Testing the Roles of Perceived Control, Optimism, and Gratitude in the Relationship between General/Personal Belief in a Just World and WellBeing/Depression

Abstract

Belief in a Just World (BJW) can be categorised into domains of how people view the fairness of their immediate social worlds (Personal Belief in a Just World–PBJW) and the wider world (General Belief in a Just World–GBJW). We conducted two studies with 179 (Study 1) and 364 (Study 2) participants to examine differential relationships that PBJW and GBJW could have in directly predicting mental wellbeing and depression and indirectly via three mediators of perceived control, optimism, and gratitude. Path analyses examined how well data from each study fit 13 different models. Models 1 to 4 tested whether PBJW directly and indirectly via the three mediators predicted wellbeing (Model 1) and depression (Model 3) and if GBJW likewise directly and indirectly predicted wellbeing (Model 2) and depression (Model 4). These four models had the best supported statistical fit for either Study 1 or 2 relative to other models. In both studies when explaining the effect of PBJW on wellbeing and depression, perceived control was the strongest mediator, followed by optimism, and then gratitude. When examining the effect of GBJW on wellbeing and depression, only perceived control and optimism were significant mediators. These studies affirm the need to assess GBJW and PBJW as separate phenomena, rather than combining these constructs or omitting PBJW, as is sometimes done.

Effects of Wisdom on Mental Health in Old Age: Exploring the Pathways Through Developmental Tasks Attainment and Self-Rated Health

“…Both positive (personal wellbeing) and negative aspects (depressive symptoms) of mental health were assessed, as different pathways may affect distinct negative and positive mental health outcomes. 66,67,70 As expected, wisdom, developmental task attainment and self-rated health were positively related to personal wellbeing and negatively to depressive symptoms, after controlling for sociodemographic variables (Hypothesis 1). Those results are consistent with prior studies indicating positive relationships between wisdom and subjective wellbeing and negative associations between wisdom and depressive symptoms.…”

“…Both positive (personal wellbeing) and negative aspects (depressive symptoms) of mental health were assessed, as different pathways may affect distinct negative and positive mental health outcomes. 66 , 67 , 70 …”

“…Mental health in older adults is often assessed according to both positive (wellbeing and life satisfaction) and negative outcomes (depression and dementia), 65 which may be affected by different pathways. 66 , 67 Subjective well-being can be characterized as the extent to which individuals assess or perceive the quality of their own lives. Life satisfaction represents the cognitive aspect of subjective well-being and arises from an evaluative process where individuals compare their current life circumstances with a perceived standard or expectation.…”

Optimisme Dalam Pengkhianatan: Pengaruh Religiusitas Terhadap Optimisme Pada Korban Perselingkuhan

“…Dalam kaitannya dengan suatu hubungan, optimisme memiliki peran yang cukup penting. Mengenai definisi optimisme itu sendiri, Goodwin & Williams (2023) menyatakan bahwa optimisme adalah tentang bagaimana kemampuan mengantisipasi seseorang terhadap masa depan yang positif dan memiliki keyakinan untuk mencapai hasil yang sesuai dengan yang diinginkan. Ketika seseorang memiliki tujuan tersebut, hal ini akan berkontribusi pada peningkatan optimisme dan motivasi yang lebih besar.…”

Justice perceptions and well‐being: Belief in a just world is a personal resource and a coping resource

“…Moreover, BJW influences the way people face everyday life as well as adversities. Indeed, BJW allows people to perceive events as challenges rather than threats, which protects them from the stress associated with unpredictable and/or unfair events (Tomaka & Blascovich, 1994) and provides them with perceived control (Goodwin & Williams, 2023).…”