The relationship of psychological well-being to distress and personality

BACKGROUND: The concept of psychological well-being has been neglected for a long time in scientific literature. Over the last decades, however, many psychometric instruments have been developed to measure it. The aim of the present study was to analyze the concept of psychological well-being and its relationship to distress and personality traits. It is clinically and empirically important to establish where the measures of well-being are located in relation to symptomatology indices and personality traits. METHODS: A sample of 450 subjects in the general population completed three self-rating scales for the assessment of symptomatology (Kellner's Symptom Questionnaire), psychological well-being (Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales, PWB), and personality traits (Cloninger's Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire). The assessment was repeated after 1 month. Pearson's coefficient was used to analyze PWB test-retest reliability and correlations between well-being, distress and personality indicators. Exploratory factor analysis was performed for both assessments. RESULTS: Test-retest Pearson's coefficients were satisfactory for all six PWB scales. Exploratory factor analyses showed a 4- or 5-factor structure, where well-being, distress and personality remained separated. PWB scales were negatively and significantly correlated with all symptom scales, but only with one personality dimension, TPQ Harm Avoidance. Mean-level differences by gender showed that in general women significantly presented with lower levels of well-being (except in Positive Relations) and higher levels of distress and personality disturbances. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the relationship of well-being to distress and personality is complex. Psychological well-being could not be equated with the absence of symptomatology or with personality traits. PWB scales measure an attitude toward optimal functioning that is crucial for a comprehensive consideration of individuals in clinical settings.     

Adult mother-daughter relationship and mother's psychological well-being

This study examined the relationship between the quality of a middle-aged mother's current relationship with her adult daughter and such indices of her well-being as depressive symptoms and self-definition. A cross-sectional sample of 231 middle-aged women with an adult daughter completed questionnaires. The results showed that middle-aged mothers with a married daughter felt closer to their daughter than did mothers with an unmarried daughter. The association between the quality of mother-daughter relationship and mother's psychological well-being changed, depending on whether the daughter was married or employed, and whether the mother was employed. Among the mothers who were not employed, with a married daughter, a positive mother-daughter relationship was associated with reports of high self-definition and lack of depressive symptoms while the mother's dependence on her daughter had a negative association with her psychological well-being.     

Analysis of the relationship among health awareness and health literacy,patient satisfaction levels with primary care in patients admitting to primary care health centers

Objective

The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between health literacy, primary care satisfaction levels and health awareness of the patients who were admitted to primary care centers (Family Health Centers).

ICPC-2--international classification of primary health care and its application in Croatian health care

A consensus reached by the medical profession, Croatian Institute of Health Insurance, Croatian Institute of Public Health, and Ministry of Health constitutes a solution to the problem of a data standard required in building an information system for primary health care. This consists of accepting ICPC-2 as a data standard for our Family Medicine, Pediatrics and Women's Health. The classification structure of the International Classification of Primary Care allows, recommends and urges that special codes be established by individual states or local authorities when registering patients' reasons for seeking medical aid or medical procedures. Namely, it urges the authorities to set the codes for such reasons about which a state or local agreement or determination has been made. This is the first public presentation of the proposal Croatia's Additions to the International Classification of Primary Care. They are essential to its implementation in our health insurance, health statistics and medical informatics.     

First IVF treatment--short-term impact on psychological well-being and the marital relationship

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess infertile couples' short-term emotional responses to their first IVF treatment (the women's and men's emotional reactions and their experiences of the marital relationship at different stages of the first treatment) and to relate these responses to the outcome of the IVF treatment. METHODS: The study was part of a prospective, longitudinal study where 117 couples participated. The women and men answered questionnaires separately concerning psychological and social factors at three occasions: before, during and 1 month after treatment. RESULTS: Women's and men's emotional reactions related to first IVF treatment were dependent on whether they achieved a pregnancy or not. Those who failed to become pregnant rated their emotional well-being worse, whereas those who became pregnant rated their emotional well-being better than before treatment started. The women reported stronger emotional reactions about their infertility than their husbands. However, the men reacted in the same emotional pattern as their wives when pregnancy was not achieved. A majority reported that the marital relationship improved during treatment. CONCLUSION: Couples undergoing their first IVF treatment are as a group well adjusted and manage to handle the short-term emotional strain under treatment. The determining factor for short-term emotional response of treatment was whether pregnancy was achieved.     

