Longitudinal stability and interrelations between health behavior and subjective well-being in a follow-up of nine years

Abstract

Background The bidirectional relationship between health behavior and subjective well-being has previously been studied sparsely, and mainly for individual health behaviors and regression models. In the present study, we deepen this knowledge focusing on the four principal health behaviors and using structural equation modeling with selected covariates. Methods The follow-up data (n = 11,804) was derived from a population-based random sample of working-age Finns from two waves (2003 and 2012) of the Health and Social Support (HeSSup) postal survey. Structural equation modeling was used to study the cross-sectional, cross-lagged, and longitudinal relationships between the four principal health behaviors and subjective well-being at baseline and after the nine-year follow-up adjusted for age, gender, education, and self-reported diseases. The included health behaviors were physical activity, dietary habits, alcohol consumption, and smoking status. Subjective well-being was measured through four items comprising happiness, interest, and ease in life, and perceived loneliness. Results Bidirectionally, only health behavior in 2003 predicted subjective well-being in 2012, whereas subjective well-being in 2003 did not predict health behavior in 2012. In addition, the cross-sectional interactions in 2003 and in 2012 between health behavior and subjective well-being were statistically significant. The baseline levels predicted their respective follow-up levels, the effect being stronger in health behavior than in subjective well-being. Conclusion The four principal health behaviors together predict subsequent subjective well-being after an extensive follow-up. Although not particularly strong, the results could still be used for motivation for health behavior change, because of the beneficial effects of health behavior on subjective well-being.

The Relationship between Alcohol Drinking Indicators and Self-Rated Mental Health (SRMH): Standardized European Alcohol Survey (SEAS)

“…This could be explained by the fact that covariates, as stable and independent characteristics in the observed relationships, did not substantially change during interaction in their intercourse. In line with other studies, drinking behaviors may account for interindividual differences in habits, which probably depend on the circumstances and context in which they occur, thus changing during interaction [ 22 ]. Given that drinking behaviors were not shown to have significant importance for the prediction effect of SRMH, neither in total nor in additional subgroups, this should be further examined, as well as the role of methodology and predictor selection.…”

“…In general, research on subjective mental health has been conducted mostly in Western nations, and studies on ethnic differences are still rare, so caution should be applied when comparing our results with other cultures [ 22 ].…”

“…According to findings on the relationship between alcohol consumption and related harms that have been previously suggested [ 22 ], we have hypothesized that drinking behavior and alcohol-related harms predict subjective mental health. Based on previous studies, we anticipate that cross-sectional relationships between drinking behaviors and subjective mental health will be statistically significant, as well as the alcohol-related harms.…”

Caraterização da atividade física e aptidão física de acordo com os níveis de solidão em adultos 50+

“…These programmes may simultaneously increase interactions and social support 9 , possibly reducing feelings of loneliness. Stenlund et al 28 , in a longitudinal study over 9 years with adults observed a correlation between health behaviors, including PA and the subjective sensation of well-being, including a low precession of loneliness 29 .…”

The Relationship between Social Participation and Subjective Well-Being among Older People in the Chinese Culture Context: The Mediating Effect of Reciprocity Beliefs

“…In gerontology, life satisfaction is a concept often used to assess subjective well-being [ 12 ]; for example, a self-evaluation in the past, present, and future [ 6 ]. The measurement of subjective well-being may predict the health behavior of the elderly and contribute to the realization of healthy aging [ 13 , 14 ]. As a result, elderly SWB has received increasing attention in recent years [ 15 ].…”