Mental well-being and government support in Europe. The mediating role of trust in people and institutions

Purpose: This paper investigates the determinants of subjective well-being in Europe using the European Living, Working and COVID-19 (ELWC) Survey carried out by Eurofound (2021). Socio-demographics characteristics, employment status, measures of economic distress, inequality and work life balance are considered. Particular attention is paid to how quality of government support (QGS), that considers the dimensions of good governance such as integrity, fairness, reliability, responsiveness and influences subjective mental well-being (WHO-5) through the mediation of trust in other people and in institutions. Design/methodology/approach: To this end, the authors estimate a moderated mediation model for analysing the indirect role of QGS on WHO-5 through institutional trust and trust in people. Findings: The results support the hypothesis that the reduction in WHO-5 in the European population during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID--19), particularly marked in the 18–34 age group, is related to the perceived inadequacy of government interventions in managing economic and social uncertainty through supportive measures. This outcome is also due to reduced trust in institutions and other people, as both are significant mediators that reinforce the impact of public support on WHO-5. Practical implications: Government should pay greater attention to this relationship amongst good governance, trust and mental health of citizens because a healthy human capital is a significant factor for the long-run economic growth, in a special way when the authors refer to the young workforce with a greater life expectancy. Originality/value: In the literature, the role of trust as a mediator has been analysed in the relationship between individual economic situations and subjective well-being before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no studies have examined the role of perceived QGS on subjective mental well-being using the mediating and backing effects of trust in people and institutions. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2022-0549. © 2023, Erica Poma, Barbara Pistoresi and Chiara Giovinazzo.

Relevance of social capital in preserving subjective well‐being in the face of the COVID‐19 pandemic

This paper analyzes the changes in subjective well‐being (SWB) in 11 Latin American cities at the end of the acceleration phase of the COVID‐19 pandemic, the variables that influenced these changes, and the role of the public support policies and the social capital on SWB recovery. This study, the second of a two‐phase research project, is a survey‐based comparative analysis. The 5604 survey responses obtained included 3279 observations from the research project's preceding phase, and 2325 observations conducted as part of the second project phase and current study. A multivariate linear regression model was used to evaluate the impact of the different variables related to COVID‐19 on people's SWB. Results show that the most significant positive impacts on SWB, are attributed to social capital, particularly family and social cohesion. The study confirms that the level of SWB is strongly associated with personality traits, health, and key variables such as age, marital status, and income. The different measures established to control the pandemic have not remedied the negative impacts of COVID‐19 on people's SWB. However, an increase in different degrees of SWB was observed in 10 out of the 11 cities between the initial survey and the follow‐up survey.Alternate :本文分析了11个拉丁美洲城市在2019冠状病毒病（COVID‐19）大流行加速阶段结束时的主观幸福感（SWB）变化、影响SWB变化的变量、以及公共支持政策和社会资本对SWB恢复发挥的作用。本研究是一项由两阶段组成的研究课题的第二阶段——一项基于调查的比较分析。获得的5,604份调查回复包括来自研究课题第一阶段的3,279次观察，以及课题第二阶段（本研究）进行的2,325次观察。使用多元线性回归模型评价与COVID‐19相关的不同变量对人民SWB产生的影响。结果表明，对SWB产生最显著积极影响的变量为社会资本，特别是家庭和社会凝聚力。本研究证实，SWB水平与人格特征、健康状况、以及年龄、婚姻状况和收入等关键变量强烈相关。为控制大流行而制定的不同措施并没有弥补COVID‐19对人民SWB产生的负面影响。不过，从初次调查到后续调查的期间，11个城市中有10个城市的SWB出现了不同程度的上升。Alternate :RESUMENEste artículo analiza los cambios en el bienestar subjetivo en 11 ciudades de América Latina al final de la fase de aceleración de la pandemia de COVID‐19, las variables que influyeron en estos cambios y el papel de las políticas públicas de apoyo y el capital social en la recuperación del bienestar subjetivo.Este estudio, el segundo de un proyecto de investigación de dos fases, es un análisis comparativo basado en encuestas. Las 5605 encuestas respondidas incluyeron 3279 observaciones de la fase anterior del proyecto de investigación y 2325 observaciones realizadas como parte de la segunda fase del proyecto y el estudio actual. Se utilizó un modelo de regresión lineal multivariado para evaluar el impacto de las diferentes variables relacionadas con COVID‐19 en el bienestar subjetivo de las personas.Los resultados muestran que los impactos positivos más significativos en el bienestar subjetivo se atribuyen al capital social, particularmente a la cohesión familiar y social. El estudio confirma que el nivel de bienestar subjetivo está fuertemente asociado con los rasgos de personalidad, la salud y variables clave como la edad, el estado civil y los ingresos. Las diferentes medidas establecidas para el control de la pandemia no han subsanado los impactos negativos del COVID‐19 en el bienestar subjetivo de las personas. Sin embargo, se observó un aumento en diferentes grados de bienestar subjetivo en 10 de las 11 ciudades entre la encuesta inicial y la encuesta de seguimiento.

