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Fulltext Emotional Intelligence and Depressive Symptoms as Predictors of Happiness Among Adolescents

Abdollahi A, Abu Talib M, Motalebi SA

Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci, 2015 Dec;9(4):e2268.
PMID: 26834804 DOI: 10.17795/ijpbs-2268

BACKGROUND: Given that happiness is an important construct to enable adolescents to cope better with difficulties and stress of life, it is necessary to advance our knowledge about the possible etiology of happiness in adolescents.
OBJECTIVES:The present study sought to investigate the relationships of emotional intelligence, depressive symptoms, and happiness in a sample of male students in Tehran, Iran.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of high school students in Tehran in 2012. The participants comprised of 188 male students (aged 16 to 19 years old) selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. For gathering the data, the students filled out assessing emotions scale, Beck depression inventory-II, and Oxford happiness inventory. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive and analytical statistics in statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) software.
RESULTS: The findings showed that a significant positive association existed between high ability of emotional intelligence and happiness (P < 0.01). Conversely, the low ability of emotional intelligence was associated with unhappiness (P < 0.01), there was a positive association between non-depression symptoms and happiness (P < 0.05), and severe depressive symptoms were positively associated with unhappiness (P < 0.01). High ability of emotional intelligence (P < 0.01) and non-depression symptoms (P < 0.05) were the strongest predictors of happiness.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings reinforced the importance of emotional intelligence as a facilitating factor for happiness in adolescences. In addition, the findings suggested that depression symptoms may be harmful for happiness in adolescents.

KEYWORDS:
Depression; Emotional Intelligence; Iranian Students; Wellbeing

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness*
A systematic review of the associations, mediators and moderators of life satisfaction, positive affect and happiness in near-centenarians and centenarians

Cheng A, Leung Y, Brodaty H

Aging Ment Health, 2022 Apr;26(4):651-666.
PMID: 33645362 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2021.1891197

OBJECTIVE: Results from studies investigating life satisfaction, positive affect and happiness of near-centenarians (95+) and centenarians are inconsistent. This is the first systematic review to summarise the extant literature on the subjective well-being of this unique age group.
METHOD: Seven electronic databases (PubMed, MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science and the Cochrane database for systematic reviews) were systematically searched. Subjective well-being was defined as life satisfaction, positive affect and happiness. A narrative synthesis of relevant articles was undertaken.
RESULTS: Of 28 studies eligible for inclusion in this review, 20 predominantly examined life satisfaction, 11 positive affect and 4 happiness. Sex and other demographic variables were not significant predictors of subjective well-being. In contrast, greater perceived health was significantly associated with higher levels of life satisfaction and positive affect. Fatigue and visual impairment were significantly correlated with lower levels of life satisfaction and positive affect. However, there was considerable heterogeneity in the findings on physical, cognitive and social associations, mediators and moderators.
CONCLUSION: The large discrepancy of results in the literature may be explained by methodological differences between studies. Centenarian research needs a clearer definition of life satisfaction, positive affect and happiness as their operationalisation is inconsistent. An international consortium of centenarian studies could facilitate cross-cultural comparisons on subjective well-being. Future research should be directed towards interventions that promote subjective well-being in the oldest-old.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness*
Fulltext Being Creative Makes You Happier: The Positive Effect of Creativity on Subjective Well-Being

Tan CY, Chuah CQ, Lee ST, Tan CS

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 07 06;18(14).
PMID: 34299693 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18147244

