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This study focuses on understanding benefit finding, the process of deriving growth from adversity, and its relationship to well-being amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (n = 701) completed online surveys at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after a shelter-in-place mandate was announced in California, USA. Identifying as female or of Asian descent, having a supportive social network, and reporting more distress were associated with higher levels of general benefit finding at all data collection points, while other demographics were not. Benefit finding exhibited small but statistically significant associations with two measures of well-being. Understanding the extent to which various groups of people experience benefit finding during ongoing adversity and how such benefit finding is associated with well-being may help to promote mental health during a collective trauma like the COVID-19 pandemic.

A small but growing literature has documented an association between justice at work and employee health. However, the pathways and mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. This article proposes a conceptual framework that bridges the organizational justice, occupational stress, and occupational epidemiology literatures. Justice appraisals are proposed to be both important mediators and moderators in the causal flow from exposure to the organizational environment to employee health. The potential role of justice in enhancing employee health is compared to that of the well-established concepts of social support and job control. Directions for future research are suggested, along with strategies for overcoming challenges inherent in this multidisciplinary area of research. Implications for work-site health interventions are discussed.

Background Our aim was to explore the concepts of health and well-being from the point of view of the people experiencing them. Most of the efforts to understand these concepts have focused on disease prevention and treatment. Less is known about how individuals achieve health and well-being, and their roles in the pursuit of a good life. We hoped to identify important components of these concepts that may provide new targets and messages to strengthen existing public health programs. An improved understanding of health and well-being - or what it means to be well - can guide interventions that help people lead healthier, more fulfilling lives. Methods Using a grounded qualitative approach drawing from narrative inquiry, we interviewed 24 Taiwanese adults. Thematic inductive coding was employed to explore the nature of health and well-being. Results Eight constituent domains emerged regarding well-being and health. While the same domains were found for both constructs, important frequency differences were found when participants discussed health versus well-being. Physical health and lifestyle behaviors emerged as key domains for health. Disease-related comments were the most frequently mentioned sub-category within the physical health domain, along with health care use and aging-related changes. For well-being, family and finances emerged as key domains. Family appears to be a cornerstone element of well-being in this sample, with participants often describing their personal well-being as closely tied to - and often indistinguishable from - their family. Other domains included work-life, sense of self, resilience, and religion/spirituality. Conclusions Health and well-being are complex and multifaceted constructs, with participants discussing their constituent domains in a very interconnected manner. Programs and policies intended to promote health and well-being may benefit from considering these domains as culturally-appropriate leverage points to bring about change. Additionally, while the domains identified in this study are person-centered (i.e., reflecting the personal experiences of participants), the stories that participants offered provided insights into how well-being and health are influenced by structural, societal and cultural factors. Our findings also offer an opportunity for future refinement and rethinking of existing measurement tools surrounding these constructs.

Qualitative scholars are increasingly engaged in global research where members of the research team are from different countries and cultures and have different primary languages. However, in-depth descriptions of how to work as a transnational team successfully and rigorously are scarce. Using a collaboration between Stanford University in the US and Chulalongkorn University in Thailand as a case example, we present the nuances and challenges experienced in this research collaboration, as well as the strategies employed to optimize the validity and reliability of the study findings. While we started our data analysis following a more typical qualitative analysis path, shortcomings of this approach brought us to explore an alternative, involving data review and coding by transnational coding sub-teams. This approach was better able to illuminate cultural nuances, address coding discrepancies, and bring forward discussions to enhance interpretation and validity of findings. We describe our collaborative and iterative approach, and highlight methodological implications around team composition, language nuances and translation challenges, our coding process involving transnational coding sub-teams, and important considerations for managing team dynamics (e.g., power and hierarchy) and the partnership process and engagement over time. Moreover, we highlight the benefits of integrating insiders and outsiders throughout the research process, from data collection to coding and interpretation. Our process can serve as a model for similar transnational teams seeking ways to fully benefit from cross-cultural research collaborations.

Racial and ethnic minority employees constitute a significant proportion of the U.S. workforce. The literature on demographic similarity in the workplace suggests that the proportion of co-workers who share the same racial/ethnic background (racial/ethnic similarity) can influence job attitudes and employee well-being and that the reactions to racial/ethnic similarity may differ between the racially dominant and subordinate groups. This study applies status construction theory to examine the extent to which racial/ethnic similarity is associated with job satisfaction and lumbar back health among warehouse employees. We surveyed 361 warehouse workers (204 whites, 94 African-Americans, and 63 Latino workers) in 68 jobs in nine distribution centers in the United States. Multilevel analyses indicate that white and racial/ethnic minority groups react differently to racial/ethnic similarity. For job satisfaction, white employees experience higher job satisfaction when they are highly racially/ethnically similar to their colleagues, whereas Latino employees experience higher job satisfaction when they are racially/ethnically dissimilar to others. As for lumbar back health, among Latino and African-American employees, higher racial/ethnic similarity is associated with better lumbar back health whereas for white employees, the association is the opposite. Across all groups, moderate levels of racial/ethnic similarity were associated with the best lumbar back health.

