Hypothesis within the psychological
pathways help highlight the barriers that individuals can develop to
build resilience (Haslam et al., 2018). These include the meaning
hypothesis, which argues sharing a social identity with others brings
meaning, purpose and worth to an individual’s life. The support
hypothesis proposes that people receive support from those they share a
social identity with. The agency hypothesis suggests a social identity
brings a sense of efficacy, agency and power to an individual’s life.
Among many other hypotheses, these are useful to highlight the
importance of social connections with others in terms of the identity
they help develop and the pathways through which a poor social network
impacts on health.
A good example of the physiological effects of social engagement is
presented by Muller and Lindenberger (2011). Among choir members,
cardiac and respiratory patterns synchronised with this effect being
stronger when the members sang in unison as opposed to solo. The term
“physiological linkage” has been coined to describe this process
(Timmons, Margolin & Saxbe, 2015). The emotional context in which the
physiological linkage occurs is important, for example negative effects
have reported when the sympathetic nervous system or HPA axis
synchronises between individuals as this results in reduced relationship
satisfaction (Timmons, Margolin & Saxbe, 2015).
Positive emotion plays a key role in an upward spiral dynamic involving
social engagement and the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is vital in the
facilitation of social engagement through eliciting positive emotions
(Kok & Fredrickson, 2010; Kok et al., 2013), facilitating positive
facial expressions (Porges, 2011), prosocial traits and emotions (Kogan
et al., 2014), better emotion recognition (Quintana et al., 2012),
positive social interactions (Kok & Fredrickson, 2010; Kok et al.,
2013), social-support seeking (Geisler et al., 2013) and positive
behaviours, including altruistic behaviour (Bornemann et al., 2016).
Individuals with increased vagal tone upon baseline measures increased
in levels of social connectedness and positive emotions at a greater
rate over a 9-week assessment period compared to those with lower vagal
tone. Increases in connectedness and positive emotions predicted final
vagal tone measures, independent of vagal tone at baseline. Geisler and
colleagues (2013) found cardiac vagal tone, indexed by respiratory sinus
arrhythmia (RSA), to be positively correlated with engagement coping and
aspects of social wellbeing. Increased RSA also correlated with reduced
disengagement strategies for regulating negative emotions and increased
use of social emotion-regulation strategies. Individuals who reported
zero episodes of anger presented with higher RSA, compared to those who
had one or more episodes of anger during the study. This study
highlights the importance of vagal function in self-regulatory behaviour
and subsequent ability to engage socially. Conversely, low resting-state
HRV is associated with prefrontal hypoactivity and amygdala
hyperactivity, which facilitates threat perception and increases
negativity bias, subsequently impacting on the ability to build
connections with others (Kemp, Koenig, & Thayer, 2017). It is therefore
important to include vagal function and emotion regulation as factors
that impact on an individual’s ability to build a supportive social
network.
Directly influencing the degree to which individuals experience social
connection with others is another route through which health and
wellbeing can be improved. With an evolutionary-based theoretical
background (Dunbar, 2012; McNeill, 1997; Phillips-Silver et al., 2010),
interventions that target synchrony between people in a group can go
above and beyond simply providing a context for the potential of
developing social connections and ensure a feeling of connectedness with
others. For example, virtual reality gaming which is designed to
synchronise movements between players significantly increases social
closeness with their virtual co-participants compared to players in the
non-synchrony condition (Tarr, Slater & Cohen, 2018). Synchronised
behaviour also improves self-esteem, social rapport and group
cooperation (Hove & Risen, 2009; Lakens & Stel, 2011; Lumsden, Miles
& Macrae, 2014; Wiltermuth & Heath, 2009). Physical synchrony during
large-scale gatherings also fosters community connectedness or
“collective effervescence” (Durkheim, 1915; Ehrenreich, 2007;
Olaveson, 2004).
