Table of Contents
Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Title Page
Copyright
About the Editors
Contributors
Full Contents of Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Introduction to Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
The Volumes in the Series
References
1: Introduction
Part 1: The Development of Early Social and Cognitive Skills Important for Child Wellbeing
2: Children's Self-Regulation and Executive Control: Critical for Later Years
Executive Control
The Development of Executive Control in Early Childhood
Neural Mechanisms Supporting Executive Control Development in Early Childhood
Sociofamilial Factors that Support the Early Development of Executive Control
The Relevance of Executive Control for Later Academic Achievement, Behavior, and Socioemotional Wellbeing
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
3: Children's Emotion Regulation in Classroom Settings
Emotion Regulation: Definitions and Links to Learning
Socialization of Emotion Regulation and Implications for Classroom Settings
Interventions as an Opportunity to Improve Children's Emotional Development
Looking Ahead: Emotion Regulation in the Context of Elementary School
Summary and Implications
4: Early Math and Literacy Skills
Reading and Math Skills
Correlations and Gaps
Early Skills and Later Achievement
Early Skills, High-School Completion, and College Attendance
Why Math More than Reading?
Summary and Implications for Early Childhood Interventions
Acknowledgments
References
5: Children's Intrinsic Motivation to Learn
Introduction
Defining the Concept of Intrinsic Motivation
The Relevance of Intrinsic Motivation for School Functioning
Development of Children's Intrinsic Motivation
Possible Explanations for the Decline in Intrinsic Motivation
Summary
References
Part 2: Parenting and Children's Development
6: Parents' Role in Infants' Language Development and Emergent Literacy
Lexical Development
Grammatical Development
Pragmatic Development
Literacy Development
Conclusions
Acknowledgment
References
7: Can Parents Be Supported to Use a Responsive Interaction Style with Young Children?
Responsive Parenting from Two Theoretical Frameworks
A Responsive Parenting Intervention during the Infancy Period
The Need for Consistency in Responsive Parenting across Early Childhood
A Responsive Parenting Intervention during the Toddler/Preschool Period
Generalization of Responsive Behaviors to Shared Book-Reading Activities
Responsiveness Behaviors Explain Increases in Children's Development
Conclusion
References
8: Parenting and Executive Function
Challenges for Researchers Investigating Parental Influences on Children's Development
Can Parents Scaffold Their Children's EF Skills?
Family Risk Factors for EF Development: Maternal Depression and Family Chaos
Conclusions and New Directions
9: The Nature of Effective Parenting
The Requirements of Parenting
The Specificity of Socialization
The Meaning of Parenting Actions
General Conclusion
References
10: Parenting and Early Intervention
Emotion Regulation
Emotion Understanding
Attachment
Risk and Protective Factors: Strengths and Challenges in Building Positive Relationships
Child Characteristics
Parent and Family Characteristics
Environmental Characteristics
Early Intervention as a Developmental Change Agent
Implications for Promoting Social and Emotional Health in Early Childhood
References
Part 3: School and Child Care: Settings that Impact Child and Family Wellbeing
11: High-Risk Home and Child-Care Environments and Children's Social-Emotional Outcomes
Home and Child-Care Environments as Bioecological Systems
High-Risk Home Environments
High-Risk Child-Care Environments
Joint Effects of Home and Child-Care Environments
Poverty
Conclusions
References
12: Classroom Peer Relations as a Context for Social and Scholastic Development
Classroom Peer Acceptance and Rejection
Classroom Friendships
Bully–Victim Relations
Peer Work Partnerships
Summary and Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References
13: The Importance of Quality Prekindergarten Programs for Promoting School Readiness Skills
Defining and Measuring High-Quality Pre-K and Children's School Readiness
Research on Prekindergarten Quality and Children's School Readiness
Limitations and Problems with Research on Pre-K Quality and Children's School Readiness
Contributions of Developmental Theories to Understanding Pre-K Quality and School Readiness
Conclusions
References
14: Consistent Environmental Stimulation from Birth to Elementary School
Relationships, Interactions, and Development of School-Readiness Skills
Interactions with Contexts: Relationships and Distributed Competence
