Q. Michael Temane

The Structure of Psychological Well-Being in Cultural Context: Towards a Hierarchical Model of Psychological Health

This study explored whether an overlap exists in the empirical manifestations of various constructs for psychological well-being. Secondary factor analyses were conducted on data obtained from four studies, comprising 2,024 participants from relatively individualist and collectivist cultural contexts. Questionnaires varied in data sets and measured facets of affective, cognitive, conative, spiritual, interpersonal and social well-being. Results showed a great overlap of constructs on an empirical level in both social/cultural contexts. A (higher-order) general psychological well-being (GPW) factor was identified as well as unique patterns in relatively individualist and collectivist cultural contexts. There was evidence to suggest a strong GPW component in psychological resilience. A hierarchical model of psychological well-being appears to have merit.

The role of spirituality as a mediator for psychological well-being across different contexts

The purpose of this study was to determine whether spirituality mediates between context and psychological well-being. Context was defined in terms of differentials pertaining to race, socio-economic indices and infrastructural resources. An availability sample of 514 participants from Potchefstroom (n = 384) and Mafikeng (n = 130), North West Province, completed measurements on spirituality and psychological well-being. Regression analyses indicated the viability of relationships among context, spirituality and psychological well-being, and differences were observed between the two contexts in the amount of variance explained. Structural equation models showed that spirituality mediates the relationship between context and psychological well-being.

Self-efficacy, Work, and Psychological Outcomes in a Public Service Context

The study examined the prediction of psychological outcomes (conceptualized as psychological well-being and engagement) by general self-efficacy (GSE) and work context (conceptualized as job demands and job resources). The role of GSE as a moderator between work context and psychological outcomes was also examined in a cross-sectional survey of a sample of public sector employees (N = 459: males = 151, females = 273, and age ranging between 25 and 55). Multiple regression analyses showed that job demands and resources and GSE significantly predict both psychological well-being (positive affect, negative affect and satisfaction with life) and engagement (vigour and dedication). GSE moderated the relationship between work context and psychological outcomes. Work contexts characterised by a preponderance of job resources appear to facilitate both satisfaction with life and dedication.

Gender, Spirituality and Psychological Well-Being

The aim of this study was to determine whether gender moderates the relationship between spirituality and psychological well-being. A secondary data analysis based on a cross sectional survey was implemented. A convenience sample of 508 participants (males = 143, females = 365; age range 18–65 with 66% in the 18–25 category) from the North-West Province of South Africa completed questionnaires on spirituality and psychological well-being after informed consent was obtained. Findings show that gender moderates the relationship between spirituality and psychological well-being. This moderation effect was stronger in the case of existential well-being rather than religious well-being as components of spiritual wellbeing, and also stronger in one of the sub-groups. Future studies may explore the role of contextual factors such as cultural orientation and other socio-demographic variables in this moderation effect, as well as gender based perceptions and practices of spirituality with a view to facilitate gender sensitive psychological well-being programmes.

Emotional Intelligence, Work, and Psychological Outcomes in a Public Service Context

This study examines the role of emotional intelligence in the relationship between work context (conceptualised as job demands and job resources) and psychological outcomes (conceptualised as engagement and psychological well-being) in a sample of public sector employees (N=459). The Job Demands-Resources Scale (Rothmann et al., 2006), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (Schaufeli et al., 2002), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985), the Affectometer 2 (Kammann & Flett, 1983), and the Emotional Intelligence Scale (Schutte et al., 1998) were implemented in a cross-sectional design. Regression analyses showed that emotional intelligence had main effects on psychological outcomes. Emotional intelligence also moderated the effects of work context factors on psychological outcomes. Emotional intelligence is a valuable personal resource to cultivate for facilitation of psychological well-being in the workplace.

The Prevalence of Levels of Well-Being Revisited in an African Context

Little is known about the prevalence of levels of psychosocial well-being in various contexts. This chapter considers some conceptual challenges and reports on findings with regard to the prevalence of levels of psychosocial well-being against the theoretical backdrop of Keyes’ mental health continuum model in several groups in an African context. The percentages of flourishing in most of these South African groups are higher than those in the United States, particularly in students and black African participants, whereas the percentages of languishing are similar. Further empirical research is required to establish the role of contextual, historical, and sociodemographic variables in psychosocial well-being. Further conceptualization and exploration with regard to possible patterns of well-being are indicated.