Role of Cultural Factors
It has been argued that wellbeing is a westernised construct with a sole
focus on the individual. A key difference when considering culture is
the differences between Western (individualistic) and Eastern
(collectivist) culture. With the West considering individuals as an
active, independent agent who is separate from the physical and social
environment in which they live. Wellbeing in this sense is focused
solely on the individual. Conversely, in the East the individual is seen
as a responsive agent who is connected to the physical and social
environment, and wellbeing becomes less of a subjective concept and more
about meeting objective standards and gaining the respect of others
(Ryff, Love, Miyamoto & Markus, 2014). Due to these differences,
subjective wellbeing will vary as a construct between cultures, with
culture moderating which variables most impact subjective wellbeing
(Eckersley, 2006). The reason for which is because the central elements
of wellbeing are dependent on people’s values and goals, which are
influenced by culture (Diener & Suh, 1997
The exposure of Western culture to people unfamiliar with the culture is
useful in highlighting the impact it can have on health and wellbeing.
For example, over 3,000 Japanese men who had moved to California
participated in a study which explored the prevalence of coronary heart
disease (Marmot & Syme, 1976). Results highlighted the group of
Japanese-Americans which were more acculturated to Western culture had a
three- to five-fold excess in the prevalence of coronary heart disease.
Whereas those who most held the traditional Japanese culture had the
lowest prevalence of coronary heart disease. However, more recently the
term ‘hikikomori’ (severe social withdrawal) has been coined in Japan
and is referred to as a “modern-type depression” due to the shift away
from collectivistic values and towards individualistic values with a
reluctance to accept prevailing norms (Kato et al., 2011).
The individualistic culture has also been associated with increased
malignant neoplasms, circulatory disease, and heart disease, compared
with those living in a collectivist culture (Matsumoto & Fletcher,
1996). More recent research highlights an association between wellbeing
and cardiovascular disease to be stronger in more individualistic
countries (Okely, Weiss & Gale, 2018), suggesting the importance placed
on wellbeing and the subsequent impact on health is greater among
individualistic cultures compared with collectivist cultures. Similar
research has found that there is a greater emphasis on positive emotions
among individualistic cultures, with positive emotions being associated
with depression symptoms, whereas this association is not present among
collectivist cultures (Leu, Wang & Koo, 2011). However, negative
emotions were found to be associated with depression symptoms across
both cultures. Although, research highlights this association between
negative affect and health to be stronger among individualistic cultures
compared to collectivist cultures (Curhan et al., 2014; Miyamoto et al.,
2013). The authors concluded that the appraisals of affect influence the
subsequent impact, with individualistic cultures viewing negative affect
as harmful, which may cause additional distress when faced with negative
affect resulting in poorer health (Collins et al., 2009; Rugulies, 2002;
Saz & Dewey, 2001). This has serious implications for positive
psychology-based interventions given that the aim is to increase
positive affect, which may not be as applicable in Eastern countries.
Researchers have proposed several reasons for why the individualistic
culture can impact health and wellbeing adversely compared with
collectivist cultures. For example, the Western qualities of materialism
and individualism are detrimental to health and wellbeing through their
influence on values (Eckersley, 2006). Materialistic values have found
to lower self-actualisation, vitality, happiness and wellbeing, along
with increase anxiety, physical symptomatology, and unhappiness (Kasser
& Ahuvia, 2001; Tatzel, 2002). Individualistic cultures also place an
importance on striving for happiness with the avoidance of negative
emotions (Ahuvia, 2002; Diener & Suh, 2000; Steptoe et al., 2007;
Veenhoven, 1999; Wierzbicka, 1994), whereas this is not always possible.
Among collectivist cultures, the focus is on emotional stability,
including the presence of both positive and negative affect (Lu, 2001;
Ng et al., 2003). An important factor is the difference between the
building of social ties between the cultures, with individualistic
cultures focused on the self over connections between people, compared
with the collectivist cultures whose happiness is more dependent on
being part of a cohesive network. The research previously discussed on
the associations between social connectedness and health becomes a key
factor here.
As personality is known to influence wellbeing, it is important to
discuss the role society and culture has in influencing personality.
Longitudinal research highlights large changes in personality trait
scores over a 60-year period (Twenge, 2002). There have been increases
in neuroticism and self-esteem, as well as decreases in a sense of
control, meaning an increase in an external locus of control. Among
women particularly there has been an increase in assertiveness. These
changes have been linked to the rise in individualism and freedom
through social change. Given that certain personality traits have been
associated with mental health (positive and negative), it is important
to include this when designing interventions, as previously discussed.