Relationships, Interactions, and School Readiness: Birth to Elementary School
How We Think about Risk: Challenges to Interactions, Relationships, and School Readiness
References
Part 4: Stress and Family and Child Wellbeing
15: Poverty, Public Policy, and Children's Wellbeing
Definitions of Poverty
Poverty and Child Development
Policies Affecting Children in Poverty
Conclusions
References
16: Early Life Stress and Neurobehavioral Development
An Overview of Stress Neurobiology
Regulation of Stress by Relationships in Early Childhood
Toxic Stress Due to Deprivation, Neglect, and Relationship Disruption
Implications for Policy and Practice
Acknowledgment
References
17: Neighborhood Effects and Young Children's Outcomes
Examples of Two Experimental Studies
Contagion or Epidemic Theories
Social Organization and Parenting
Stress Theories
Neighborhood Institutional Resources
Neighborhood Research in a Canadian Context
Conclusions
References
18: The Family Check-Up
Overview
Key Components of the Family Check-Up Model
The Initial Interview, Family Assessment, and the Feedback Session
Summary
References
Index
Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Volume I: Wellbeing in Children and Families
Edited by Susan H. Landry and Cary L. Cooper
Volume II: Wellbeing and the Environment
Edited by Rachel Cooper, Elizabeth Burton, and Cary L. Cooper
Volume III: Work and Wellbeing
Edited by Peter Y. Chen and Cary L. Cooper
Volume IV: Wellbeing in Later Life
Edited by Thomas B. L. Kirkwood and Cary L. Cooper
Volume V: The Economics of Wellbeing
Edited by David McDaid and Cary L. Cooper
Volume VI: Interventions and Policies to Enhance Wellbeing
Edited by Felicia A. Huppert and Cary L. Cooper
This edition first published 2014
© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wellbeing in children and families / volume editor, Susan H. Landry; editor-in-chief : Cary L. Cooper.
pages cm. – (Wellbeing : a complete reference guide; volume I)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-118-60845-6 (cloth : alk. paper) 1.Children. 2.Families. 3.Well-being. I. Landry, Susan.
HQ767.9.W456 2014
158 – dc23
2013030481
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover image: © Ekely / Getty
Cover design by cyandesign.co.uk
Susan H. Landry, a developmental psychologist, is the Albert and Margaret Alkek Chair in Early Childhood and Michael Matthew Knight Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston, U.S.A. She is Director and Founder of the Children's Learning Institute. Her research examines biological and environmental influences on children's development using parent–child and early childhood classroom intervention studies. She is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, over 20 book chapters, and a monograph describing the findings of these research studies.
Cary L. Cooper, CBE, is Distinguished Professor of Organizational Psychology and Health at Lancaster University Management School, U.K. He is the author/editor of over 150 books, has written over 400 scholarly articles for academic journals, and is a frequent contributor to national newspapers, TV, and radio. He is the Chair of the Academy of Social Sciences (comprised of 46 learned societies in the social sciences, with nearly 90,000 social scientists), President of RELATE, President of the Institute of Welfare, and immediate past President of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy. He was the Founding President of the British Academy of Management, Founding Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the international scholarly journal Stress & Health. He has received honorary doctorates from a number of universities (e.g., University of Sheffield, Aston University, and Heriot-Watt University). He has been awarded honorary fellowships by the Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, British Psychological Society, European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology, and Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. In 2010 Professor Cooper was awarded the Lord Dearing Lifetime Achievement Award at the The Times Higher Education Awards for his distinguished contribution to higher education. He was lead scientist on the U.K. Government's Foresight program on Mental Capital and Wellbeing, which had a major impact in the United Kingdom and Europe. Professor Cooper was Chair of the Global Agenda Council on Chronic Diseases in the World Economic Forum in 2009–2010. In 2012, HR magazine voted him the Fourth Most Influential HR Thinker. In 2001, he was awarded a CBE by the Queen for his contribution to occupational health.