The impact of perceived organizational support on professional commitment: a moderation of burnout and mediation of well-being

PurposeIn today's challenging world, achieving professional commitment among healthcare workers is becoming the need of time. Drawing on self-determination theory, the current study examines how and under which boundary conditions perceived organizational support affects professional commitment.Design/methodology/approachData was collected from doctors and nurses employed in public and private sector hospitals by employing a split-questionnaire design.FindingsThe authors' study findings demonstrate that perceived organizational support has a positive and indirect effect on the professional commitment of nurses and doctors via mediating the role of subjective well-being. The authors also found that these findings depend on healthcare workers' burnout levels. The positive relationship between perceived organizational support and subjective well-being is attenuated by burnout syndrome.Practical implicationsThe current study poses implications for policymakers and administrators of healthcare institutions as well as to develop a supportive culture to evoke more professional commitment among healthcare workers. Implications for nursing managers and policymakers are discussed in light of the study findings.Originality/valueHealthcare institutions are increasingly paying attention to raising the professional commitment of their workforce, especially in the wake of a crisis like the COVID-19 outbreak. The current study will add to the body of literature on nursing management, healthcare studies and organizational psychology in the South Asian context by explaining the relationship between POS and professional commitment, drawing on self-determination theory.

Analysing the Effect of Body, Mind and Soul State on Subjective Well-Being During COVID-19 Pandemic

The concern about health is continuously increasing and the COVID-19 pandemic has caused so many changes at a global level, affecting people, regardless demographic features. Different analysis show that people have been affected from different points of view, physically, mentally, and emotionally. The research is focusing on Romanians' perceptions, believes and behaviours in respect with their body, mind and soul (BMS) condition. The paper evaluates the effect of the state of BMS on subjective well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic. It was conducted a descriptive research, using interviews based on an online anonymous questionnaire. The study reveals that when referring to their well-being, the majority are considering emotional and mind condition first. More hours spent in front of a screen and lack of socialization are the main effects of the pandemic. The respondents considered that their emotional state was impacted most in the last year. More then 60% became more aware of the importance of well-being. The majority of the respondents evaluated separately their physical, mental and emotional condition as being good, sustaining their state especially though walking, sleeping enough hours per night and socializing with others, and spending less then 100 euros per month for maintaining their subjective well-being.