Focus on the Environment
Psychological science has been criticised for a blinkered focus on the
individual, while ignoring wider, systemic issues issues \cite{Carlisle_2009,Frawley_2015}. The ‘happiness
industry’ has been described as egocentric, narcissistic, and neoliberal
socialism in which “sharing is preferable to selling as long as it
doesn’t interfere with the financial interests of dominant
corporations” corporations” \cite{davies2015}. . Similar criticism has been made of the construct of wellbeing, which has
been argued to be a socio-cultural construction of western individualism
that places importance on wealth, fame and materialistic pursuits, while
neglecting and disregarding our shared environment environment \cite{Carlisle_2009}. These criticisms in
combination with the ever-increasing body of peer-reviewed literature on
‘happiness’ and ‘wellbeing’ were, in part, reason for proposing the
original GENIAL framework framework \cite{Kemp_2017}, which extended theoretical frameworks of
individual wellbeing to community wellbeing, and motivated us to
consider how this framework might relate to one of the greatest
challenges faced by mankind today: climate change. While we use the term
‘environment’ in a very general sense, encompassing the
biosphere (natural environment), the human-built environment,
sociostructural and cultural factors, in this section we focus specifically on the associations between individual wellbeing and
climate change, unless otherwise indicated.
Human beings have a strong, innate affiliation with the biological
world, a phenomenon captured by the ‘biophilia hypothesis’ and exposure
to nature can lead to transcendent emotions including peak experience \cite{1964} and
psychological flow \cite{Csikszentmihalyi_2014}. These experiences have been described as
the sublime emotion towards nature, encompassing the experience of awe
and inspiring energy, that may promote environmentalist commitment commitment \cite{Bethelmy_2019}. Awe
is a positive, transcendent emotion characterised by widened eyes and a
dropped jaw in combination with physical sensations such as ‘goosebumps’
and the ‘chills’ ‘chills’ \cite{Keltner_2003,Yaden_2018}. In a study of reported emotional experience based on
2,185 emotionally evocative videos videos \cite{Cowen_2017}, awe was observed to be one of 27
distinct varieties of emotions. The authors further observed that
specific emotional experiences formed smooth transitions between
distinct varieties of distinct experiences. So for instance, a smooth
gradient was observed between calmness, aesthetic appreciation of beauty
and awe leading the authors to suggest that the boundaries between
different emotions are fuzzy. Other research has reported that exposure
to nature is associated with with a reduction in stress \cite{Hansmann_2007}\cite{Ulrich_1991}, feelings of restoration restoration \cite{White_2013,Wyles_2017}, subjective wellbeing \cite{Johansson_2011,LUCK_2011,White_2017}, improved cognitive functioning \cite{Berman_2008,Berto_2005} and stronger
connectedness with others as well as the natural environment \cite{Mayer_2008,Richardson_2016}.
The ‘biophilia hypothesis’ has recently been broadened to encompass
non-living, physical elements, emphasising human affiliation with the
local environment (‘place’) and a role for cultural experience \cite{Beery_2015,s2012}. This
‘tropophilia hypothesis’ argues that human beings have a “genetically
based drive for exploring the local environment combined with imprinting
of the experienced conditions… [that] improve the chances of
the individual to survive and reproduce” reproduce” \cite{Beery_2015}. It is now widely accepted in
scientific circles \cite{change2007,change2014} that humanity will face catastrophic
climate change should we fail to commit to climate action. The biophilia and The biophilia and tropophilia hypotheses hypotheses provide a foundation on which to understand the distress,
pain or sickness that has been reported with environmental change of
home or territory, a phenomenon known as ‘solastalgia’ \cite{ALBRECHT,2019,Albrecht_2007}. Glenn Albrecht,
an Australian environmental philosopher coined the term ‘solastalgia’
after reflecting on the environmental impacts of open cut coal mining
and pollution of local power stations on the residents of the Upper
Hunter Region of NSW in Australia. He writes that ‘solastalgia’ reflects
a “specific form of melancholia connected to a lack of solace and
intense desolation” associated with place-based distress \cite{albrecht2005a}. Mental
distress and psychiatric disorders may also arise from the direct
effects of climate-related disasters as well as the indirect effects of
such events (e.g. disruption to food supply and damage to community
wellbeing) \cite{Berry_2009,Hayes_2018}. In fact, the number of people experiencing psychological
trauma exceeds those with physical injury by 40–1 \cite{j2007}, and weather related disasters have increased by
44% since the year 2000 \cite{Watts_2018}. Critically, there is now strong evidence to
conclude that we humans are contributing to such change, a phenomenon
known as anthropogeneic climate change. Research reporting on ratings of
peer-reviewed climate-science and self-ratings by climate change
scientists themselves has indicated that there is 97% endorsement of
humans contribution to the warming climate \cite{Cook_2013}. Unfortunately, this finding
remains under appreciated in a brave new world of alternative facts and
disinformation \cite{Lewandowsky_2013,Lewandowsky_2017}.
