty cup. Personality and Individual Differences, 15, 447-453.
In: Issues in the Psychology of Motivation ISBN: 978-160021-631-2 Editor: Paula R. Zelick, pp. 231-243 © 2007 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Chapter 11 RELATIONS OF FUNDAMENTAL MOTIVES AND PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS TO WELL-BEING AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION Kenneth R. Olson1 and Brad Chapin2 1. Fort Hays State University, KS, USA 2. Horizons Mental Health Center, KS, USA ABSTRACT Self Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) hypothesizes that psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are essential for psychological health. The 16 fundamental motives posited by Reiss (Reiss & Havercamp, 1998) have also been proposed as primary motivational variables. Reiss criticizes basic need theory because it assumes that intrinsic motivation is based on pleasure. The present chapter addresses similarities and differences between psychological needs and fundamental motives and their relations to well-being. Data is presented regarding the relations of needs and motives to both eudaimonic and hedonic aspects of well-being as measured by (a) meaning in life, and (b) positive and negative affect, respectively. Also addressed are the relations of needs and motives to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Results showed all three needs and several fundamental motives were related to measures of well-being. None of the needs, but several of the motives, were related to intrinsic motivation. Results suggest there are basic differences between psychological needs and fundamental motives but both are important to psychological adjustment. INTRODUCTION Psychological needs and motives have both been proposed as fundamental motivating variables. Psychological needs are central elements of Self Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985; 2000) and fundamental motives are the basis of sensitivity theory (Reiss & Havercamp, 1996). Reiss (2004, 2005) has questioned the adequacy of the psychological needs proposed by Deci and Ryan in describing motivation. This chapter addresses
232 Kenneth R. Olson and Brad Chapin similarities and differences between psychological needs and motives, as operationalized in these two theories, and their relations to well-being and intrinsic motivation. To provide an accurate understanding of motivational variables it is important to clearly distinguish between needs and motives, as well as identifying their empirical correlates. After reviewing literature regarding these constructs, data is presented from a study examining relations between these variables PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS AND WELL-BEING SDT is an approach to human motivation that focuses on humans‘ evolved inner resources for personality development and self-regulation (Ryan, Kuhl, & Deci, 1997). This theory highlights people‘s inherent growth tendencies and psychological needs that constitute the basis for self-motivation and personality integration. SDT identifies three needs—for competence, relatedness, and autonomy—that are purported to be essential for the optimal functioning of the innate propensities for growth and personal well-being (Ryan & Deci, 2000). The competence need refers to effectance-focused motivation—the desire to have an effect on the environment and to attain valued outcomes within it (Deci & Ryan, 2000). The need for relatedness refers to the desire to feel connected to others—to care for others and to be cared for. Autonomy involves volition—the desire to self-organize behavior and for activity to be concordant with one‘s integrated sense of self. Autonomy is not the same as independence; instead, autonomy involves the experience of freedom and integration. From a theoretical perspective, self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2002) argues that needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are (a) universal; that is, these needs are evolved desires that are found within every culture and member of the human species (Deci & Ryan, 2000), and (b) essential for psychological well-being. These needs are considered to be necessary psychological ―nutriments‖ that must be satisfied in order to achieve psychological health. Satisfaction of these basic needs is assumed to facilitate natural growth processes, including intrinsically motivated behavior. When need fulfillment is thwarted, the result is diminution of the individual‘s growth, integrity, and well-being. There is empirical evidence for the relative importance of these particular needs. Sheldon, Elliot, Kim, & Kasser (2001) compared 10 major psychological needs derived from four prominent psychological theories, including Maslow‘s theory of personality (1954), Epstein‘s cognitive-experiential self-theory (1990), and self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000). The needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness were among the top four needs (along with self-esteem) in terms of both their rated salience and their association with event-related affect, thus supporting a claim for the fundamental nature of these needs. A body of empirical research shows a clear link between the three needs and psychological well-being. Satisfaction of the needs is related to indices of well-being such as happiness and subjective vitality (Nix, Ryan, Manly, & Deci, 1999), psychological flow (Kowal & Fortier, 1999), composite measures of life satisfaction, self-esteem, psychological maturity, alienation, and psychological distress (Leak & Cooney, 2001), and self- actualization, vitality, life satisfaction, depression, anxiety, and physical symptoms (La Guardia, Ryan, Couchman, & Deci, 2000).
