A strengths-based approach to chronic pain

Graziosi, Marianna; Yaden, David B.; Clifton, Jeremy D. W.; Mikanik, Nicole; Niemiec, Ryan M.

doi:10.1080/17439760.2020.1858337

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Specifically, contrary to prior cross-sectional evidence of no correlation between application of character strengths and self-reports of physical health [7], this work provides at least modest empirical evidence that possessing and using SMC may be beneficial for one's physical health (for both self-reported assessment of one's physical health as well as cardiovascular disease prevention). In this vein, our evidence is also in line with the recent findings on the usefulness of strength-based interventions in pain self-efficacy and the capacity to function despite pain [16] and in older age [15]. Regarding the mental health outcomes, our results corroborate the earlier evidence from experimental studies [14,25,71], meta-analyses [9, 17, The E values for effect estimates are the minimum strength of association on the risk ratio scale that an unmeasured confounder would need to have with both the exposure and the outcome to fully explain away the observed association between the exposure and outcome, conditional on the measured covariates.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The associations between character strengths and specific physical diseases have also been examined. For example, there is some experimental evidence that application of character strengths can be helpful in improving pain self-efficacy and capacity to function with pain [ 16 ]. A rigorous review of clinical studies on character strengths-based interventions for patients with chronic illnesses revealed that these interventions boosted self-esteem and self-efficacy and reduced depression [ 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prospective associations between strengths of moral character and health: longitudinal evidence from survey and insurance claims data

Węziak‐Białowolska

Lee

Białowolski

et al. 2022

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

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Purpose Excellent character, reflected in adherence to high standards of moral behavior, has been argued to contribute to well-being. The study goes beyond this claim and provides insights into the role of strengths of moral character (SMC) for physical and mental health. Methods This study used longitudinal observational data merged with medical insurance claims data collected from 1209 working adults of a large services organization in the US. Self-reported physical and mental health as well as diagnostic information on depression, anxiety, and cardiovascular disease were used as outcomes. The prospective associations between SMC (7 indicators and a composite measure) and physical and mental health outcomes were examined using lagged linear and logistic regression models. A series of sensitivity analyses provided evidence for the robustness of results. Results The results suggest that persons who live their life according to high moral standards have substantially lower odds of depression (by 21–51%). The results were also indicative of positive associations between SMC and self-reports of mental health (β = 0.048–0.118) and physical health (β = 0.048–0.096). Weaker indications were found for a protective role of SMC in mitigating anxiety (OR = 0.797 for the indicator of delayed gratification) and cardiovascular disease (OR = 0.389 for the indicator of use of SMC for helping others). Conclusions SMC may be considered relevant for population mental health and physical health. Public health policies promoting SMC are likely to receive positive reception from the general public because character is both malleable and aligned with the nearly universal human desire to become a better person.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospective associations between strengths of moral character and health: longitudinal evidence from survey and insurance claims data

Węziak‐Białowolska

Lee

Białowolski

et al. 2022

Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol

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“…So far, this domain was either included indirectly in flourishing instruments (see for example Su et al, 2014) or measured as an unrelated phenomenon (see for example McGrath, 2015;Blanchard et al, 2019). However, the importance of character strengths and virtues for human flourishing has been long argued by philosophers (Pieper, 1966;Aristotle and Brown, 2009;Baril, 2016) and, more recently, also by psychologists (Graziosi et al, 2020;Niemiec, 2020;Weziak-Bialowolska et al, 2021). Additionally, this study corroborates that, although measures of mental state are covered by instruments of psychological well-being (Ryff and Keyes, 1995) and measures of flourishing are covered by instruments of psychological and social well-being (Diener et al, 2010), a more holistic conceptualization of flourishing goes beyond these areas of human functioning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychometric Properties of Flourishing Scales From a Comprehensive Well-Being Assessment

Węziak‐Białowolska¹,

Białowolski²,

Lee

et al. 2021

Front. Psychol.

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In this article, we develop a measure of complete well-being. The framework is derived from the theoretical model of human flourishing understood as a state in which all aspects of a human life are favorable. The approach extends beyond psychological well-being and reflects the World Health Organization definition of health that not only considers the health of body and mind but also embraces the wholeness of the person. The Well-Being Assessment (WBA) is a comprehensive instrument designed to assess holistic well-being in six domains: emotional health, physical health, meaning and purpose, character strengths, social connectedness, and financial security. Although each of these domains is distinct, all of them are nearly universally desired, and all but financial security constitute ends in themselves. Data were collected from a representative sample of working adults. A sample of 276 employees participated in the pilot, 2,370 participated in the first wave and 1,209 in the second wave of the survey. The WBA showed a good fitting (40 items, six factors), satisfactory reliability, test–retest correlation, and convergent/discriminant validity in relation to stability over time and relevant health measures, as well as a good fit to the data that were invariant over time, gender, age, education, and marital status. The instrument can be of use for scientists, practitioners, clinicians, public health officials, and patients. Adoption of more holistic measures of well-being that go beyond psychological well-being may help to shift the focus from health deficiencies to health and well-being promotion.

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“…In general, there is robust evidence that interventions targeting signature strengths are effective in raising various indicators of well-being; results regarding depression are mixed, but they point to a potential contribution for ameliorating depressive symptoms ( Proyer et al, 2015 ). At the same time, research has also shown that it is fruitful to work on those character strengths most associated with the components of well-being (e.g., Proyer et al, 2013b ; Graziosi et al, 2020 ; Yan et al, 2020 ). Given this evidence, the question that arises is whether it would be more beneficial for mental health to design interventions targeting signature strengths or interventions targeting the strengths that we found in our study to be more strongly associated with mental health (i.e., theological strengths and strengths of restraint, primarily) even in the case where neither of these had been identified as signature strengths.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Character Strengths Predict Subjective Well-Being, Psychological Well-Being, and Psychopathological Symptoms, Over and Above Functional Social Support

Azañedo¹,

Artola²,

Sastre³

et al. 2021

Front. Psychol.

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The increasing value of character strengths in the prediction of well-being and psychopathology, after the effects of functional social support and sociodemographic variables are accounted for, is examined. Participants were 1494 Spanish-speaking students between the ages of 18 and 68 (43.3% men and 56.7% women) who completed measures of character strengths, functional social support, subjective well-being, psychological well-being, and symptoms of psychopathology. Functional social support had predictive value in explaining the variability of each component of well-being and psychopathology. Regarding character strengths, theological strengths had the greatest predictive power for life satisfaction (β = 0.41), positive affect (β = 0.49), affect balance (β = 0.45), purpose in life (β = 0.60), self-acceptance (β = 0.50), environmental mastery (β = 0.47), and positive relations with others (β = 0.25). Emotional strengths made the strongest contribution to the variance explained (β = 0.41) of autonomy, and intellectual strengths were the strongest predictive variable for personal growth (β = 0.39). Strengths of restraint had the greatest predictive power for the global severity index of psychopathology (β = –0.27). Functional social support and character strengths have strong links to mental health. Positive interventions to develop these variables could contribute to enhance well-being and prevent psychological distress.

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A strengths-based approach to chronic pain

Cited by 19 publications

References 25 publications

Prospective associations between strengths of moral character and health: longitudinal evidence from survey and insurance claims data

Prospective associations between strengths of moral character and health: longitudinal evidence from survey and insurance claims data

Psychometric Properties of Flourishing Scales From a Comprehensive Well-Being Assessment

Character Strengths Predict Subjective Well-Being, Psychological Well-Being, and Psychopathological Symptoms, Over and Above Functional Social Support

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