In our original GENIAL model \cite{Kemp_2017}, we described an important role for
positive social ties and community on health and wellbeing.
Interestingly, others \cite{Beery_2015,Nurse_2010} have argued that the boundaries of ‘community’
should be extended to the environment including soil, water, plants and
animals, in order to facilitate love and respect, and a commitment to
environmental sustainability. Interestingly, feelings of guilt, shame,
fear, emotional discomfort and solastalgia have been associated with
motivation to engage in environmental sustainability behaviours \cite{Albrecht_2007,DICKERSON_1992,Kaiser_2008,Malott_2010}. Others
have proposed an ‘aesthetics of elsewhere’, which involves encouraging a
double aesthetic judgment of ‘here’ and ‘elsewhere’ to induce an
aesthetic melancholia to influence consumption decisions \cite{maskit2011}. By contrast, others have argued
for a positive psychology of sustainability \cite{Corral_Verdugo_2014,Corral_Verdugo_2012,obrien2016}, a strategy that may
help to foster what has been described as sustainable wellbeing \cite{Kjell_2011}. In a
study on 606 undergraduate students in Mexico \cite{fraijo-sing2011}, researchers reported
that pro-ecological, altruistic, frugal and equitable behaviors reflect
the behaviours of a sustainably-oriented person, and that these
sustainable behaviours have positive psychological consequences. Prior
research had shown that individuals engaging in pro-ecological
behaviours – such as resource conservation – report greater happiness
\cite{Brown_2005}, that altruism leads to greater long-term happiness \cite{ja1995}, and that frugality predicts greater psychological
wellbeing, satisfaction and motivation \cite{Brown_2005}. More equitable individuals
however, had been reported to be less happy due to the ‘negative hedonic
impact of inequality in society’. It is notable here that climate change
exacerbates existing inequities \cite{Hayes_2018}.
Others have proposed the concept of ‘sustainable happiness’ \cite{2016}, defined as “happiness that
contributes to individual, community, and/or global well-being without
exploiting other people, the environment, or future generations”\cite{obrien2010} thus
differentiating it from “sustaining happiness” or “sustainable in-
creases in happiness” \cite{s2007}. More
recently, a structural model of the relationships between character
strengths, virtues and sustainable behaviours has been presented in
which all 24 character strengths \cite{p2004} are associated with all four
sustainable behaviours (i.e. altruistic, frugal, equitable and
pro-ecological behaviours) \cite{Corral_Verdugo_2015}. This body of work provides a useful
foundation on which psychological scientists may advocate a role for the
discipline in addressing environmental challenges, such that
pro-environmental behaviours also provide opportunities to promote
happiness and build resources for resilience, in addition to much-needed
environmental benefits \cite{Clayton_2016,fraijo-sing2011,Corral_Verdugo_2012}. It is the grave threat that human beings face
that may also inspire a variety of positive feelings such as altruism,
compassion, optimism as well as a sense of purpose “as people band
together to salvage, rebuild, and console amongst the chaos and loss of
a changing climate” \cite{Hayes_2018}, reflecting ‘active hope’ \cite{c2012}.