Social support and its relationship to psychological,physical health,and immune variables in HIV-infection

The purpose of this review is to examine how social support is related to measures of psychological adjustment, physical health, and immune function among HIV-infected gay men. Within this population, recent literature has demonstrated clear links (both positive and negative) between measures of social support and psychological functioning. In contrast, studies looking at the relationship between social support and both measures of physical health and immune function have yielded inconsistent and inconclusive findings. This article synthesizes and reviews what is currently known about the effects of social support on the psychological, physical health, and immune functioning in HIV-infected gay men. Both beneficial and detrimental effects of social support on health are examined, highlighting those aspects of social support that may be enhanced or discouraged in the context of psychotherapeutic interventions.     

Feeling good and doing great: the relationship between psychological capital and well-being

This study seeks to determine the relationship between psychological capital and an employee's eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. Panel data were collected from 102 extension agents over a 2-week interval. In addition, daily surveys were collected from 67 of the participants. Results from the panel data indicated that the relation between psychological capital and hedonic well-being, measured two weeks later, is mediated by eudaimonic well-being. Results from the daily surveys found that daily eudaimonic work well-being was significantly associated with both daily positive mood and daily life satisfaction and that variance in eudaimonic work well-being was predicted by one's psychological capital.     

Evaluation of psychological treatment in primary care

As clinical psychology services to primary care have grown considerably in recent years, several papers have examined the impact of such services. Benefits to patients following contact with the psychologist have been described, but the few studies which have used control groups have -not shown long-lasting effects. However, assessing the global effects of psychological treatment creates several methodological problems, and many of the studies have serious shortcomings in their use of sampling procedures and dependent measures. Clear results are unlikely to emerge from such studies because psychological treatment is not a single entity but encompasses a number of interventions for different types of problem. A more differentiated approach to evaluation is needed to assess the effectiveness of psychological treatment services in primary care.     

Examination of psychological well-being and subjective well-being in defensive pessimists

Defensive pessimists (DPs) are considered to be adaptive pessimists because of their high performances, but the well-being of DPs have not been sufficiently studied. Some studies suggested that DPs have lower well-being than optimists, but it is not clear whether their level of well-being is as low as to be considered maladaptive. In this study, well-being was distinguished between psychological well-being including self-improvement, and subjective well-being as in the traditional notion of well-being, and compared well-being among DPs, strategic optimists (SOs) and depressed persons (DEPs) in a sample of 303 college students (F=160, M=143). Results indicated no significant differences in the level of psychological well-being among DPs and SOs, and both of these groups scored higher than DEPs. DPs also scored higher than DEPs in subjective well-being and no differences were found in satisfaction in life between DPs and SOs. Thus, this study concluded that the well-being of DPs were high in some regards and were not maladaptive.     

Measurement of psychological distress and well-being

Psychological distress and well-being are important aspects of quality of life measurements in psychosomatic medicine. The concept of improvement in medicine refers to a clinical distance along which the current state of the patient is compared to the pretreatment position. Quality of life covers, however, more than one distance or dimension in this respect; e.g. well-being, side effects of treatment, and psychosocial stressors. The psychometric aspects of these dimensions are analysed with reference to nomothetic and idiographic methods. The nomothetic approach is the selection of the most unbiased scale tailored to the disorder under investigation. The idiographic approach is the construction of a hermeneutical or meaningful scale for the individual patient. For both methods the clinical improvement index is the most appropriate statistic.     

The Chinese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory: Its relationship to different measures of psychological well-being

The Chinese version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (C-STAI) was administered to 2,150 Chinese secondary school students, along with other measures of psychological well-being. The results showed that the correlation between A-State and A-Trait scores was significant, and both scales correlated significantly with all other measures of psychological well-being. Analyses of the strengths of association among the measures revealed that while A-Trait and A-State scores were differentially sensitive to indices of chronic mental health attributes and acute symptoms, both scales were found to be more predictive of measures of anxiety. These findings generally provided support for the concurrent validity of the C-STAI, and the significant correlation between A-State and A-Trait is consistent with data reported in the literature.     

Barriers and facilitators to HIV testing in primary care among health care providers

PurposeHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a preventable disease that can have improved outcomes with early diagnosis and treatment. The CDC recommends that HIV testing be incorporated into clinical settings as part of routine medical care.MethodsIndividual, open-ended interviews were conducted with primary care providers and administrators to obtain their views regarding the meaning of routine HIV testing and the barriers and facilitators to implementing routine HIV testing in their respective practices.ResultsMost respondents supported routine HIV testing, although their definitions of roufine varied. Barriers for providers included time and financial constraints to appropriately conduct HIV counseling and testing and inadequate HIV education and training. Facilitators for implementing routine HIV testing included patients' feelings of empowerment and reduced HIV stigma.ConclusionsThe implementation of routine HIV testing in primary care practices appears to be an acceptable public health intervention. Next steps should include efforts to standardize the definition of routine HIV testing and working with primary care settings to better understand and reduce barriers to routine testing.