Matching Items (6)
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- All Subjects: Social Support
- All Subjects: Well-being
- Creators: Infurna, Frank
- Creators: Aggarwal, Rimjhim
Description
The conflict conditions that afflict the livelihoods of Palestinian residents living in the West Bank are embedded within the population's ability to travel more so than any other routine activity. For Palestinian residents, domestic and international travel is a process of following paths riddled with multiple barriers that are both physical and political. Past studies have done well to paint a clear picture of the harsh transportation landscape in the region. However, less attention has focused on how barriers interact to indirectly and directly affect levels of accessibility and well-being. Additionally, suggested development solutions are rarely capable of being successfully implemented given current political conditions. This dissertation uses a systems approach to understand drivers of accessibility challenges in the West Bank and uses the understanding to propose a method to identify transition strategies that may be presently initiated whilst maintaining the ability to provide adequate benefit. The research question informing the study asks, How do drivers influencing the issue of poor accessibility and well-being in the West Bank persist and interact, and how might solutions be approached? The dissertation approaches the question in four sequential actions that each produces a functional planning deliverable. First, a system map that depicts the drivers and influences to the problem of poor accessibility and well-being is constructed (Chapter 4). Second, a future vision for the transportation system in the West Bank is identified (Chapter 5). Third, the system map and vision are used to assess how conflict conditions affect transition research (Chapter 6). Finally, the previous three deliverables are used to suggest a guide for transition management for transportation development in the West Bank (Chapter 7). Combinations of four different data sets, including an extensive review of published literature, field observations, individual field expert interviews, and group commuter interviews inform the research. Additionally, the Transformational Sustainability Research framework provides a normative base for the steps taken throughout the research. Ultimately, the dissertation presents an interpretation of information that has theoretical and practical application potential in transformational sustainability research and development efforts in the region respectively.
ContributorsAhmad, Omaya Heidi (Author) / Golub, Aaron (Thesis advisor) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Committee member) / Saleh Sadaqa, Ahmad (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
Spousal loss is a common, significant life event that can negatively affect multiple facets of individual health and psychological adjustment. Social support is one factor that is shown to improve adjustment following spousal loss, but much less is known regarding which facet of social support is most predictive of positive adjustment outcomes following spousal loss. This study examined the course of changes in mental health and well-being following spousal loss and which facets of social support are associated with better outcomes following spousal loss. Latent growth curve modeling was applied to data from 265 widowed individuals, ages 65 and older, across four assessments (baseline, and 6-, 18-, and 48- months following spousal loss). I examined the following research questions: (1) adjustment following spousal loss will follow a trajectory of an increase in depressive symptoms and anxiety and decrease in well-being with a leveling-off over time, with between-person differences, and (2) emotional support and instrumental support given will lead to more positive adjustment outcomes over time. Depressive symptoms followed the hypothesized trajectory but anxiety and well-being showed relative stability before and after spousal loss. Instrumental support was the most beneficial facet of social support, such that receiving more instrumental support was associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety 6-months following spousal loss. Giving more instrumental support led to an increase in well-being following spousal loss. Instrumental support given and received led to increases in well-being as a function of spousal loss. The discussion focuses on whether and how these findings can help to identify ways through which support and help can be given to individuals to improve adjustment to spousal loss and fully recover.
ContributorsSullivan, Colleen Elizabeth (Author) / Infurna, Frank (Thesis director) / Luthar, Suniya (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Understanding work-life balance is crucial for improving the work environment, managing work and personal demands, and maintaining well-being. However, scientific literature regarding work-life balance has not adequately investigated its long-term relationships with subjective well-being and social support factors. Up to this point, empirical research uses cross-sectional or short-term longitudinal data and is focused on broad outcomes related to work-life balance. The current study adds to the literature by breaking down work-life balance into work interference, how work experiences negatively contribute to personal life, and work enhancement, how work experiences positively contribute to personal life. Work-life balance factors will be explored with relationships between three components of subjective well-being: positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. Additional examined relationships are between work-life balance factors and quality of social support through positive and negative relationships with spouse, family, and friends. Finally, the relationships with work-life balance are examined with potential covariates. The research questions will be tested with multilevel models using data collected from 2006 \u2014 2014 from the Health and Retirement Study, a longitudinal panel survey of participants in midlife and old age. In short, work enhancement is predictive of the level and change in life satisfaction and positive factors; work interference is predictive of the level and change in negative factors. The discussion focuses on understanding the directionality of the relationships and how future research can build upon the understanding of subjective well-being and social support.
ContributorsBanovich, Presley Elizabeth (Author) / Infurna, Frank (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Patock-Peckham, Julie (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Producing, transforming, distributing, and consuming food requires a multitude of actors, from the microbes in the soil to the truck drivers, from the salesperson to the bacterial life that supports digestion. Yet, the global food system – far from being neutral – unequally provides and extracts resources around the globe to serve and protect the needs of some, while excluding and/or oppressing others and producing trauma in the process. Drawing on feminist scholarship and permaculture research – two fields that discuss the importance of care but only rarely work together – and using social science methods, I explore how to integrate care into food systems, and what are the outcomes of such an integration. I first bring together the voices of 35 everyday experts from Cuba, France, and the United States (Arizona) and perspectives from ethics of care, creation care, indigenous scholars, and permaculture specialists, and I use grounded theory to develop a definition of care in food systems context, and a conceptual map of care that identifies motives for caring, caring practices and their results. I then discuss how caring practices enhance food systems’ adaptive capacity and resilience. Next, I study the relationship between a subset of the identified caring practices – what is recognized as “Earth care” – and their effect on well-being in general, and Food Well-Being more specifically, using three case studies from Arizona based on: (1) interviews of school teachers, (2) interviews of sustainable farmers, (3) a survey with 96 gardeners. There, I also discuss how policies and cultural transformations can better support the integration of Earth care practices in food systems. Then, I examine how urban food autonomy movements are grassroots examples of integration of care in food systems, and how through their care practices – Earth care, “People care” and “Fair share” – they can serve as a catalyst for social change and contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Lastly, I conclude with recommendations to strengthen a culture of care in food systems, as well as limitations to my research, and future research directions.
