Psychological well-being | Ricerc@Sapienza

A “bridge” over troubled water: implications of the effect of locomotion mode on hopelessness

Past research has shown that hopelessness drastically reduces the quality of life. It follows that it could be particularly useful to improve our knowledge of the potential correlates of feelings of hopelessness. We propose a negative association between locomotion mode, or the self-regulation dimension concerned with movement from current state to future states, and hopelessness. We suggest, in two studies that higher locomotion is related to less hopelessness and results in higher levels of psychological well-being.

The hopeful dimension of locomotion orientation: Implications for psychological well-being

Individuals who have a strong locomotion orientation tend to be future-oriented and motivated to move from the present state toward a future state, making swift and steady progress toward their goals. The current study has assessed the conceptual possibility that such motivation leads locomotors to experience greater hopeful thinking, an active cognitive process that consists in planning the future and implementing these plans. The results of Study 1 lend preliminary support to this possibility.

Immigrant Children’s Proficiency in the Host Country Language is More Important than Individual, Family and Peer Characteristics in Predicting Their Psychological Well-Being

Immigrant children are exposed to high levels of psychological distress, leading to an increased risk of mental and physical health problems. In the present study we investigated the impact of first and second generation immigrant children’s proficiency in the host country language on their psychological well-being one year later. The effects of gender, family SES, and classmates’ characteristics were also examined. A structural equation model was tested on 2334 immigrant children in a representative sample of 561 Italian primary schools taking measurement errors into account.

Students’ psychological well-being and its multilevel relationship with immigrant background, gender, socioeconomic status, achievement, and class size

School situations trigger affective states that influence students’ achievement and well-being. In the present study, we investigated, on the basis of a sample of 26,470 high-school students and 1,472 classrooms, the relationship of individual characteristics (immigrant background, gender, socioeconomic status, and achievement) as well as classroom characteristics (group composition and size) with students’ feelings at school.