While the emerging positive psychology of sustainability \cite{Corral_Verdugo_2015,Kjell_2011,Corral_Verdugo_2012,obrien2016} provides a clear link
between individual and environmental wellbeing, it is also notable that
the vast majority of people do not engage in proenvironmental behaviours
[REF?]. Recent qualitative research \cite{langen2017} has investigated the
psychological processes that not only foster such behaviours, but those
that can lead one to become agents for change. The researchers
interpreted their findings in the context of ‘salutogenesis’ \cite{ANTONOVSKY_1996}, a word
based on the Latin term ‘salus’ (health, well-being) and the Greek word
‘genesis’ meaning emergence or creation \cite{langen2017}. The salutogenic concept
emphasises a key role for a ‘sense of coherence’ for managing and
overcoming stress. This ‘sense of coherence’ reflect feelings of
confidence that stimuli in the (internal and external) environment are
comprehensible, manageable and meaningful. The researchers reported that
grassroots activists relied on values and attitudes, rather than
cognitive assessments of the problems. The researchers emphasised that
the problems are so vast that limits are imposed on knowledge (i.e.
comprehensibility), arguing that emotions are a key mediator between the
appraisal of a situation and motivation to take action. The difficulty
in comprehending problems associated with climate change, and the
intangibility and invisibility of such change may even lead individuals
to sit on their hands and do nothing, a phenomenon known as ‘Giddens
Paradox’ \cite{a2009}. Maschkowski and colleagues also contrast the
ideological foundation of consumer society (‘the more we consume, the
better off we are’) with a sense of personal responsibility for change,
reporting that grassroots activists had an improved perceived quality of
life, speculating that these improvements were attributable to
empowerment and social cohesion, providing a sense of meaning and
purpose in life (i.e. meaningfulness). Finally, concrete and collective
action was observed to enhance positive emotions and mastery experiences
subsequently enhancing beliefs about self-efficacy (i.e. manageability)
\cite{langen2017}.
In summary, exposure to nature provides a host of benefits that have
direct impacts on wellbeing, and may even promote commitment to
proenvironmental behaviours. Although psychological scientists have been
criticised for contributing to the problem of consumerism and
materialistic pursuits, we have observed emerging research interest in
the concepts of sustainable happiness and wellbeing, directly linking
positive psychology to concepts relating to sustainability and
proenvironmental behaviours. While some authors have questioned whether
it is possible to quantify wellbeing \cite{Crawshaw_2008}, arguing that wellbeing is a
holistic concept that is difficult to pin down within a “culture of
growing self-interest propagated within pervasive neoliberal ideology”
\cite{Dooris_2017}, we suggest otherwise, although much work in this area remains to be
done. Researchers have begun to begun to propose broader
conceptualisations of health and wellbeing incorporating individual,
family, community and societal dimensions \cite{Dooris_2017}, as well as the need to
support the wellbeing of future generations \cite{Lindstr_m_2010}. While psychological
scientists have typically emphasised a role for the individual in
enhancing and improving wellbeing (i.e. the individualist approach to
health), sociologists have emphasised the role of the state (the
structuralist approach to health). Future research on wellbeing will
require us to step outside our disciplinary silos, and conduct
inter-disciplinary, even trans-disciplinary research that harnesses both
approaches. Behaviour change is difficult especially in regards to the
adoption of proenvironmental behaviours. It is a perhaps relief that one
can be motivated to act against climate change, irrespective of personal
importance placed on climate change itself and whether or not one is a
‘believer’ or ‘skeptic’ by appealing to economic advancement and
building community \cite{Bain_2015}.
INTEGRATE:
http://www.thrivingplacesindex.org/, “This year, we have
strengthened the sustainability and equality domains to underline the
vital importance of delivering the conditions for wellbeing in a way
that challenges current power imbalances and recognises the rights of
future generations.“
XXX
Exposure to nature is another route through which an individual can
experience eudaimonia (Passmore & Howell, 2014), among others (Ruini &
Ryff, 2016).
It has been proposed that humans have an adverse response to
environments that are restrictive and this a biological, evolutionary
response. This is because life-threatening objects/animals could be
hidden, with limited escape access, resulting in a high likelihood of
death. Research has highlighted the preference of open, natural settings
with high visual depth as opposed to restrictive environments (Kaplan &
Kaplan, 1989; Ulrich, 1986). In line with this view, research has
focused on the impact of nature on wellbeing. For example, Ulrich (1984)
compared the impact of patients’ views on their recovery rate after gall
bladder surgery. Those who had the view of deciduous trees had a quicker
recovery rate (were discharged from hospital sooner) and received fewer
potent pain killer injections than those who had a view of a brick wall.
In another study, nature’s restorative effect was assessed whilst
controlling for the effect of exercise (Hartig, Mang, & Evans 1991).