The morbidity and mortality experiences of people who are unhoused have been well-described, but much less is known about the overall well-being of these individuals. In this mixed methods study, housed and unhoused participants completed a multi-faceted 10 domain measure of well-being (the Stanford WELL Survey), and a subset of unhoused participants shared their experiences during qualitative interviews. Using propensity score matching, unhoused participants (n = 51) were matched at a ratio of 1:5 with housed participants (n = 255). The mean overall well-being score of the unhoused participants was significantly lower than that of the matched housed participants (B = −5.022, p = 0.013). Additionally, the two groups differed on some of the constituent domains of well-being, with unhoused participants reporting statistically significantly lower mean scores on social connectedness (B = −1.086, p = 0.000), lifestyle and daily practices (B = −1.219, p = 0.000), stress and resilience (B = −0.493, p = 0.023), experience of emotions (B = −0.632, p = 0.009), physical health (B = −0.944, p = 0.0001), and finances (B = −3.099, p = 0.000). The unhoused participants had a statistically significantly higher mean score for spirituality and religiosity (B = 2.401, p = 0.000) than their matched housed counterparts. The qualitative interviews further highlighted spirituality and religion as a coping mechanism for the unhoused. The results of this study highlight both unexpected strengths exhibited by the unhoused individuals and areas of challenge.

Background Well-being has long been recognized as a key construct in human history. Quantitative studies have been limited in their ability to uncover contextual and cultural nuances that can be leveraged to inform the promotion of well-being. The present study employed a qualitative approach informed by narrative inquiry to understand how individuals in a rapidly developing Asian country experience what it means to be well and what contributes to or detracts from their well-being. Methods A purposeful sample of 50 Thai adults living in Bangkok shared their personal stories of times when they experienced high and low levels of well-being. Data were inductively coded and analysed to identify key domains of participants’ well-being and their inter-connections. Results The results reflect three layers of well-being. Social relationships (i.e., family, friends and acquaintances, and relationships at work or education) are at the center of well-being in Thailand, connecting and supporting a second layer of eight constituent domains of well-being (experience of emotions, sense of self, finances, self-care, demands and responsibilities, thoughts and feelings about the future, personal health, spirituality). The third layer is composed of the societal and physical contexts that are formative for well-being. Conclusions Our findings suggest both universal and culturally unique components of well-being among Thai adults. Implications for the promotion of well-being in Thailand are discussed.

Evidence of whether behavioral weight-loss interventions reduce depressive symptoms among Latino immigrants is limited. The effect of a behavioral weight-loss intervention on depressive symptoms was assessed using data from a clinical trial among Latino immigrants. Participants were randomized to a usual care (UC) control (n = 41), case management (CM) alone (n = 84), or CM with community health worker support (CM+CHW) (n = 82). Generalized estimating equation models were used to compare the impact of each intervention with UC. Effect modification by poverty level was further investigated. Overall, treatment groups were not significantly associated with 24-month changes in CES-D scores. Among participants below the 100% federal poverty level (FPL), those randomized to CM+CHW had 24-month CES-D scores significantly lower (B coefficient = 0.72; 95% CI 0.55–0.93) than those in UC (p = 0.01). A behavioral weight-loss intervention providing case management and support from a CHW reduced depressive symptoms among Latino immigrants below the 100% FPL.

Correlational studies have identified worksite coping resources such as social support and perceived control, and have suggested a positive role for such resources in employee stress processes. However, little experimental evidence has demonstrated the causal role of worksite coping resources in improving mental health, nor how worksite coping resources can be enhanced. This paper reports the results of a field experiment intended to provide such evidence. Human service workers participated in a theory-driven training program designed to increase individual and group psychosocial coping resources and individuals' abilities to use those resources when coping with job demands. The inclusion of selection variables in models used to estimate the impact of the intervention controlled for selection biases and also allowed for the assessment of the impact of the training on those workers identified as most prone to turnover and on those most likely to participate in such an intervention. Results indicated that the program enhanced the work team climate and reduced depressive symptoms and somatization in those most at risk for leaving their jobs. The program was also effective in increasing the amount of supervisor support received on the job and strengthening perceptions of coping abilities in those workers most likely to participate in the program.

Objective: To examine the role of physical activity (PA) companions in supporting PA participation among African American women.Methods: Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus groups. Fifteen physically active African American women participated in the study. Grounded theory data analysis techniques were used to develop a taxonomy depicting roles of PA companions for African American women.Results: PA companions functioned in 4 different roles: motivational, social, facilitative, and instructional. Supportive behaviors associated with each role were also elucidated.Conclusions: These findings provide an understanding for the function of companions in sustaining active lifestyle that can be used to inform intervention development.