One very nice thing about having this 'down' time in research work - these more quiet periods before a project formally starts is that it gives us time to do some reading and reflect further on the larger model and on the concepts within our model. Queued by both Michael's comments to me last week and the book Dr. Lee recommended by Poon and Cohen-Mansfield (2011), I have been reading the chapter by these authors on subjective well being/chapter three.
These authors find support for the evolving definition of subjective well being from a more static, if you will, construct to one that is dynamic or fluid - evolving and therefore relative to individual circumstances, such as aging.
As I understand this, this construct depicts a model by which individuals approach life's challenges, including, as the authors state 'old-old age' (p. 34), In my mind at present, I am likening this conceptualization of SWB to shock absorbers in an auto - how we orient and handle life's terrain; that to which we anticipate and attend as guide to what we will experience.
What remains unclear to me at this time, however, is precisely how SWB as conceptualized in *this* chapter, differs from optimism or other such personality constructs. SWB appears to be conceptualized as more of a system, if you will.
AES
Shmotkin, D. (2011). The pursuit of happiness: Alternative Conceptions of subjective well-being. In Pooon & Cohen-Mansfield (Eds., )Understanding well-being in the oldest old. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Thanks, Dr. Sickle.
ReplyDeleteI was reading an interesting chapter on doctor-patient communication models and methods of study today in Marks, et al. (2005), the text for Walden's Health Psychology class. In the chapter, they discussed a relational theory of communication competence developed by Query and Kreps (1996) that looks like it has a lot in common with the methods we're going to use in our research.
We may want to make a copy of the Query and Kreps (1996) article available as reading material during the class, especially since it addresses health communications with the oldest old.
Michael
References
Marks, D. F., Murray, M., Evans, B., Willig, C., Woodall, C., & Sykes, C. M. (2005). _Health psychology: Theory, research, and practice_ (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Query, J. R., & Kreps, G. L. (1996). Testing a relational model for health communications competence among caregivers for individuals with Alzheimer's disease. _Journal of Health Psychology_, 1(3), 335-351. doi: 10.1177/135910539600100307.
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for the Query and Kreps reference, we will look into that.
Much appreciated,
AES