Gratitude and kindness at work as predictors of employees' mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This research explored the association of perceptions of gratitude and kindness at work with well-being outcomes, such as relatedness needs satisfaction, life satisfaction, and COVID-19 anxiety among selected Filipino employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that kindness positively predicted relatedness needs satisfaction even after controlling for participants' age, gender, employment status, and length of stay in the organization. Gratitude positively predicted life satisfaction. This research underscores the mental health payoffs associated with fostering gratitude and kindness in organizational contexts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Does awareness of COVID-19 matter? Investigating the effect of fear of COVID-19 and stress on subjective well-being

This study investigates the effect of fear of COVID-19 on subjective well-being via the mediating role of perceived stress. The moderating role of awareness of COVID-19 on the mediation model is also tested. This study employed a longitudinal correlation design with a three-wave data collection technique. The data were collected using a snowballing sampling technique where participants were recruited through online advertisements. Finally, 345 responses were included in the analysis after dropping participants who did not fully complete the study and failed the attention check items. The measures included fear of COVID-19, perceived stress, subjective well-being and awareness of COVID-19 and were administered using an online survey platform. The results suggested that fear of COVID-19 adversely impacted subjective well-being while perceived stress partially mediated the relationship. Additionally, awareness of COVID-19 moderated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and perceived stress. The effect of fear of COVID-19 on perceived stress was more positive for those who had high awareness of COVID-19, consequently lowering subjective well-being. This study is among a few studies investigating a mechanism that explains the effect of fear of COVID-19 on subjective well-being.

Mindfulness and Subjective Well-Being of Indian University Students: Role of Resilience during COVID-19 Pandemic.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is presently a global health issue that negatively affects the mental health and well-being of students globally. The latest investigations have recognized the role of mindfulness in individual subjective well-being. This study explores the mediating role of resilience in the overall relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being among Indian university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data was collected between 10 August 2020 to 24 October 2020 via a self-administered questionnaire from 589 university students in India. Results revealed that resilience has a partial mediating role between mindfulness and subjective well-being. The results substantiate that resilience has an important role in mindfulness, exercising its advantageous effects on mental health of the students in higher education institutions. This research adds to the knowledge base of mindfulness and subjective well-being of university students, especially in contingent times. Lastly, the study contributes to the existing mindfulness theory.

The impact of the removal of Zero-COVID policies on subjective well-being: Evidence from a digital world

Administrative restrictions on public mobility may impose significant well-being impacts on society. For instance, there has been a wide discussion on the psychological effects of lockdown policies during the pandemic. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the consequences of the policy transition and the uncertainty that arises from shifting from tight to loose regulations. The unexpected removal of Zero-COVID policies in China provides a special opportunity to study how policy uncertainty may affect mental health or subjective well-being. We use the Baidu Index data to test the effects of switching toward a "live-with-COVID” policy and the consequent rapid COVID spread on the frequency of well-being related search terms in China. Through a three-phase difference-in-differences approach with multiple years to check parallel sentiment trends, we find a substantial increase in fear and social dysfunction during the Transition Period when COVID-related restrictions were not fully lifted, as well as in the following Free-Spread Period. In comparison, the increase of anxiety mainly took place in the Transition Period. However, searches for anger and negative behaviors stayed relatively stable. Our results suggest that the removal of Zero-COVID policies, especially the Transition Period that generated policy uncertainty, significantly affected people's mental health.

Digital technology use, technological self-efficacy, and subjective well-being among North Korean migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic: Moderated moderation

Using digital technology to adapt to their host country is an integral part of social inclusion for migrant and refugee populations. However, researchers have not empirically examined how digital technology use may affect subjective well-being among migrant populations. This study aimed to examine the association between increased digital technology use, technological self-efficacy, and subjective well-being. Using the 2020 Digital Divide Survey in Korea, our sample consists of 6520 native South Koreans and 699 North Korean migrants aged 18 years and older. We examined the three-way interaction of technological self-efficacy and being North Korean migrants in the relationship between the increase in the use of five types of digital technology, technological self-efficacy, and subjective well-being, using hierarchical linear regressions. North Korean migrants were statistically lower than South Korean natives in all types of increased digital technology use. Moderation analysis showed that technological self-efficacy positively moderated the relationship between increased digital technology use and subjective well-being. A three-way interaction showed that this relationship was stronger in North Korean migrants for three types of utilization, networking, information sharing, and life services. Considering the potential benefits of technological self-efficacy for North Korean migrants and what psychosocial digital technology education would be considered. © The Author(s) 2023.