The impact of happiness on creativity is well-established. However, little is known about the effect of creativity on well-being. Two studies were thus conducted to examine the impact of creativity on subjective well-being. In the first study, 256 undergraduate students (Study 1a) and 291 working adults (Study 1b) self-reported their creativity, stress, and subjective well-being. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed a positive relationship between creativity and subjective well-being after controlling the effect of self-perceived stress and demographics in both samples. Study 2 then employed an experimental design to examine the causal relationship between creativity and subjective well-being. Half of the 68 undergraduates underwent a creativity priming task followed by a divergent thinking test as well as self-reported stress and subjective well-being. The priming task was found to boost creative performance in the pilot study (Study 2a) and the actual study (Study 2b). Moreover, after controlling the effect of self-perceived stress, ANCOVA analysis showed that participants receiving the priming reported higher subjective well-being scores than their counterparts in the control group. The overall findings not only shed light on the facilitative effect of creativity on subjective well-being but also highlight the necessity of considering the reciprocal relationship of the two constructs in future research.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness*
Fulltext Factors Associated with Happiness among Malaysian Elderly

Shah SA, Safian N, Ahmad S, Wan Ibadullah WAH, Mohammad ZB, Nurumal SR, et al.

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 04 06;18(7).
PMID: 33917528 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18073831

Happiness is an essential component to experience healthy ageing. Hence, understanding the factors that contribute to happiness is important. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with happiness among the elderly population in Malaysia. In this study, 1204 respondents were recruited from urban and rural areas in Selangor. A face-to-face interview was conducted using the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study questionnaire. The inclusion criteria include Malaysians who are 60-years old and above and can converse in the Malaysian language. Those who encounter less than seven scores for the Abbreviated Mental Test were excluded from the study. Among the 1204 respondents, 953 (79.2%) were happy. Sociodemographic characteristics showed that being a men, age of 60 to 74 years, and living in urban areas were significantly associated with happiness. A logistic regression model showed that locality (aOR 1.61), income category (Bottom 40% aOR 0.49; Middle-class group 40% aOR 1.40), social engagement (active aOR 1.77; less active aOR 1.25), receiving emotional support (aOR 2.11) and handgrip strength (aOR 1.02) were significantly associated with happiness. Thus, ensuring the elderly population in receiving emotional support and active social engagement among them can enhance their happiness level.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness*
Happiness among dentists: a multi-scale, multi-national study from 21 countries

Alhajj MN, Omar R, Khader Y, Celebić A, El Tantawi M, Folayan MO, et al.

Int Dent J, 2020 Oct;70(5):328-339.
PMID: 32501563 DOI: 10.1111/idj.12579

OBJECTIVES: The extent to which dentists are happy with their profession and their life has not been well studied. The present study aimed to explore the level of happiness, satisfaction with life and psychological well-being among a sample of dental professionals from 21 countries.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised 2,200 dentists from 21 countries. Three scales - Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), and Affect Balance Scale (ABS) - were used to measure the subjective responses. Data related to demographic and social characteristics were recorded. Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used as appropriate. Scales were correlated, and multiple linear regression analyses were employed to identify the independent determinants of SHS, SWLS and ABS. Data were analysed using the SPSS software program; a value of P <0.05 was considered significant.
RESULTS: The overall mean scores of SHS, SWLS and ABS were 18.53 ± 5.06, 23.06 ± 6.25 and 1.26 ± 2.40, respectively, with significant differences found across countries: dentists working in Croatia, Peru and Serbia recorded the highest scores, unlike dentists practicing in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, who recorded the lowest scores. There were significant, moderately positive correlations between the various scales: SHS and SWLS: r = 0.535, P

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness*
Fulltext Trait Emotional Intelligence and Happiness of Young Adults: The Mediating Role of Perfectionism

Badri SKZ, Kong MY, Wan Mohd Yunus WMA, Nordin NA, Yap WM

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2021 10 14;18(20).
PMID: 34682544 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182010800