Participants’ stress levels were increased via a cognitive task, they
then either walked for 40 minutes in an urban nature area dominated by
trees and vegetation, walked for 40 minutes in a natural urban
environment, or read or listened to music for 40 minutes. Those who
walked for 40 minutes in the urban nature area dominated by vegetation
reported the most positive affect post-intervention compared with the
other groups.
Other research has highlighted the benefit of nature on cognitive
function, for example, walking in nature or viewing nature photography
can improve performance on the backwards digit-span task and the
Attention Network Task (Berman, Jonides, & Kaplan, 2009). The
hypothesis behind this is the attention restoration theory (ART)
(Kaplan, 1995; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989). This theory proposes that living
in urban areas demands an increased amount of directed attention, which
can result in attentional fatigue, which not only impacts on cognitive
function as noted above, but may also play a role in increasing the
likelihood of health-related issues via neural and behavioural pathways
as a result of worsened decision making and lower levels of self-control
(Fan & Jin, 2013; Hare, Camerer, & Rangel, 2009; Vohs et al., 2008).
Alternatively, spending time in nature allows an individual to recover
their attentional capacities (Felsten, 2009).
A review on the benefits of exposure to nature found it has a direct and
positive impact on wellbeing (Bowler et al., 2010). However, the most
common measure consisted of subjective emotions. The objective data
consisting of blood pressure and cortisol levels showed less consistent
results comparing the impact of nature and synthetic environments.
Despite this, a subjective improvement in emotions is a desired outcome,
with previous discussions highlighting the self-sustaining upward spiral
of positive emotion, vagal function and social connectedness.
Leading from this is evidence to support the link of a strong
environmental identity (one’s position within an ecosystem) and
wellbeing. Hinds and Sparks (2010) hypothesised that the frequency and
degree of meaning from experiences in the natural environment would
positively predict wellbeing and environmental identity; their research
partly supporting this. They also found that individuals who grew up in
rural areas would report a greater frequency and a stronger degree of
meaning from experiences in the natural environment, in addition to
increased wellbeing, compared to those raised in urban environments.
Global Warming
Heatwaves are of concern due to their rapid increase in frequency,
duration, and intensity. They have been associated with increases in
hospital psychiatric admissions, suicides, and population distress
(Carleton, 2017; Nitschke, Tucker, & Bi, 2007; Qi et al., 2014;
Williams, Hill, & Spicer, 2015). The weather can also impact food
shortages, homelessness, agricultural land, and scared places (Berry et
al., 2018), which can subsequently influence health. Extreme weather can
even influence health and wellbeing of an unborn child. For example,
children who were conceived in the three months following an ice storm
in Quebec were followed up at 5-years of age (Dancause et al., 2012).
Objective and subjective prenatal maternal stress (PNMS) was measured.
Results highlighted PNMS to be an independent risk factor for childhood
obesity. Similarly, PNMS independently predicts insulin secretion in
adolescence in a positively correlated relationship (Dancause et al.,
2013).
INTEGRATE RECENT PNAS STUDY ON CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTING ON INEQUALITY:
“many countries near the equator, which are generally poorer, lost an
average of more than 25% of potential growth in gross domestic product
(GDP) because of global warming, the researchers report today in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Many cooler, mostly
wealthier countries, in contrast, enjoyed an economic bump of 20% or
more, thanks to warmer weather.” GENIAL model highlights inequality as
a key sociostructural factor impacting on wellbeing and here is evidence
that climate change is making things worse!! DISCUSSED HERE:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/04/global-warming-may-boost-economic-inequality
INTEGRATE:
concerns over the sustainability of an animal-based diet have led to analyses of changes in dietary choices \citep{Springmann2016}. For instance, this styudy observed that transitioning toward a more plant-based diet in line with standard dietary guidelines could reduce mlobal mortality by 6-10% as well as food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 29-70% by 2050 in comparison to a reference scenario. Adopting a vegetarian diet would reduce water, energy, fertiliser and pesticide use, subsequently improving both the environment as well as individual health \citep{Marlow2009}. The Mediterranean diet (which is low in meat, but not vegetariaqn) has also been proposed as a way to both improve the environment along with individual heath \citep{Sáez-Almendros2013}. As a result of the growing concern surrounding a diet based on animal products for both individual health and the environment, encouragements such as the VB6 (vegan before 6pm) diet or flexitarianism (flexible vegetarianism) have been proposed to battle both growing issues (Bittman, 2013; Raphaely & Marinova, 2012; Raphaely & Marinova, 2014). Interest in vegetarianism and veganism is continually growing as people become more mindful and ethical of their dietary choices , with trends such as "Veganuary" (being vegan for the month of January) growing (The Vegan Society, 2019).