, University of Toronto, CanadaVolume I Wellbeing in Children and Families
Edited by Susan H. Landry and Cary L. Cooper
About the Editors
Contributors
Full Contents of Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Introduction to Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
1 Introduction
Susan H. Landry
Part 1 The Development of Early Social and Cognitive Skills Important for Child Wellbeing
2 Children's Self-Regulation and Executive Control: Critical for Later Years
Caron A. C. Clark, Miriam M. Martinez, Jennifer Mize Nelson, Sandra A. Wiebe, and Kimberly Andrews Espy
3 Children's Emotion Regulation in Classroom Settings
C. Cybele Raver
4 Early Math and Literacy Skills: Key Predictors of Later School Success
Greg J. Duncan, Chantelle Dowsett, and Joshua F. Lawrence
5 Children's Intrinsic Motivation to Learn: Does It Decline over Time and, If So, Why?
Verena Freiberger and Birgit Spinath
Part 2 Parenting and Children's Development
6 Parents' Role in Infants' Language Development and Emergent Literacy
Catherine S. Tamis-LeMonda, Rufan Luo, and Lulu Song
7 Can Parents Be Supported to Use a Responsive Interaction Style with Young Children?
Susan H. Landry
8 Parenting and Executive Function: Positive and Negative Influences
Claire Hughes, Gabriela Roman, and Rosie Ensor
9 The Nature of Effective Parenting: Some Current Perspectives
Joan E. Grusec, Dilek Sarita, and Ella Daniel
10 Parenting and Early Intervention: The Impact on Children's Social and Emotional Skill Development
Catherine C. Ayoub, Jessical Dym Bartlett, and Mallary I. Swartz
Part 3 School and Child Care: Settings that Impact Child and Family Wellbeing
11 High-Risk Home and Child-Care Environments and Children's Social-Emotional Outcomes
Lisa S. Badanes and Sarah Enos Watamura
12 Classroom Peer Relations as a Context for Social and Scholastic Development
Gary W. Ladd, Becky Kochenderfer-Ladd, and Casey M. Sechler
13 The Importance of Quality Prekindergarten Programs for Promoting School Readiness Skills
Andrew J. Mashburn
14 Consistent Environmental Stimulation from Birth to Elementary School: The Combined Contribution of Different Settings on School Achievement
Robert C. Pianta
Part 4 Stress and Family and Child Wellbeing
15 Poverty, Public Policy, and Children's Wellbeing
Aletha C. Huston
16 Early Life Stress and Neurobehavioral Development
Sarah Stellern and Megan R. Gunnar
17 Neighborhood Effects and Young Children's Outcomes
Dafna Kohen and Leanne Findlay
18 The Family Check-Up: A Tailored Approach to Intervention with High-Risk Families
Anne M. Gill, Thomas J. Dishion, and Daniel S. Shaw
Index
Volume II Wellbeing and the Environment
Edited by Rachel Cooper, Elizabeth Burton, and Cary L. Cooper
About the Editors
Contributors
Full Contents of Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Introduction to Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
1 Wellbeing and the Environment: An Overview
Rachel Cooper
Part 1 Wellbeing and the Neighborhood
2 Urban Neighborhoods and Mental Health across the Life Course
Erin Gilbert and Sandro Galea
3 The Impact of the Local Social and Physical Local Environment on Wellbeing
Anne Ellaway
4 Density and Mental Wellbeing
Christopher T. Boyko and Rachel Cooper
5 Neighborhoods and Social Interaction
Scott C. Brown and Joanna Lombard
6 Living in the City: Mixed Use and Quality of Life
Graeme Evans
7 “We Live Here Too”… What Makes a Child-Friendly Neighborhood?