Perfectionism or a tendency to aim for an unrealistic standard can impair happiness. However, the potential mechanisms of perfectionism to explain the association between trait emotional intelligence (EI) and happiness are still understudied. This study explores the mediating role of perfectionism in the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (EI) and happiness among young adults. A cross-sectional sample of 259 young adults aged between 18 to 35 years old was recruited. All analyses were conducted using SPSS and AMOS Structural Equation Modeling. High trait EI was linked to low perfectionism and high happiness levels. Furthermore, perfectionism mediated the relationship between trait EI and happiness. Although high trait EI lowered maladaptive perfectionism, the negative impact of maladaptive perfectionism remained and subsequently led to decreasing happiness levels of young adults. This study offers an enhanced understanding of the role of perfectionism in explaining the happiness state of young adults. Moreover, it provides practical implications for using trait EI and managing perfectionism tendency to manage the happiness and wellbeing of the young adult population.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness*
Fulltext Perceptions and opinion of happiness among university students in a Malaysian university

Al-Naggar RA, Al-Jashamy KA, Low WY, Mohd Isa Z, Alsaror MI, Al-Naggar AGA

ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 2010;11(2):198-0.
MyJurnal

Objective: This study was aimed to explore the perceptions and opinions of happiness among university students. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in January for the academic year 2010 among 33 Medical Science Students from Management and Science University (MSU), Shah Alam, Malaysia. The facilitator wrote down the conversation during the discussion. The data obtained was classified into various categories. Due to the small sample size, the data was analyzed manually. Results: All participants mentioned that the main source of happiness is money. Good relationship with friends and family is the second source of happiness among university students. Some of the students mentioned that the stability of life and good health are causes of happiness. Few participants mentioned that success in life is one of the causes of the happiness.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Fulltext Contextualising facial expressions: The effect of temporal context and individual differences on classification

Irwantoro K, Nimsha Nilakshi Lennon N, Mareschal I, Miflah Hussain Ismail A

Q J Exp Psychol (Hove), 2023 Feb;76(2):450-459.
PMID: 35360991 DOI: 10.1177/17470218221094296

The influence of context on facial expression classification is most often investigated using simple cues in static faces portraying basic expressions with a fixed emotional intensity. We examined (1) whether a perceptually rich, dynamic audiovisual context, presented in the form of movie clips (to achieve closer resemblance to real life), affected the subsequent classification of dynamic basic (happy) and non-basic (sarcastic) facial expressions and (2) whether people's susceptibility to contextual cues was related to their ability to classify facial expressions viewed in isolation. Participants classified facial expressions-gradually progressing from neutral to happy/sarcastic in increasing intensity-that followed movie clips. Classification was relatively more accurate and faster when the preceding context predicted the upcoming expression, compared with when the context did not. Speeded classifications suggested that predictive contexts reduced the emotional intensity required to be accurately classified. More importantly, we show for the first time that participants' accuracy in classifying expressions without an informative context correlated with the magnitude of the contextual effects experienced by them-poor classifiers of isolated expressions were more susceptible to a predictive context. Our findings support the emerging view that contextual cues and individual differences must be considered when explaining mechanisms underlying facial expression classification.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Fulltext Transformation of Children's Paintings into Public Art to Improve Public Spaces and Enhance People's Happiness

Luo N, Ibrahim R, Abidin SZ

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2022 Dec 14;19(24).
PMID: 36554658 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416780

Characteristics of children's paintings have been suggested considered for application in public art since they are known to positively evoke a sense of well-being when people see them. This study aims to understand the impact of artistic features from children's drawings on people's well-being; then analyzing the adaptive design principles of 3D public art featuring children's paintings on people's happiness; and finally, exploring the influence of 3D public art featuring children's paintings on improving public spaces and enhancing people's well-being. The results lead to proposing a conceptual framework for public artworks in public spaces for improving people's happiness. The proposed conceptual framework recommends that, by applying the visual and thinking features of children's paintings to public art, artists can design high-quality artworks suitable for a city, which could improve people's happiness in public spaces. This study recommends further research into how public art can promote public spaces and shape the urban culture. It contributes to enhancing the quality of public art and public spaces, and inspiring a sense of well-being among citizens through the use of appropriate public art. The results are significant because they will help artists to create more high-quality public artworks for urban public spaces in order to evoke people's happiness.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Hardiness as a mediator between perceived stress and happiness in nurses