The mediating role of individual-level social capital among worries, mental health and subjective well-being among adults in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially induced worries and affected individual mental health and subjective well-being. Nonetheless, a high level of social capital could potentially protect individuals who suffer from mental health problems and thus promote their subjective well-being, especially under the social distancing policies during the pandemic. To this end, based on a random sample of 1053 Hong Kong adults, structural equation modeling was applied to study the path relationships between the worries of COVID-19, social capital, mental health problems, and subjective well-being. The study found that worries during the pandemic were associated with mental health and subjective well-being, through social capital as a mediator. Moreover, social capital exhibited a stronger influence on mental health and subjective well-being in the economically inactive group than in the economically active group. This study highlights the important role of social capital during the COVID-19 pandemic. While Hong Kong's COVID-19 response has primarily focused on disease prevention, it must be noted that social services and mutual-help activities are also crucial for people to withstand the crisis.

Coping Strategies, well-being and inequalities during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

As a response to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the globe have carried on strict lockdown measures affecting millions of jobs, public life, and the well-being of people. This study examines people's subjective well-being, such as the perception of the economic situation and mental well-being, who made adjustments to cope with the earning losses. We estimate the well-being cost, which is the money required to compensate people because of the reduction in earnings or employment loss and the coping strategy followed to bring their well-being to the levels of those who have not adopted any coping strategy. We examine two outcomes; the perception of the economic situation and a mental well-being index. We employ data from the ERF COVID-19 MENA Monitor Surveys for Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The results show that coping strategies with earning losses impact well-being and are associated with high costs. In most cases, the coping strategies of borrowing from banks and selling assets present the highest well-being costs. Furthermore, the estimates highlight significant discrepancies across gender and types of workers, such as those employed in the informal sector and temporary contracts. Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-023-04710-1.

The lost value for users of cultural institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic: a life satisfaction approach.

Studies related to the assessment of the non-market values of culture typically employ methods based on stated or revealed preferences. In this paper, we implement a new emerging non-market valuation technique, namely the life satisfaction approach. In particular, we quantify in monetary values, the additional utility that people benefit from cultural experiences, as well as the additional disutility suffered by cultural consumers specifically due to the closure of cultural organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the pandemic provides a unique setting. Using a survey conducted in Denmark in the spring of 2020, we confirm the link between cultural participation and well-being by estimating a life satisfaction model, instrumenting for both income and cultural participation to avoid simultaneity problems. Furthermore, we show that fervent cultural consumers have experienced an additional welfare loss during the lockdown period, controlling for all other known life dimensions affected by the pandemic. Our results aim to highlight the role of cultural participation in sustaining life satisfaction and, consequently, to support a well-being evidence-based cultural policy that facilitate cultural accessibility as a mean to increase the individual well-being.

Work-life balance satisfaction in crisis times: from luxury to necessity – The role of organization's responses during COVID-19 lockdown

PurposeThis study examines how satisfaction with work-life balance (WLB) in combination with satisfaction with organization's COVID-19 responses (SOCV19R) helps to enhance subjective well-being and performance during the lockdown due to COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachThe data of this time-lagged study were gathered through an online survey with three-waves between March and May 2020 in Spain (N = 167). Hierarchical multiple regression and PROCESS were used to test the hypotheses.FindingsDirect relationships between SOCV19R and subjective well-being and performance were not significant. Instead, SOCV19R increased employees' well-being and performance through a higher satisfaction with WLB (full mediation).Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is the evaluation of SOCV19R as a form of organizational support in times of crisis. This study suggests that a good organizational reaction to face a crisis such as the pandemic, encourages employees' WLB and helps them to boost their well-being and performance. It may be concluded that work-life balance (WLB) in Spain was seen as a luxury in good times and turned out to be a necessity in bad times. The present study recommends practical implications and provides lessons for human resource management for future crises or similar work conditions.

