Marissa L. Diener

Cross-Cultural Correlates of Life Satisfaction and Self-Esteem

College students in 31 nations (N = 13,118) completed measures of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with specific domains (friends, family, and finances). The authors assessed whether cross-cultural variations in the strength of associations were related to societal dimensions including income and individualism. At the national level, individualism correlated -.24 (ns) with heterogeneity and .71 (p < .001) with wealth. At the individual level, self-esteem and life satisfaction were correlated .47 for the entire sample. This relation, however, was moderated by the individualism of the society. The associations of financial, friend, and family satisfactions with life satisfaction and with self-esteem also varied across nations. Financial satisfaction was a stronger correlate of life satisfaction in poorer countries. It was found that life satisfaction and self-esteem were clearly discriminable constructs. Satisfaction ratings, except for financial satisfaction, varied between slightly positive and fairly positive.

Factors Predicting the Subjective Well-Being of Nations

Subjective well-being (SWB) in 55 nations, reported in probability surveys and a large college student sample, was correlated with social, economic, and cultural characteristics of the nations. The SWB surveys, representing nations that include three fourths of the earths population, showed strong convergence. Separate measures of the predictor variables also converged and formed scales with high reliability, with the exception of the comparison variables. High income, individualism, human rights, and societal equality correlated strongly with each other, and with SWB across surveys. Income correlated with SWB even after basic need fulfillment was controlled. Only individualism persistently correlated with SWB when other predictors were controlled. Cultural homogeneity, income growth, and income comparison showed either low or inconsistent relations with SWB.

The relationship between income and subjective well-being: Relative or absolute?

Although it appears that income and subjective well-being correlate in within-country studies (Diener, 1984), a debate has focused on whether this relationship is relative (Easterlin, 1974) or absolute (Veenhoven, 1988, 1991). The absolute argument advanced by Veenhoven states that income helps individuals meet certain universal needs and therefore that income, at least at lower levels, is a cause of subjective well-being. The relativity argument is based on the idea that the impact of income or other resources depends on changeable standards such as those derived from expectancies, habituation levels, and social comparisons. Two studies which empirically examine these positions are presented: one based on 18 032 college studies in 39 countries, and one based on 10 year longitudinal data in a probability sample of 4 942 American adults. Modest but significant correlations were found in the U.S. between income and well-being, but the cross-country correlations were larger. No evidence for the influence of relative standards on income was found: (1) Incomechange did not produce effects beyond the effect of income level per se, (2) African-Americans and the poorly educated did not derive greater happiness from specific levels of income, (3) Income produced the same levels of happiness in poorer and richer areas of the U.S., and (4) Affluence correlated with subjective well-being both across countries and within the U.S. Income appeared to produce lesser increases in subjective well-being at higher income levels in the U.S., but this pattern was not evident across countries. Conceptual and empirical questions about the universal needs position are noted. Suggestions for further explorations of the relativistic position are offered.

Behavioral strategies for emotion regulation in toddlers: associations with maternal involvement and emotional expressions

Abstract Ninety-four mothers and their 18- or 24-month-old children participated in four laboratory episodes designed to elicit fear or anger. Mothers’ behavior was constrained for the first part of each episode; mothers were then instructed to help their children. Toddlers’ behavioral strategies differed as a function of maternal involvement and as a function of the emotion-eliciting context. Only some of the behavioral strategies assumed to minimize expressions of distress truly did so; other behaviors showed maintenance effects on fear and anger expressions. The different pattern of results for the fear and frustration episodes highlights the importance of examining behavioral strategies across contexts designed to elicit different emotions.

Attachment Security Among Mothers and Their Young Children Living in Poverty: Associations with Maternal, Child, and Contextual Characteristics

In order to extend previous research and inform intervention programs, the goal of the present study was to further understand variability in mother-child attachment security among high-risk families living in poverty. Mothers (65% Hispanic) and their young children who were in a home visitor program (n = 74) to connect families with basic services or who were on the waiting list (n = 27) for the program were visited at home. Mothers completed the Attachment Q-Set, the Parenting Stress Index, and a questionnaire on beliefs about the role of play in childrens development and parenting efficacy in either Spanish or English. Observers assessed maternal sensitivity and the presence of appropriate play materials. Results indicated that maternal, child, and contextual variables were significantly associated with attachment security. Furthermore, greater cumulative assets were related to more secure attachment relationships.