Abdollahi A, Abu Talib M, Yaacob SN, Ismail Z

J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs, 2014;21(9):789-96.
PMID: 24661763 DOI: 10.1111/jpm.12142

The relevance of the study of happiness and stress in nurses has been emphasized. In this sense, the intelligent use of hardiness is enable nurses to cope better with stress and contribute to being happier. This study aimed to examine the relationship among hardiness, perceived stress, and happiness in nurses. Moreover, we examined the mediator role of hardiness on the relationship between perceived stress and happiness in nurses. Our study revealed that hardi-attitude nurses evaluate situations as less stressful which results in a higher happiness. This study showed hardiness as being a protective factor against perceived stress and a facilitating factor for happiness in nurses. The findings could be important in training future nurses so that hardiness can be imparted, thereby giving them the ability to control their stress. Nursing is a stressful occupation with high levels of stress within the health professions. Given that hardiness is an important construct to enable nurses to cope better with stress and contribute to being happier; therefore, it is necessary we advance our knowledge about the aetiology of happiness, especially the role of hardiness in decreasing stress levels and increasing happiness. The present study sought to investigate the role of hardiness as a mediator between perceived stress and happiness. The participants, comprising 252 nurses from six private hospitals in Tehran, completed the Personal Views Survey, the Perceived Stress Scale, and the Oxford Happiness Inventory. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the data and answer the research hypotheses. As expected, hardiness partially mediated between perceived stress and happiness among nurses, and nurses with low levels of perceived stress were more likely to report greater hardiness and happiness. In addition, nurses with high levels of hardiness were more likely to report happiness. This study showed hardiness as being a protective factor against perceived stress and a facilitating factor for happiness in nurses. The findings could be important in training future nurses so that hardiness can be imparted, thereby giving them the ability to control their stress.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness*
Extraversion and happiness: The mediating role of social support and hope

Tan CS, Low SK, Viapude GN

Psych J, 2018 Sep;7(3):133-143.
PMID: 30015375 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.220

Studies have found that extraversion enhances happiness indirectly through social support. However, it is unclear how social support may be connected to happiness. On the basis of a literature review, we hypothesize that individual hope may play an important role in the relationship between social support and happiness. Using a serial mediation model, the present study attempted to investigate the hypothetical mediating role of hope in the relationship between extraversion and happiness and between social support and happiness. Analysis of responses of 360 undergraduate students showed that extraversion, social support, and hope were significantly linked with happiness. Moreover, hope was found to mediate the linkage of extraversion and happiness and of social support and happiness. The results also supported the view that extraversion enhances happiness through social support and then hope (serial mediating effect). Lastly, the serial mediating effect was found to be significantly lower than the other two indirect effects. The findings offer insights into the effect of social support on happiness and extend the understanding of the relationship between extraversion and happiness.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness*
Be Careful Where You Smile: Culture Shapes Judgments of Intelligence and Honesty of Smiling Individuals

Krys K, -Melanie Vauclair C, Capaldi CA, Lun VM, Bond MH, Domínguez-Espinosa A, et al.

Journal of nonverbal behavior, 2015 12 30;40:101-116.
PMID: 27194817

Smiling individuals are usually perceived more favorably than non-smiling ones-they are judged as happier, more attractive, competent, and friendly. These seemingly clear and obvious consequences of smiling are assumed to be culturally universal, however most of the psychological research is carried out in WEIRD societies (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) and the influence of culture on social perception of nonverbal behavior is still understudied. Here we show that a smiling individual may be judged as less intelligent than the same non-smiling individual in cultures low on the GLOBE's uncertainty avoidance dimension. Furthermore, we show that corruption at the societal level may undermine the prosocial perception of smiling-in societies with high corruption indicators, trust toward smiling individuals is reduced. This research fosters understanding of the cultural framework surrounding nonverbal communication processes and reveals that in some cultures smiling may lead to negative attributions.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Religious Commitment and its Relation to Happiness among Muslim Students: The Educational Level as Moderator