The
role of vagal function across multiple domains of
wellbeing
There are now numerous reviews of the role of vagal function in
individual health and wellbeing leading to suggestions that the vagus
may provide a structural link between mental and physical health . While
researchers have typically considered heart-rate variability as an
outcome measure of stress and health [REFS], there is now a solid
body of research and theory [OTHER REFS] indicating that vagal
function is an important mediating factor of downstream health outcomes.
INDIVIDUAL STRENGTHS?? SEE WHATSAPP DISCUSSION
Research and theory further emphasises a role for vagal function in
social interaction and capacity for engaging socially with others . For
instance XXX
But what is the evidence for vagal function in facilitating health
outcomes from the wider environment? While no reviews (that we know of)
have emphasised a mediating role for such outcomes, there is an emerging
evidence base for proposing such a role. For instance, studies have
shown that simply exposing individuals to the natural environment has a
positive impact on individual vagal functioning. A recent study reported
that 15-minute visits to green environments in Helsinki (an urban forest
and an urban park) were associated with higher HRV compared to visits to
the built-up city centre. Another study reported that vagal functioning
was higher during cognitive tasks in an outdoor natural environment
relative to the classroom. In another study , green (national park) and
blue (beach) environments led to favourable changes in HRV in people
experiencing psychological distress relative to urban environments. They
also reported that it was physical activity and air pollution that
partially mediated the association between natural outdoor environments
and HRV. Interestingly, one study reported that while exposure to a
natural environment created an improvement in mood compared to an urban
environment, there was no difference between the two in terms of
physiological measures of HRV, although there was an increase in HRV in
both environments when compared to the office or on a minibus. The
authors explained that while the lack of difference between urban and
natural environment were not expected, their urban environment was
characterised as ‘a good case’ urban environment, which included
historical and architectural features, and streets with little or no
traffic.
There is also evidence to suggest that participating in physical
activity in a natural surrounding is more beneficial for vagal
functioning than in an urban environment. One study reported that
participants had significantly higher HRV when they went for a brief
walk in the forest compared to when they walked for the same length of
time in an urban environment. Another study found that when participants
had a weekly 50-minute walk in nature or through a suburban downtown
area, higher HRV was observed for green walking. Recent research also
suggests that one may experience the physiological benefits of natural
environments via virtual reality technology . These authors found
significantly higher HRV levels when participants were exposed to a
computer generated underwater scene via virtual reality, highlighting
opportunities for people living with chronic conditions who may be less
mobile. A further study however has found that exposure to virtual and
real natural environments have a similar beneficial impact on mood and
feelings, however, exposure to real life natural environments was
necessary to have effects on vagal functioning .
Connectedness to nature (CNS) has been linked to increased vagal tone.
Wood and Smyth (2019) found that self-reported measures of the
connectedness to nature scale was associated with increased HRV during
sleep, and reduced stress reactions over a 24-hour period. They
suggested that connectedness to nature may play a role in predicting
health outcomes. Mayer and Franz (2004), who developed the connectedness
to nature questionnaire, argued that feeling connected to nature is
fundamental for adopting pro-environmental behaviours, as in order to
agree with and help promote changes being made, one must value and
believe in the cause of such changes.
Barbaro and Pickett (2015) found that mindfulness is significantly
associated with greater involvement in pro-environmental behaviour, and
that it is one’s connectedness to nature that mediates this
relationship. Suggesting that people who are more mindful have more
intense experiences with nature, which in turn, causes them to have a
strengthened CNS and thus makes them more likely to engage in
pro-environmental behaviours. If connection to nature has been found to
impact vagal functioning, then it is likely that vagal functioning may
be a mediating factor in the link between pro-environmental behaviours
on enhanced wellbeing, as those who engage in such behaviours have been
shown to have a strengthened sense of connection to nature.
The Updated GENIAL
model
”Models, of course, are never true, but fortunately it is only necessary
that they be useful”.
