Jane E. Myers

The factor structure of wellness: Reexamining theoretical and empirical models underlying the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (WEL) and the Five-Factor Wel

Abstract The 5-Factor Wei, the latest version of the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (WEL), was examined using a completely new3,993-person database. Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with 2 discrete subsets of these data, a new 4 -factor solution was identified that provided the best fit for the data and accounted for 30% of the variance.

African American Males: Relationships Among Racial Identity, College Type, and Wellness

A total of 203 African American male junior and senior college students participated in a study to determine the relationships among components of racial identity and wellness. Differences were found between students attending predominantly White institutions (PWIs) and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on internalization racial identity attitudes, physical self-wellness, and social self-wellness. No relationships were found between racial identity and wellness. Implications for counseling and research are discussed.

Wellness, Perceived Stress, Mattering, and Marital Satisfaction Among Medical Residents and Their Spouses: Implications for Education and Counseling

Numerous studies document that medical education is demanding and stressful, yet few studies have examined the effects of medical training on spouses and medical marriages. Eighty-three individuals (42 couples) living in medical marriages completed questionnaires measuring marital satisfaction, perceived stress, general mattering, and wellness. Com parisons of responses with existing norm-group scores revealed that residents scored higher than counselor education doctoral students on work satisfaction and satisfaction with shared marriage values and scored lower than counseling doctoral students on realistic beliefs. Resident spouses scored higher than the general married population on wellness, mattering, and satisfaction with shared marriage values and scored lower on work satisfaction and realistic beliefs. There was no significant difference in wellness, perceived stress, and mattering between residents and their nonresident spouses. Implications for couples counseling and further research are provided.

Coping with Caregiving Stress: A Wellness-Oriented, Strengths-Based Approach for Family Counselors.

Caregiving has become a normative family stress that typically extends over multiple years. Traditional conceptualizations of caregiving in terms of burden and stress lead to interventions based in a medical model of care. Wellness is presented as an alternative model with the potential for empowering caregivers and helping them develop healthier lifestyles. A case example is presented to demonstrate how marriage and family counselors can use this approach to enhance wellness in caregivers and their families.

Wellness in adult gay males: Examining the impact of internalized homophobia, self-disclosure, and self-disclosure to parents

Abstract Adult gay males face significant social stigma, internalize negative societal messages related to their sexual orientation, and experience difficulties related to disclosing their sexual orientation to others, particularly to parents. Although the effects of these challenges in terms of pathology have been established, the relationship among internalized homophobia, self-disclosure, self-disclosure to parents, and wellness has not been examined. The results of a study of these variables among 217 gay males are presented and discussed.

Wellness of children in Israel and the United States: A preliminary examination of culture and well-being

Several studies have stressed the importance and relevance for understanding the impact of culture in shaping adolescents’ world and well-being. This study was undertaken as a preliminary cross-cultural examination of wellness in two samples including 629 children in the United States and 240 children in Israel. The Indivisible Self, an evidence-based, multidimensional, holistic wellness model by Myers and Sweeney was chosen as the conceptual foundation for the research. The two groups differed significantly on three of five second-order factors, with Israeli students scoring higher on Coping and Social Self factors and US students scoring higher on the Essential Self. Significant main effects were observed for differences in gender but not age. Follow-up analyses revealed age differences among the Israeli students on three factors (Creative, Essential, and Physical Self) plus Total Wellness, with younger students scoring higher, and gender differences among the US students on three factors. Implications for counseling services and for further research are discussed.

Ethnic differences in death anxiety among the elderly

The Dickstein Death Concern Scale was used to examine the death anxieties of a sample of elderly people in north and central Florida consisting of whites and blacks, males and females. Analysis of the data revealed that black elderly males display the greatest death anxiety, followed in decreasing order by black females, white females, and white males. Analysis of variance yielded a statistically significant main effect attributable to race. The overall effects attributed to sex were not significant, nor were there any significant interactions. The implications of these findings for practicing counselors were considered.

Attitudes toward the elderly: An intergenerational examination.

The relationship between childrens attitudes toward older people and older peoples perception of childrens attitudes toward them were examined using the Attitude Perception Questionnaire. Results were analyzed for 52 fifth- and sixth-grade children and 52 older adults, and comparisons made on the basis of age, sex and amount of intergenerational contact. Older adults perceptions of childrens attitudes toward them were more negative than the childrens actual attitudes. Implications for persons involved in planning and implementing intergenerational programs are discussed.

Similarities and Dissimilarities in Attitudes toward Death in a Population of Older Persons.

The responses of one hundred and seventy-one elderly persons selected from three different types of residence communities to an abbreviated form of the Shneidman death questionnaire were analysed. In addition to some expected similarities, a number of significant differences were found. These differences appear to be related to educational level, type of residence community (rural, urban), and income level. Thus it was shown that certain life parameters outweigh the commonality of advanced age in influencing the attitudes of elderly persons toward certain aspects of death and dying. Educational and other implications of the results are discussed.

Groups for older persons and their caregivers: A review of the literature

The authors review the results of group interventions with groups for older persons and their caregivers. Implications for counselors and suggestions for further research are provided.