Relationships between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals

Background: Previous research has documented that unemployed individuals who engage in recreational activities, either alone or with others, experience higher levels of mental health and psychological well-being relative to those who do not engage in recreational activities. Aims: In this study, we...

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Main Authors: Chatzisarantis, Nikos, Kamarova, Sviatlana, Twomey, Chris, Hansen, G., Harris, Mark, Windus, J., Bateson, A., Hagger, Martin
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: HOGREFE PUBLISHING CORP 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86469
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author Chatzisarantis, Nikos
Kamarova, Sviatlana
Twomey, Chris
Hansen, G.
Harris, Mark
Windus, J.
Bateson, A.
Hagger, Martin
author_facet Chatzisarantis, Nikos
Kamarova, Sviatlana
Twomey, Chris
Hansen, G.
Harris, Mark
Windus, J.
Bateson, A.
Hagger, Martin
author_sort Chatzisarantis, Nikos
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: Previous research has documented that unemployed individuals who engage in recreational activities, either alone or with others, experience higher levels of mental health and psychological well-being relative to those who do not engage in recreational activities. Aims: In this study, we examined whether engagement in health promoting activities, alone or with other family members, is associated with reduced levels of depression and enhanced levels of life satisfaction in unemployed individuals. Method: We employed a cross-sectional design in which we measured life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, consumption of healthy meals and engagement in physical activities in 203 unemployed individuals (male = 90, female = 113, age= 33.79, SD = 11.16). Results: Independent of age, gender, and partner employment status, hierarchical regression analyses revealed statistically significant effects for social forms of healthy eating (consumption of healthy meals with others) and solitary forms of physical activity (exercising alone) on depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Limitations: The research design was cross-sectional using self-report questionnaires. The present study does not to explain why and how health promoting activities enhance well-being outcomes among the unemployed. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of measuring engagement in health promoting activities through separate constructs that capture engagement in social and solitary health promoting activities and suggest that unemployed individuals are likely to experience optimal levels of psychological well-being if they exercise alone and consume healthy meals with other family members.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-864692021-12-13T04:05:51Z Relationships between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals Chatzisarantis, Nikos Kamarova, Sviatlana Twomey, Chris Hansen, G. Harris, Mark Windus, J. Bateson, A. Hagger, Martin Social Sciences Psychology, Clinical Psychology psychological well-being physical activity healthy eating unemployment LEISURE ACTIVITIES PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY SELF-ESTEEM JOB LOSS BENEFITS EMPLOYMENT BEHAVIOR EXERCISE OBESITY IMPACT Background: Previous research has documented that unemployed individuals who engage in recreational activities, either alone or with others, experience higher levels of mental health and psychological well-being relative to those who do not engage in recreational activities. Aims: In this study, we examined whether engagement in health promoting activities, alone or with other family members, is associated with reduced levels of depression and enhanced levels of life satisfaction in unemployed individuals. Method: We employed a cross-sectional design in which we measured life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, consumption of healthy meals and engagement in physical activities in 203 unemployed individuals (male = 90, female = 113, age= 33.79, SD = 11.16). Results: Independent of age, gender, and partner employment status, hierarchical regression analyses revealed statistically significant effects for social forms of healthy eating (consumption of healthy meals with others) and solitary forms of physical activity (exercising alone) on depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Limitations: The research design was cross-sectional using self-report questionnaires. The present study does not to explain why and how health promoting activities enhance well-being outcomes among the unemployed. Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of measuring engagement in health promoting activities through separate constructs that capture engagement in social and solitary health promoting activities and suggest that unemployed individuals are likely to experience optimal levels of psychological well-being if they exercise alone and consume healthy meals with other family members. 2021 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86469 10.1027/2512-8442/a000058 English HOGREFE PUBLISHING CORP fulltext
spellingShingle Social Sciences
Psychology, Clinical
Psychology
psychological well-being
physical activity
healthy eating
unemployment
LEISURE ACTIVITIES
PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY
SELF-ESTEEM
JOB LOSS
BENEFITS
EMPLOYMENT
BEHAVIOR
EXERCISE
OBESITY
IMPACT
Chatzisarantis, Nikos
Kamarova, Sviatlana
Twomey, Chris
Hansen, G.
Harris, Mark
Windus, J.
Bateson, A.
Hagger, Martin
Relationships between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals
title Relationships between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals
title_full Relationships between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals
title_fullStr Relationships between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals
title_full_unstemmed Relationships between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals
title_short Relationships between Health Promoting Activities, Life Satisfaction, and Depressive Symptoms in Unemployed Individuals
title_sort relationships between health promoting activities, life satisfaction, and depressive symptoms in unemployed individuals
topic Social Sciences
Psychology, Clinical
Psychology
psychological well-being
physical activity
healthy eating
unemployment
LEISURE ACTIVITIES
PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY
SELF-ESTEEM
JOB LOSS
BENEFITS
EMPLOYMENT
BEHAVIOR
EXERCISE
OBESITY
IMPACT
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/86469