– George Box, 1979, Journal of the American Statistical Association,
74:365, 1-4
The updated GENIAL model – GENIAL 2.0 – is presented below as Figure
3. As with the original model, major pathways to ill-health and
premature mortality versus health and wellbeing are highlighted in a
life-course model. The updated model presents three potentially useful
biopsychosocial targets for enhancing health and wellbeing including
psychological experiences, health behaviours and social connections.
Positive psychological interventions (PPIs) such as practicing
gratitude, counting one’s blessings, the ‘best possible self’ optimism
intervention, savouring positive emotions and performing acts of
kindness provide opportunities for promoting positive psychological
experiences. Meta-analyses have demonstrated that positive psychological
interventions are effective in the general public as well as those with
clinical disorders , with effect sizes ranging from small to large.
These studies report larger effect sizes in non-Western samples ,
although study quality is poor, which may account for larger effects
than those reported in other studies. Research focusing specifically on
interventions to increase optimism including the ‘best possible self’
activity, meaning making and focusing on positive future events
indicates that reported that the ‘best possible self’ method was
associated with higher weighted mean effect size (moderate effect size)
than other methods of enhancing optimism (a small effect size). These
findings are important because of the bidirectional relationship between
mental and physical health. XXX DISCUSS AND HIGHLIGHT VAGAL FUNCTION AS
A POTENTIAL MEDIATOR XXX While focusing on health behaviours typically
involves consideration of one’s physical health, recent research has
highlighted the impact of positive health behaviours on mental
wellbeing. For instance, SUMMARISE META-ANALYSES OF HEALTH BEHAVIOURS
(EXERCISE, DIET, SLEEP, SMOKING, ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION) TO ENHANCE
WELLBEING, THEN ON SOCIAL CONNECTIONS.
, and the three main models of psychological wellbeing [REF: SELIGMAN,
DIENER, RYFF] provide the theoretical foundation for developing new
and novel interventions for specific groups of people. Importantly, XXX
KASHDAN AND DIASBOTO PAPER XXX There is now good evidence to show that
health behaviours impact mental [REF] as well as physical health
[REF]. Similarly, psychological science is now increasingly
interested in the role of social relationships on health and wellbeing
as is demonstrated by the recently published book by the Haslam’s titled
“The New Psychology of Health”, which focuses specifically on social
relationships. XXX BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE GROUPS4HEALTH PAPER BY CATHERINE
HASLAM XXX The updated model further emphasises the environmental
context within which these are delivered. It is important to be mindful
of environmental contextual impacts of sociostructural factors such as
sociometric status , poverty , social cohesion , neighbourhood-level
socioeconomic status and collective efficacy on personal wellbeing. A
recent has even demonstrated that climate change has already increased
societal inequality XXX INTEGRATE AND DISCUSS:
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2019/04/16/1816020116.
DISCUSSED HERE:
http://time.com/5575523/climate-change-inequality/, which may fuel
XXX political grievances, XXX and terrorism. [REF]
Does income inequality lead to terrorism?
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2766910
See also:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0176268016000057
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022002713520589
Social-ecological theory characterises the relationships between
individuals, communities and their environments, highlighting the impact
of sociostructural factors on the health and wellbeing of the
individual. For instance, the likelihood of walking at recommended
levels is increased eight-fold in people with positive cognitions and a
supportive environment . Other research has shown XXX
provides an important context within which to consider developing
behaviour change XXX INCLUDE RESEARCH THAT SHOWS THE MODERATING EFFECTS
OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT ON CLINICAL INTERVENTIONS BREIF REVIEW OF THESE
TERMS. Clinical targets include health behaviours, social connections
and psychological experiences, bringing together recent evidence that
has highlighted a key role for positive psychology in enhancing mental
[KEY REFS], physical [KEY REFS] and social wellbeing, the
impacts of positive health behaviours [KEY REFS] as well as positive
social relationships [REF: HASLAM’S NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF HEALTH] on
wellbeing [KEY REFS]. INTEGRATE STUDY ZOE SENT ME IN EMOTION JOURNAL
OF TRANSCENDENT EMOTIONS:
https://www.readcube.com/library/4eb5a6d2-9289-410b-82a0-1ed01f2216ce:9fa2b523-ae07-4847-b204-fd114600ef3d
Figure 3: GENIAL
2.0