ContributorsGiraud, Esteve Gaelle (Author) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Thesis advisor) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis advisor) / Samuelson, Hava (Committee member) / Chhetri, Netra (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Subjective social status (SSS) is a marker of perceived social rank that has been linked with depressive symptoms over and above objective socioeconomic status (SES),
but longitudinal studies are limited. SSS has been theorized to capture perceived relative
versus absolute deprivation and the corresponding psychosocial processes underlying
status-based disparities in health. The literature suggests that upward social comparisons
inherent in appraising SSS may confer psychosocial risk, which may in turn increase risk
for depressive symptoms and stress-related inflammation involved in the pathogenesis of
depression. However, no studies have examined whether interpersonal and biological
factors simultaneously contribute to the inverse relation between SSS and depressive
symptoms. This study examined whether (1) lower SSS was longitudinally associated
with increased depressive mood symptoms, independent of income, and (2) whether
higher social strain and lower social support simultaneously mediated the SSS—
depressive mood symptoms relation directly and indirectly through higher interleukin-6
(IL-6). This study utilized secondary data from a representative community sample of
804 middle-aged adults taking part in a study of healthy aging between 2007 and 2012.
Plasma levels of IL-6 and self-reported SSS, social support, and social strain were
assessed at baseline, followed by an assessment of depressive mood symptoms by phone
interview on average 20 months later. Results from multiple regression analysis revealed
that lower SSS predicted higher depressive symptoms at follow-up after adjustment for
sociodemographic characteristics and baseline depressive mood symptoms. Path analysis
indicated that social strain significantly mediated the relation between SSS and
depressive mood symptoms, but not after adjustment for baseline mood symptoms.
Lower social support mediated the relation between lower SSS and higher depressive
symptoms, but relations were non-significant in adjusted models. Contrary to predictions,
paths including IL-6 were not significant. Lower SSS may represent a robust risk factor
for subsequent depressive mood symptoms above and beyond income, in line with the
conceptualization of SSS as a measure of relative deprivation. Further research
examining biopsychosocial mechanisms would elucidate the implications of perceived
low status and inform intervention efforts aimed at reducing the global burden of
depressive symptoms.
ContributorsMoore, Shannon Victoria (Author) / Davis, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Luecken, Linda (Committee member) / Anderson, Samantha (Committee member) / Infurna, Frank (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Background: Cancer impacts the lives of millions of patients, families and caregivers annually
leading to chronic stress, a sense of powerlessness, and decreased autonomy. Social support may improve health empowerment and lead to increased perception of well-being.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of social support provided by a cancer support agency on health empowerment and perceived well-being in adults impacted by cancer.
Conceptual Framework: The Health Empowerment Theory maintains that perceived wellbeing is the desired outcome; mediated by health empowerment through social support, personal growth, and purposeful participation in active goal attainment.
Methods: Twelve adults impacted by cancer agreed to complete online questionnaires at
baseline and at 12 weeks after beginning participation in social support programs provided by a cancer support agency.
Instruments included: Patient Empowerment Scale, The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and The Office of National Statistics (ONS) Subjective Well-Being Questions.
Results: Four participants completed pre and post surveys. An increase was seen in
empowerment scores (pre M = 1.78, SD = 0.35 and post M = 3.05, SD = 0.42). There was no
increase in perceived well-being: SWEMWBS pre (M= 3.71, SD= 0.76), post (M= 3.57, SD=
0.65); ONS pre (M= 7.69, SD= 1.36), post (M= 6.59, SD= 1.52).
Implications: The data showed an increase in health empowerment scores after utilizing social support programs, lending support to the agency’s support strategies. It is recommended that the measures be included in surveys routinely conducted by the agency to continue to assess the impact of programming on health empowerment, and perceived well-being.
leading to chronic stress, a sense of powerlessness, and decreased autonomy. Social support may improve health empowerment and lead to increased perception of well-being.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of social support provided by a cancer support agency on health empowerment and perceived well-being in adults impacted by cancer.
Conceptual Framework: The Health Empowerment Theory maintains that perceived wellbeing is the desired outcome; mediated by health empowerment through social support, personal growth, and purposeful participation in active goal attainment.
Methods: Twelve adults impacted by cancer agreed to complete online questionnaires at
baseline and at 12 weeks after beginning participation in social support programs provided by a cancer support agency.
Instruments included: Patient Empowerment Scale, The Short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (SWEMWBS), and The Office of National Statistics (ONS) Subjective Well-Being Questions.
Results: Four participants completed pre and post surveys. An increase was seen in
empowerment scores (pre M = 1.78, SD = 0.35 and post M = 3.05, SD = 0.42). There was no
increase in perceived well-being: SWEMWBS pre (M= 3.71, SD= 0.76), post (M= 3.57, SD=
0.65); ONS pre (M= 7.69, SD= 1.36), post (M= 6.59, SD= 1.52).
Implications: The data showed an increase in health empowerment scores after utilizing social support programs, lending support to the agency’s support strategies. It is recommended that the measures be included in surveys routinely conducted by the agency to continue to assess the impact of programming on health empowerment, and perceived well-being.
ContributorsO'Rourke, Suzanne (Author) / Velasquez, Donna (Thesis advisor)
Created2017-05-03