Relations of Fundamental Motives and Psychological Needs… 233 Furthermore, Sheldon and Elliot (1999) demonstrated that need satisfaction played a mediating role in well being. In their study, the relation between well-being and attainment of goals that were concordant with individuals‘ core interests and values was mediated by autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Need fulfillment may be necessary for fostering well-being throughout the course of life. Ryan & La Guardia (2000) reviewed evidence for the important role of autonomy, competence and relatedness in well-being across the lifespan, suggesting that basic psychological needs affect well-being at all ages. PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS AND AFFECT In regard to emotional well-being, the affective component of psychological health, studies have specifically examined the link between the three needs and positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Trait autonomy and trait competence were analyzed for their effect on emotional well-being on a daily basis (Sheldon, Ryan, & Reis, 1996). Both needs were positively related to daily PA and were negatively related to NA. Between-subjects analyses showed that individuals higher in competence and autonomy had better days on average. Within-subject analyses indicated that good days were those in which individuals experienced more competence and autonomy in their daily activities. A similar pattern of findings was found in a study in which all three needs were examined (Reis, Sheldon, Gable, Roscoe, & Ryan, 2000). Thus, fulfillment of psychological needs was important in both trait and state processes. Even after controlling for trait differences, daily fluctuations in emotional well- being were related to the degree to which the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness were satisfied in daily activity. Autonomy and relatedness were also examined in the context of functioning in social groups (Sheldon & Bettencourt, 2002). These needs showed strong relationships with PA, and autonomy was negatively related to NA. Another study analyzed PA and NA in relation to the ―most satisfying events‖ in participant‘s lives (Sheldon, et al. 2001). Fulfillment of needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness was positively associated with PA in these events, and autonomy and relatedness were negatively associated with negative affect. On a composite measure of affect balance, derived by subtracting negative affect scores from positive affect scores, all three needs were positively associated with PA and were negatively associated with NA. This finding was present in both a United States and South Korean sample. Sheldon et al. (2001) also analyzed the needs in relation to participants‘ ―most unsatisfying event‖ of the semester. Ratings indicated that the events were perceived as unsatisfying because of the absence of experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The absence of the experience of competence was associated with low PA, and the absence of competence, autonomy, and relatedness was associated with NA. Thus, satisfaction of the three needs was related to positive affect, and the absence of all three needs (need deprivation) was related to event-related negative affect. The foregoing research demonstrates significant relations between satisfaction of the three needs and positive affect, as well as absence of satisfaction of the needs and negative affect. These relations were found in several different contexts and populations, both on a daily basis and over longer time frames.