Psychosocial Health: Disparities Between Urban and Rural Communities

Some baseline data are available on the impact of urbanization on physical health and mental illness, but very little on psychosocial well-being, notwithstanding the fact that this facet of health is intricately linked to total health and well-being as described by the World Health Organization (Basic documents, 36th edn. WHO, Geneva, 1986). There is specifically a dearth of knowledge on psychosocial well-being in urban versus rural areas in South Africa. Therefore, this study explored the psychosocial well-being of an African group in rural and urban areas of the North West Province of South Africa as found in four samples from 1998 to 2010. Results showed that urban participants manifested higher levels of psychosocial well-being on most facets of individual and social well-being, but rural participants manifested higher levels of well-being on some facets, such as spiritual well-being. Both rural and urban groups manifested relatively high levels of symptoms of distress, especially the rural groups. Psychosocial well-being decreased in both urban and rural areas between 1998 and 2008, but increased thereafter in 2010. Gender differences are noted in patterns of well-being in urban versus rural areas. On a theoretical level, the current findings underscore the distinction between pathology and well-being as two separate, but correlated dimensions of psychosocial health, as well as the relevance of context for well-being. On a practical level, the findings suggest the importance of implementing measures of various facets of well-being for a comprehensive understanding of well-being during urbanization. Findings add to a body of knowledge that may inform public health policy and the development of specifically targeted interventions.

Changeover-time in psychosocial wellbeing of people living with HIV and people living close to them after an HIV stigma reduction and wellness enhancement community intervention

HIV stigma continues to affect the psychosocial wellbeing of people living with HIV (PLWH) and people living close to them (PLC). Literature unequivocally holds the view that HIV stigma and psychosocial wellbeing interact with and have an impact on each other. This study, which is part of a larger research project funded by the South Africa Netherlands research Programme on Alternatives in Development (SANPAD), responds to the lack of interventions mitigating the impactful interaction of HIV stigma and psychosocial wellbeing and tests one such intervention. The research objectives were to test the changeover-time in the psychosocial wellbeing of PLWH and PLC in an urban and a rural setting, following a comprehensive community-based HIV stigma reduction and wellness enhancement intervention. An experimental quantitative single system research design with a pre- and four repetitive post-tests was used, conducting purposive voluntary sampling for PLWH (n = 18) and snowball sampling for PLC (n = 60). The average age of participants was 34 years old. The five measuring instruments used for both groups were the mental health continuum short-form scale, the patient health questionnaire, the satisfaction with life scale, the coping self-efficacy scale and the spirituality wellbeing scale. No significant differences were found between the urban–rural settings and data were pooled for analysis. The findings show that initial psychosocial wellbeing changes after the intervention were better sustained (over time) by the PLC than by the PLWH and seemed to be strengthened by interpersonal interaction. Recommendations included that the intervention should be re-utilised and that its tenets, content and activities be retained. A second intervention three to six months after the first should be included to achieve more sustainability and to add focused activities for the enhancement of psychosocial wellbeing. PLWH and PLC are to be encouraged to engage with innovative community mechanisms to make psychosocial wellbeing a way of life in the community at large.

South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Process as Applied Positive Psychology in Nation Building

The deep and sometimes heartbreaking narratives related to the historical process of the South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Committee, as part of the transition course to democracy, are majestically described by Marie P. Wissing and Q. Michael Temane in this chapter. The insights regarding processes to build a more just and positive society are thought provoking and extremely well supported in a profound knowledge of the positive psychology field. Concepts as diverse and relevant as leadership, justice, social awareness, meaning-making, peace-building, harmony, compassion, spirituality, hope, optimism, forgiveness, gratitude, mindfulness or post-traumatic growth are amongst the ones discussed and intertwined with a historical perspective and an African soul, recounted while we ‘hear’ a compelling chorus of voices from the narratives of the ones that lived the experience.

Feeling Good, Functioning Well, and Being True: Reflections on Selected Findings from the FORT Research Programme

In this chapter, we reflect on selected findings from the FORT research programme (forte = strength) through the lens of the constructs feeling good, functioning well, and being true. We selected subprojects that included measures of these constructs along the following themes: validation of measures, clarification of the nature of psychological well-being, patterns of well-being in cultural contexts, prevalence of levels of well-being in various South African contexts, the dynamics of psychological well-being, biological correlates, and outcomes of interventions. Feeling good and functioning well were both applicable as high-level constructs, operationalized in various measures, and validated in the SA context. These phenomena overlap empirically, but also operate dissimilarly in terms of associations, dynamics, contexts, and patterns of well-being in individualistic and collectivistic cultural contexts. Feeling good and functioning well are well-integrated across life domains in high functioning people, but not in low functioning people. Being true, as manifested in character strengths and reflecting a virtue-ethics perspective, are patterned differently in an African context than reported in western literature. Explicit reflection on meta-theoretical assumptions and philosophical ethical perspectives on the relationship between values and behaviour is largely absent in the studies reviewed. More research on being true, and on meaning and meaning making as a facet of functioning well, is necessary in the African context. More cooperation between psychologists and philosophers is indicated. It is also of critical importance that more interventions promoting functioning well and expressing the best virtues within us should be developed and evaluated on community and society levels.