Research has sought to establish a connection between positive psychological state and physical health and longevity. It has been suggested that persons with a sense of purpose or meaning in life are better able to withstand stress, and enjoy better health. To study the link between a sense of meaning and a sense of physical well-being, 28 college…

Compared structure of social support and its relation to health, affect, and life satisfaction for national representative sample of elderly and a distressed sample from South Miami Beach. Stronger relationships were found between support network size and affect and between affect, life satisfaction, and health in the South Miami Beach sample.…

Studied instruments which measure well-being, life satisfaction, and morale, for structural stability across age and gender in two samples of adults and older adults. Analysis showed four factors that defined dimensions underlying these measures which were constant across age and gender. (WAS)

Compares self-report measures of depression and psychological distress in U.S. and Japanese university students. Reassesses sex differences on these measures for U.S. students and examines sex differences for Japanese students. Finds that Japanese students had higher scores on depression measures but not on psychological distress. (Author/ LS)

This study examined the relationship between widowed persons' baseline assessments of self-efficacy beliefs and their ratings of perceived health-related quality of life, life sanctions, and self-esteem obtained in an 18-month follow-up. Results revealed widows and widowers differ significantly with respect to self-efficacy and perceived quality…