234 Kenneth R. Olson and Brad Chapin FUNDAMENTAL MOTIVES Motives refer to people‘s wishes and desires, the ―why‖ of behavior (McClelland, 1985, p. 4). Research on motives has been criticized because there are a potentially infinite number of human motives. Therefore efforts have been made to isolate the most consequential motives. For example, McClelland (1985) focused on the ―Big Three‖ motives of power, achievement, and affiliation. Reiss‘s sensitivity theory holds that human motivation can be divided into two categories called means and ends, a distinction based on the purposes of the behavior (Reiss, 2004, Reiss & Havercamp, 1998). Means are indicated when an act is performed for instrumental purposes, e.g., a professional athlete playing sports for a salary. In contrast, end purposes are indicated when a behavior is performed for its own sake, e.g., a person playing sports for enjoyment. Based on a comprehensive review of the motivation literature and using various psychometric procedures, Reiss (2004, Reiss & Havercamp, 1998) sought to identify a comprehensive list of fundamental or end motives (what people seek for its own sake, rather than as instrumental means to some other purpose). Factor analysis of 24 motivational domains derived from motivation theory and research resulted in 16 motives believed to be universal motivators (table 1). A fundamental motive was defined ―as a universal end goal that accounts for psychologically significant behavior‖ (p. 98). All the motives (except honor and idealism) are purported to be common to several animal species as well as humans and have evolutionary survival value. Individual differences exist in the intensity of these desires, based on genetic and environmental variation (Reiss, 2000). Individual variations in the strength of these motives are important for understanding a person‘s life goals and daily behavior. Table 1. Definitions of Reiss Profile motives Motive Definition Curiosity Desire for knowledge Eating Desire to consume food Honor Desire to be loyal to one‘s parents, heritage, and moral code Acceptance Desire for inclusion Romance Desire for sex and beauty Physical Activity Desire for exercise Order Desire for organization Independence Desire for self-reliance Vengeance Desire to retaliate when offended Social Contact Desire for companionship Family Desire to raise and nurture one‘s own children Status Tranquility Desire for social standing Idealism Desire for emotional calm Power Desire for social justice Saving Desire to influence others Desire to collect things
Relations of Fundamental Motives and Psychological Needs… 235 COMPARING NEEDS AND MOTIVES Both similarities and differences exist between the constructs of motives and psychological needs. Reiss (2004) claims that the 16 fundamental motives he derived are innate and universal; Deci & Ryan (2000) make the same claims for the basic needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Satisfaction of the three needs is posited by SDT to be strongly related to the development of intrinsic motivation. The construct of intrinsic motivation describes the natural tendency toward spontaneous interest, exploration, learning, and mastery (Ryan & Deci, 2000). The SDT framework hypothesizes that social environments facilitate or inhibit intrinsic motivation to the extent they either support or thwart people‘s innate psychological needs. In Reiss‘s formulation, intrinsic motivation and fundamental motives both express the idea of engaging in behavior for its own sake. However, Reiss notes that some researchers use the term intrinsic motivation to express the idea of locus of control and refer to stimulus novelty motives. For example, intrinsic motivation has been used to refer to exploration, learning, and personal freedom (Deci, 1975). In contrast, the concept of fundamental motivation refers to an end purpose rather than a locus of control. It implies a comprehensive list of end purposes, such as power, status, honor, vengeance, sex, and so on (Reiss & Havercamp, 1998). The authors of these two theories have attempted to distinguish their constructs from each other. Ryan & Deci (2002) noted that the basic needs are required for psychological well- being and argued that many motives do not meet that requirement. ―Our concept of basic psychological needs is quite different from the broader idea of personal motives, desires, or strivings. Although people may formulate motives or strivings to satisfy basic needs, it is also clear that there are many motives that do not fit the criterion of being essential for well-being and may, indeed, be inimical to it‖ (p. 8). Ryan and Deci argued that some motives are peripheral or detrimental to well-being because they may distract people from activities that could provide basic need fulfillment. On the other hand, Reiss (2004) criticizes basic need theory (intrinsic motivation theory) because it assumes that intrinsic motivation is based on pleasure. Deci & Ryan (1985) noted that people experience pleasurable states of interest, enjoyment, and flow when they are intrinsically motivated. They also feel competent and self-determining and perceive the locus of causality for their behavior to be internal when they are intrinsically motivated. However, Reiss maintains that intrinsic motives are not necessarily pleasurable; he argues that pleasure is instead a consequence of the gratification of a motive. Invoking philosophical critiques of hedonism, Reiss argues that pleasure is not inherent to behavior in pursuit of motives, but is a non-motivation by-product of satiating the desire or motive. For example, learning is often not a pleasurable process in itself for many individuals, but for persons with a strong curiosity motive, pleasure may result from satisfying the desire for knowledge. Logicians have noted that pleasure is often not intrinsic to an activity but rather results from satiating motives (Russell, 1945). There are individual differences between people in the strength of their motives. Reiss suggests that people experience well-being when their most salient motives are fulfilled and experience decreased well-being when their salient motives are not fulfilled.