Achour M, Mohd Nor MR, Amel B, Bin Seman HM, MohdYusoff MYZ

J Relig Health, 2017 Oct;56(5):1870-1889.
PMID: 28160189 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-017-0361-9

This study examines the relationship between religiosity and level of happiness in an Islamic context among Muslim students studying at Malaysian universities. The determinants of happiness included in this research are positive attitudes, self-esteem, and other-esteem. Religiosity has long been considered as the main determinant in increasing happiness, and educational level strengthens its relationship. For this purpose, the researchers sampled 230 Muslim students aged 17-40 years studying at Malaysian universities in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The study found a positive and significant correlation between religious commitment and level of happiness. Religious commitment also shows positive and significant correlations with positive attitudes, self-esteem, and other-esteem. The study also concludes that educational attainment moderates the relationship between religious commitment and happiness. Thus, religious commitment plays a very important role in increasing levels of happiness.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Brain functional connectivity patterns for emotional state classification in Parkinson's disease patients without dementia

Yuvaraj R, Murugappan M, Acharya UR, Adeli H, Ibrahim NM, Mesquita E

Behav Brain Res, 2016 Feb 1;298(Pt B):248-60.
PMID: 26515932 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.10.036

Successful emotional communication is crucial for social interactions and social relationships. Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients have shown deficits in emotional recognition abilities although the research findings are inconclusive. This paper presents an investigation of six emotions (happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, and disgust) of twenty non-demented (Mini-Mental State Examination score >24) PD patients and twenty Healthy Controls (HCs) using Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based Brain Functional Connectivity (BFC) patterns. The functional connectivity index feature in EEG signals is computed using three different methods: Correlation (COR), Coherence (COH), and Phase Synchronization Index (PSI). Further, a new functional connectivity index feature is proposed using bispectral analysis. The experimental results indicate that the BFC change is significantly different among emotional states of PD patients compared with HC. Also, the emotional connectivity pattern classified using Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier yielded the highest accuracy for the new bispectral functional connectivity index. The PD patients showed emotional impairments as demonstrated by a poor classification performance. This finding suggests that decrease in the functional connectivity indices during emotional stimulation in PD, indicating functional disconnections between cortical areas.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Fulltext The effect of Ramadan fasting on spatial attention through emotional stimuli

Molavi M, Yunus J, Utama NP

Psychol Res Behav Manag, 2016;9:105-14.
PMID: 27307772 DOI: 10.2147/PRBM.S100495

Fasting can influence psychological and mental states. In the current study, the effect of periodical fasting on the process of emotion through gazed facial expression as a realistic multisource of social information was investigated for the first time. The dynamic cue-target task was applied via behavior and event-related potential measurements for 40 participants to reveal the temporal and spatial brain activities - before, during, and after fasting periods. The significance of fasting included several effects. The amplitude of the N1 component decreased over the centroparietal scalp during fasting. Furthermore, the reaction time during the fasting period decreased. The self-measurement of deficit arousal as well as the mood increased during the fasting period. There was a significant contralateral alteration of P1 over occipital area for the happy facial expression stimuli. The significant effect of gazed expression and its interaction with the emotional stimuli was indicated by the amplitude of N1. Furthermore, the findings of the study approved the validity effect as a congruency between gaze and target position, as indicated by the increment of P3 amplitude over centroparietal area as well as slower reaction time from behavioral response data during incongruency or invalid condition between gaze and target position compared with those during valid condition. Results of this study proved that attention to facial expression stimuli as a kind of communicative social signal was affected by fasting. Also, fasting improved the mood of practitioners. Moreover, findings from the behavioral and event-related potential data analyses indicated that the neural dynamics of facial emotion are processed faster than that of gazing, as the participants tended to react faster and prefer to relay on the type of facial emotions than to gaze direction while doing the task. Because of happy facial expression stimuli, right hemisphere activation was more than that of the left hemisphere. It indicated the consistency of the emotional lateralization concept rather than the valence concept of emotional processing.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Association Between Self-Esteem and Happiness Among Adolescents in Malaysia: The Mediating Role of Motivation