Real emotional experience of subjective well-being of elderly people in nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective To describe the real experience of the elderly who has felt happy during the time they stayed at nursing homes, and discuss the meaning which is behind their experience during the COVID- 19 pandemic, to provide scientific basis for improving their subjective well- being. Methods Qualitative explanatory phenomenological analysis methods, and semi-structured in-depth interviews were used to interview 21 elderly people living in Guangzhou Songhe Nursing Home. Data analysis and subject extraction were carried out with reference to the Colaizzi 7-step analysis. Results The real experience of subjective well-being of the elderly in nursing homes has six themes: be satisfied with the nursing home management service, be satisfied with harmonious interpersonal relationship, be satisfied with good health, be satisfied with family support, grateful and expectations for the social support system, be satisfied with and grateful for the epidemic prevention work during the COVID-19 epidemic. Conclusions The elderly who live in a nursing home with perfect management and service, care for each other, are healthy, receive family and social support, are grateful, and understand family and social support will be more likely to feel happy. Improving the subjective well-being of the elderly in nursing homes requires the coordination and support of nursing homes, the elderly, families, society and other aspects. © Osmani F., 2023.

Did COVID-19 affect rural households' subjective well-being? A social survey from rural China.

Improving rural households' subjective well-being is an important element of economic and social revitalization in the post-epidemic period. Based on the survey data obtained from rural households in Hubei Province, the center of the outbreak in China, and its surrounding areas, this paper explores the impact mechanisms of the COVID-19 epidemic on subjective well-being from both economic and sociological perspectives with the help of structural equation modeling. The results show that COVID-19 significantly influenced rural households' subjective well-being in China. Furthermore, COVID-19 indirectly affected their subjective well-being by influencing optimism. The negative impact is moderated by government intervention and income resilience. Therefore, strengthening the emergency management capacity of local governments and encouraging the diversification of rural households' income sources are important strategies to effectively resolve epidemic shocks and improve the level of well-being.

Reasons for participating in musical activities and their relationship with well-being during and before Covid-19.

People tend to participate in musical activities-whether it is making or listening to music-for reasons that are related to basic psychological needs. This study explored whether the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) has changed the reasons for participating in musical activities and examined the relationship between these reasons and well-being during as well as before the pandemic. In total, 246 people (between 18 and 35 years) completed a survey during the pandemic, which contained questions relating to the reasons for participating in musical activities-namely the promotion of identity and agency, mood regulation, relaxation and company, enjoyment-and to subjective and eudaimonic well-being before and after the outbreak of the pandemic. Results showed that during the pandemic compared with before, people more often chose music to promote identity and agency, mood regulation, and relaxation and company. Two of the reasons that were invoked more often-namely identity and agency and mood regulation-positively predicted eudaimonic and subjective well-being, respectively, during the pandemic as well as before. Thus, people's reasons for participating in musical activities during the pandemic compared with before changed in a direction consistent with increasing both eudaimonic and subjective well-being.

Rumour type matters: The effect of different types of rumours on coping, subjective well-being, and interpersonal trust during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rumours circulated quickly online and offline during the COVID-19 pandemic, but empirical research on the subject is limited. Combining qualitative (Study 1, content analysis was conducted on 2344 actual rumours extracted from a rumour-refuting website) and quantitative methods (Study 2, a three-wave study with 10-day intervals), the current study suggests that (1) rumours during the pandemic can be categorised into three types, that is, wish, dread, and aggression rumours, and (2) exposure to different types of rumours is associated with coping consequences, subjective well-being (comprising positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction), and interpersonal trust in different ways. Generally, wish rumours seem benign, while dread and aggression rumours are malicious. Specifically, wish rumours are believed to assist coping and to be positively associated with positive affect and interpersonal trust. In contrast, dread rumours are believed not to assist coping and to be marginally significantly and positively associated with negative affect and negatively associated with interpersonal trust. Meanwhile, aggression rumours are believed not to assist coping and are marginally significantly and positively associated with negative affect. All other relationships are nonsignificant. The results of the current study will help national governments and international agencies design and evaluate rumour control strategies and policies.