236 Kenneth R. Olson and Brad Chapin Reiss (2004) also suggests that human motivation is multifaceted and cannot be adequately expressed by a unitary, global category of intrinsic motives. Similarly, the construct of values, which express end motives, also has been shown to be multifaceted (Schwartz, 1994). For example, competence is only one of the values people hold; it is not the common root of multiple values. The factor analytically derived list of 16 fundamental desires provides evidence for the multifaceted nature of end motivation. RELATIONS OF NEEDS AND MOTIVES TO WELL-BEING AND INTRINSIC/EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION To examine relations of psychological needs and fundamental motives to well-being and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation, data was gathered from 62 female and 22 male students (mean age = 22.2 years) in a mid-sized state university in Kansas. No research of which we are aware has been published concerning the relation of Reiss & Havercamp‘s (1998) 16 motives to well-being or intrinsic/extrinsic motivation. Given the theoretical claim that these are the fundamental human motives, we expected they would be related to well-being. In line with previous research, we anticipated that the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness also would be related to well-being. We also expected that both psychological needs and end motives would be related to intrinsic motivation, in light of claims made for these fundamental motivational variables. How should well-being be conceptualized and measured? A variety of approaches have been employed by researchers to assess well-being. A distinction is sometimes made in the literature between hedonic and eudaimonic views of well-being. This distinction is rooted in ancient Greek philosophy. The hedonic view equates well-being with pleasure or happiness. The eudaimonic approach denigrates pleasure and the attainment of desires as the principal criterion of well-being. Instead, emphasis is placed on self-realization, the attainment of meaning, and living in accordance with the true self (Ryan & Deci, 2001). To measure well-being, we were guided by the framework of McGregor and Little (1998) who distinguished happiness (hedonic well-being) from meaning in life (eudaimonic well- being). For example, in retrospect parents typically report that they are very glad they had children, but parents living with children usually score low on happiness indicators. This paradox might be accounted for by distinguishing between happiness and meaning; thus, raising children may serve to decrease parental happiness but to increase parental meaning. McGregor and Little (1998) used a measure of positive affect to assess happiness, and the Purpose in Life test (PIL; Crumbaugh & Maholick, 1964) to measure meaning in life. This same approach was used in the present study to measure these two components of well-being. MEASURES Reiss Profile of Fundamental Goals and Motivational Sensitivities This scale was used to measure the strength of 16 fundamental motives. Thjs self-report questionnaire consists of 128 items on a seven-point Likert scale, with answers ranging from
Relations of Fundamental Motives and Psychological Needs… 237 ―Strongly Disagree‖ to ―Strongly Agree.‖ High test-retest reliabilities for the scales over a two-week period, indicating a high level of test stability, and adequate internal consistency have been found (Reiss & Havercamp, 1998). The scale has been validated against a variety of external criteria (e.g., Reiss, 2004; Havercamp & Reiss 2003). Basic Psychological Needs Scale This scale measured degree of satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs proposed by SDT. This questionnaire consists of 21 items that assess an individual‘s need satisfaction on the needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Items are listed on seven-point Likert scale ranging from ―Not at all true‖ to ―Very true.‖ Evidence supporting scale validity is presented by LaGuardia, Ryan, Couchman, & Deci (2000). Work Preference Inventory This measure contains two scales of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. It is a 30-item questionnaire with four response choices ranging from ―Never or almost never true for you‖ to ―Always or almost always true for you.‖ Reliability and validity data are reported by Amabile, Hill, Hennessey, & Tighe (1994). Purpose in Life Test This test was used to assess the meaning, or eudaimonic, component of well-being. It is a 20-item questionnaire in which respondents complete sentences from choices on a one to seven scale. For example, ―I am usually______.‖ Choices range from ―completely bored‖ to ―exuberant, enthusiastic.‖ Reliability and validity data are reported by Crumbaugh & Maholick (1964). Positive and Negative Affect Scales These are widely-used measures of positive and negative affect which assess the hedonic (happiness) component of well-being. They consist of 20 adjectives that respondents rate in terms of how they generally feel, with five choices ranging from ―Very slightly or not at all‖ to ―Extremely.‖ Reliability and validity data are reported by Watson, Clark, & Tellegen (1988).
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