Yap CC, Mohamad Som RB, Sum XY, Tan SA, Yee KW

Psychol Rep, 2021 Mar 31.
PMID: 33789536 DOI: 10.1177/00332941211005124

Adolescence is the developmental process of becoming an adult. This journey of physical and psychological maturation is filled with challenges and hormonal chaos, and teenagers experience unhappiness at times. From a psychological perspective, this study aimed to examine the association between motivation, self-esteem and happiness; and to explore the mediating role of motivation in the association between self-esteem and happiness among adolescents in Malaysia. 480 secondary school students were recruited using a multistage cluster sampling method and answered the Malay versions of the Subjective Happiness, Brief Motivation and Rosenberg Self-esteem scales. Both self-esteem and motivation were found positively correlated to happiness. The hypothetical mediating role of motivation on the association between self-esteem and happiness was also supported, indicating that individuals with higher self-esteem have higher motivation which may result in greater happiness. Since the direct association between self-esteem and happiness remained significant, a partial mediation of adolescents' motivation between self-esteem and happiness is indicated. The results showed that perceived self-esteem plays a role in predicting happiness and the presence of motivation enhances happiness, providing an insight to nurture happier adolescents for parents and educators in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
The impact of nature exposure on body image and happiness: an experience sampling study

Stieger S, Aichinger I, Swami V

Int J Environ Health Res, 2020 Aug 10.
PMID: 32777941 DOI: 10.1080/09603123.2020.1803805

Exposure to nature is associated with improved psychological well-being and positive body image. Here, we examined whether everyday exposure to natural environments is associated with state body image outcomes (and, for comparative reasons, state happiness) using an experience sampling method. One-hundred-and-seven participants completed a 30-day experience sampling phase in which they reported their state body image (body weight, body shape, and physical appearance satisfaction), state happiness, and features of the surrounding environment (total = 6,025 responses) at three random time-points each day. Results indicated that being outdoors was associated with significantly higher state body image on all three indicators, but effect sizes were lower compared to effects on state happiness. Specific environment type was also important, with blue-spaces and wood- and grasslands, respectively, having stronger effects than other environments. These results provide evidence that everyday exposure to natural environments is associated with more positive state body image and greater happiness.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Fulltext FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMERS IN USING SHOPEE FOR ONLINE PURCHASE INTENTION IN EAST COAST MALAYSIA

KIEW CHEE CHING, ZUHA ROSUFILA ABU HASAN, NADIA ABU HASAN

UMT Journal of Undergraduate Research, 2021;3(1):45-56.
MyJurnal

Shopee online has become increasingly popular among consumers for purchasing purposes as compared to brick-and-mortar retail due to the benefits and enjoyment that come with it. However, Shopee has facing intense competitive challenges with other competitors in Malaysia. In addition, it is also difficult for Shopee to compete with major leader of online shopping portal although this platform offers the same function and usage as its contender. Hence, it is important to understand consumer perceptions on the benefit and intention of using Shopee. This study examines consumer perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived price, perceived convenience and perceived trust adapted from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). 208 respondents who have experience online purchasing in East Cost of Malaysia were invited to participate in this study using online survey. Data were analyzed using descriptive, correlation and multiple regression analyses. The findings show that perceived convenience and perceived trust have strong influence towards consumer intention to use Shopee as platform to do online purchase. It is suggested that this study will help practitioners to understand consumer online shopping perception and intention in order to induce visitation and usage of Shopee.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Fulltext Relationship between happiness and emotional expressiveness among nursing student in University Malaysia Sabah

Mazlinda Musa, Segaran Ramodran, Floreta Yusop, Nur Shiela Abdul Majid, Nur Fatihah, Aqilah Roslin, et al.