Genetic predisposition to subjective well-being, depression, and suicide in relation to COVID-19 susceptibility and severity.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have reported associations between subjective well-being (SWB), depression, and suicide with COVID-19 illness, but the causality has not been established. We performed a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to investigate the causal link between SWB, depression, suicide and COVID-19 susceptibility and severity. METHODS: Summary statistics for SWB (298,420 cases), depression (113,769 cases) and suicide (52,208 cases) were obtained from three large-scale GWAS. Data on the associations between the Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) and COVID-19 (159,840 cases), hospitalized COVID-19 (44,986 cases), and severe COVID-19 (18,152 cases) were collected from the COVID-19 host genetics initiative. The causal estimate was calculated by the Inverse Variance Weighted, MR Egger and Weighted Median methods. Sensitivity tests were used to evaluate the validity of the causal relationship. RESULTS: Our results showed that genetically predicted SWB (OR = 0.98, 95 % CI: 0.86-1.10, P = 0.69), depression (OR = 0.76, 95 % CI: 0.54-1.06, P = 0.11), and suicide (OR = 0.99, 95 % CI: 0.96-1.02, P = 0.56) were not causally related to COVID-19 susceptibility. Similarly, we did not find a potential causal relationship between SWB, depression, suicide and COVID-19 severity. CONCLUSIONS: This indicated that positive or negative emotions would not make COVID-19 better or worse, and strategies that attempted to use positive emotions to improve COVID-19 symptoms may be useless. Improving knowledge about the SARS-CoV-2 and timely medical intervention to reduce panic during a pandemic is one of the effective measures to deal with the current decrease in well-being and increase in depression and suicide rates.

Consumption coping to deal with pandemic stress: impact on subjective well-being and shifts in consumer behavior

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the role of consumption coping in managing collective tragedy stress and stress outcomes using the COVID-19 pandemic context. Design/methodology/approachA mixed-method study with a sample size of 931 was conducted to develop the questionnaire, followed by a quantitative study with 1,215 respondents to test the hypotheses. FindingsThe results of this study empirically validated the use of consumption coping and found it effective in managing collective tragedy stress and its outcomes (subjective well-being and continuance intention). Research limitations/implicationsThis study advances the literature on stress coping in a collective tragedy context, with a specific focus on consumption coping. Practical implicationsThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected all elements of the marketing mix. Understanding pandemic-induced stress and the role of consumption coping can help managers to proactively formulate strategic responses suitable for changing consumer habits. Social implicationsThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected all elements of the marketing mix. Understanding pandemic-induced stress and the role of consumption coping can help managers to proactively formulate strategic responses suitable for changing consumer habits. This should lead to better social outcomes. Originality/valueThis study developed a scale for pandemic-induced stress that integrates various well-established theories to identify the role of consumption coping in managing collective tragedy stress and the psychological mechanism behind the shift in consumer behavior after a collective tragedy.

Crises as incubators of sustainable mobility patterns? Evidence from two shock events

This paper promotes our understanding of how crises accelerate systemic sustainability-related changes in our transforming societies using the example of mobility. Not only is the magnitude of the mobility carbon footprint large, but its dynamics make reducing it very challenging. Our paper addresses the impact of crises on the transformation of mobility patterns, including short-distance mobility and holiday tourism. A first study was conducted after the 2008–2010 crisis using focus-group participatory systems mapping. This found that when people are forced to change their habits for financial reasons, they adapt holiday travel first. Nonetheless, participants were just as satisfied with domestic destinations, provided they could spend time with loved ones. The second study focused on the COVID-19 crisis. Participants missed foreign travel, so some rebound seems inevitable. However, the crisis has been an incubator of changes in urban mobility that could reduce carbon footprints in the longer term and offset the prospective increase in tourism. Recent changes have been more profound and innovative than those during the 2008–2010 crisis. © 2023 ERP Environment and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.