Adults Desires for Childrens Emotions across 48 Countries Associations with Individual and National Characteristics

The present study examined college students’desires for their children’s emotions across cultures. Atotal of 10,175 respondents from 48 countries on six continents participated. Across nations, people desired high levels of happiness and fearlessness for their children. The desire for anger suppression showed greater variability than desires for happiness and fearlessness. Greater desires for happiness were predicted by being female, by greater individual and national levels of positive affect, by greater beliefs about the appropriateness of positive affect, and by individualism. Greater desires for fearlessness were predicted for sons versus daughters, by being male, by greater individual levels of and beliefs about the appropriateness of positive affect, by lower national wealth, and by higher national levels of negative affect and greater beliefs about the appropriateness ofworrying. Greater desires for anger suppression were predicted for sons versus daughters, by being male, by greater individual and national levels of negative affect, and by lower national wealth.

School readiness of low-income children at risk for school failure

The goal of this research project was to gain information about the readiness skills of kindergarten children in 11 inner city schools with the highest poverty rates in the Salt Lake City School District. Kindergarten teachers and principals in these schools were interviewed regarding their perceptions of the readiness skills needed for these children to be successful in their schools. A summary of the readiness skills of the kindergarten children was derived from a state mandated Pre-Kindergarten Assessment. Most principals stressed childrens social and emotional development as a priority in school readiness. The majority of teachers emphasized literacy as a prerequisite for school success. Yet, the Pre-Kindergarten Assessment revealed that one fourth of the children could not identify the front of a book and two thirds of the children did not know where to start or which direction to go when reading. Half of the parents of these children reported that they rarely read to their children and that they had only visited a library once or not at all. The gap between the readiness skills educators think these children need and the skills children enter school with presents a serious problem for educators and policy makers. Multiple intervention strategies are recommended including providing education and home activities to enhance childrens readiness skills, coordinating access to early childhood programs, and educating parents on available community resources.

Infant attachment: Contributions of infant temperament and maternal characteristics

This study examined the joint contributions of maternal characteristics and infant characteristics to quality of attachment. When infants were 8 months, one hundred and two mothers and their infants completed a videotaped interaction and infants completed a laboratory assessment of temperament. Mothers completed personality and infant temperament questionnaires. At 12 months, infant mother attachment quality was measured in the Strange Situation. In a discriminant function analysis using both child and maternal characteristics, seventy-eight percentage of infants were correctly classified as secure, resistant, or avoidant. Insecurely attached infants were higher on activity and distress to novelty and had mothers who were lower on Constraint than securely attached infants. Infants classified as avoidant were lower on positive affect and higher on fearfulness and had mothers lower on positive affectivity than infants classified as resistant. The results of this study point to the importance of examining both parent and child characteristics in the prediction of attachment.

Autism spectrum disorder and the applied collaborative approach: a review of community based participatory research and participatory action research

The quest to understand ASD is monumental, dramatic and paradigmatically shifting. Research advances in ASD challenge the traditional understanding of autism and call for a “reconceptualization” of autism given the revolutionary impact of recent discoveries. Related to this reconceptualization of autism, are the countervailing forces signaling a shift in the research “agenda” where individuals with ASD are part of the research process–and offer an understanding of autism beyond bench science and traditional scholarship. Although many interpretations of autism remain grounded in the biomedical paradigm, individuals with autism, through narrative self-representations and activities are changing the perspective of autism transforming it from “cure to community.” The involvement of individuals with ASD, along with their families, and school and workplace representatives moves research closer to a “communityengaged” endeavor and helps to build a stronger science that is translational and sustainable. This paper examines the role of both community-based participatory research (CBPR) and participatory action research (PAR) in the study of autism issues via the trends analyzed by Scopus in journal publications within an established time-frame of publication dates and specific search analytics. An example of using an ecological model to explore the use of CBPR and PAR in autism research is presented. The goal of this review is to determine trends in publications in these domains and to assist scholars and future researchers to consider identified publications as a part of their plans to use CBPR or PAR designs and ecological models when designing their community engaged research methodology.

Grandparents of Grandchildren with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD): Strengthening Relationships through Technology Activities.

This study of grandparent-grandchild relationships was embedded in the context of technology workshops offered for young children on the autism spectrum. The purpose of this research was to examine the perspectives of six involved grandparents regarding their social interactions with their grandchildren in the context of this shared technology experience. Content analysis of transcribed focus group sessions with the grandparents indicated two key themes: expectations were reframed and communication bridges were built through shared interests. Grandparents perceived that their grandchildren learned technological skills, and increased their social interactions with peers, family members (parents, siblings), and grandparents themselves. The positive experience the grandparents perceived their grandchildren to have in the program gave them hope for future educational and employment opportunities for their grandchildren. The grandparents also indicated that the shared interests in the computer program facilitated communication opportunities with their grandchildren, with other grandparents of grandchildren with ASD, and with their adult sons and daughters.