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2020;16(105):72-0.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Nursing is an emotionally stressful occupation where nurses themselves are at risk of internalizing negative emotions when caring for patients who are suffering, in pain, anguish, and facing death. Studies indicate an individual`s ability to emotionally express or vent these internalize negative emotions is associated with intrinsic happiness and well-being. Similarly, in the context of UMS, student nurses are at times exposed to overwhelming negative emotions during clinical postings and raise the question to what extent students use emotional expressive- ness to vent such emotions. This study is to assess perceived happiness and emotional expressiveness and determine correlates of these attributes among student nurses in UMS. Methods: This study entails a cross-sectioned design involving 90 (N) participants selected through convenient stratified sampling from 1st year (n=30), 2nd year (n=30) and 3rd year (n=30) student nurses. Ethical clearance for this study was obtained from REC UMS and the respon- dent’s consent. Two validated instruments, the Intrinsic Happiness Index (IHI, with 10 Likert scaled items, α =0.78) and Emotional Expressiveness Scale (EES, 17 Likert scaled item α =0.82) were used in this study. Results: Among 90 nursing students in this study, 81%(n=72) scored high and 19% (n=18) scored low in the happiness index. On emotional expressiveness ratings, 68% scored high with 32% scoring low. Higher happiness index scores correlated positively with high emotional expressive scores. First year students had significantly higher perceived happiness score (p=0.02) and higher emotional expressiveness score (p=0.03) compared to 2nd or 3rd-year students. Conclu- sion: Finding in this study imply that although the majority of student had good emotional disposition, but a small percentage of students have lower perceived happiness and emotional expressiveness, which may affect long term psychological well-being. This paper will discuss some remedial strategies to address the issue.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness
Firefighter satisfaction and happiness at work: how big is the effect?

Muthukumaran M, Mohd Nadzrul Safiq AR, Rosnah I, Nor Hisham M, Ashrul Riezal A, Ismail AG

Med J Malaysia, 2023 May;78(3):287-295.
PMID: 37271837

INTRODUCTION: Firefighter satisfaction plays a crucial role in overall workplace happiness. We seek to quantify the effect size of firefighters' satisfaction with happiness at work after adjusting for socio-demographic attributes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used data from an online cross-sectional survey that was conducted from 24 June to 24 July 2021 in the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia. Firefighters were approached using the saturation sampling technique. They received online surveys via email through the Director of State and follow-up reminders through the Assistant Director of State Operations. A total of two filter questionnaires were employed i.e. type and duration of service. Firefighters stating that they were volunteer/auxiliary firefighters or had been in service for 2 years or less were excluded. In this study, data from 6041 out of 8581 firefighters were included for further analysis. The survey utilised the validated staff satisfaction index (SSI) and the happy career (HC) scale for in-service firefighters. SSI was a dual-dimension index consisting of welfare and protection against hazards at work, with 16 subdimensions. The HC is a five multi-dimensional items scale. Then, we used multiple linear regression to obtain the coefficient of determination while adjusting for age groups, gender, marital status, job grade, years of service and region of service.
RESULTS: A total of 6041 eligible data points were analysed in the study. The mean (±SD) age was 38.70 (8.97) years, of which 95.9% were male. The firefighters were in service for a median of 14 years (Q1, Q3: 8, 21). The firefighter reported higher life satisfaction (mean [SD] = 78.30 [9.15]) than happiness at work (mean [SD] = 77.22 [0.20]). The mean happiness scores differed significantly between years of service groups (p<0.001), region of service (p<0.001), marital status (p=0.029) and grade (p<0.001). Firefighters' satisfaction contributed 42.7% of workplace happiness (βadj=1.096 [95% CI: 1.064, 1.128]; p<0.001) after adjusting for frontline, married, the central region of service and male gender as control variables.
CONCLUSION: Firefighter satisfaction had a large effect size on happiness at work (42.7%). However, the interpretation of this effect size should be done with caution because happiness at work is inseparable from other life dimensions such as stability in matrimonial relationships and finances, involvement in leisure and religious activities and being mentally healthy.

Matched MeSH terms: Happiness

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