Karen E. Martin and Lisa J. Wood
8 A Step Too Far? Designing Dementia-Friendly Neighborhoods
Lynne Mitchell
9 Walkable Neighborhoods: Principles, Measures, and Health Impacts
Tim G. Townshend
10 Quality of Urban Spaces and Wellbeing
Mags Adams
Part 2 Wellbeing and Buildings
11 Children and the Physical Environment
Lorraine E. Maxwell and Gary W. Evans
12 Wellbeing and the School Environment
Andy Jones and Flo Harrison
13 The Built Housing Environment, Wellbeing, and Older People
Rachael Dutton
14 Workplace and Wellbeing
Jeremy Myerson
15 Linking the Physical Design of Health-Care Environments to Wellbeing Indicators
Sarah Payne, Rachel Potter, and Rebecca Cain
Part 3 Wellbeing and Green Spaces
16 Wellbeing and Green Spaces in Cities
William Sullivan
17 Environmental Interaction and Engagement: Supporting Wellbeing
Richard Coles
Part 4 Wellbeing and the Environment: Other Factors and the Future
18 Crime and the Urban Environment: The Implications for Wellbeing
Caroline L. Davey and Andrew B. Wootton
19 Transport and Wellbeing
Nick Tyler
20 Air Quality and Wellbeing
Ben Croxford
21 Implications of Low-Carbon Design of Housing for Health and Wellbeing: A U.K. Case Study
Michael Davies, Ian Hamilton, Anna Mavrogianni, Rokia Raslan, and Paul Wilkinson
22 Cobenefits of Insulating Houses: Research Evidence and Policy Implications
Philippa Howden-Chapman and Nicholas Preval
23 The Multiple Pathways between Environment and Health
Marketta Kyttä and Anna Broberg
24 Summary: Wellbeing and the Environmental Implications for Design
Rachel Cooper and Elizabeth Burton
Index
Volume III Work and Wellbeing
Edited by Peter Y. Chen and Cary L. Cooper
About the Editors
Contributors
Full Contents of Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Introduction to Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Part 1 Introduction
1 Introduction: From Stress to Happiness
Peter Y. Chen and Cary L. Cooper
2 Conceptualizing and Measuring Wellbeing at Work
Cynthia D. Fisher
Part 2 Resources, Coping, and Control
3 Job Demands–Resources Theory
Arnold B. Bakker and Evangelia Demerouti
4 Positive Psychology and Coping: Towards a Better Understanding of the Relationship
Philip Dewe
5 The Role of Workplace Control in Positive Health and Wellbeing
Erin M. Eatough and Paul E. Spector
Part 3 Happy Workers and Happy Organizations
6 The Happy Worker: Revisiting the “Happy–Productive Worker” Thesis
Peter Hosie and Nada ElRakhawy
7 Organizational Characteristics of Happy Organizations
Bret L. Simmons
Part 4 Character and Wellbeing
8 Character and Wellbeing
Thomas A. Wright and Tyler Lauer
9 Stress, Health, and Wellbeing in Practice: Workplace Leadership and Leveraging Stress for Positive Outcomes
James Campbell Quick, Joel Bennett, and M. Blake Hargrove
Part 5 Organizational Strategies to Promote Wellbeing
10 Cancer, Work, and the Quality of Working Life: A Narrative Review
Tom Cox, Sara MacLennan, and James N'Dow
11 Lead Well, Be Well: Leadership Behaviors Influence Employee Wellbeing
Jennifer Robertson and Julian Barling
12 Organizational Coping Strategies and Wellbeing
Gordon Tinline and Matthew Smeed
13 Workplace Mistreatment: Recent Developments in Theory, Research, and Interventions
Michael Hanrahan and Michael P. Leiter
14 The Sustainable Workforce: Organizational Strategies for Promoting Work–Life Balance and Wellbeing
Ellen Ernst Kossek, Monique Valcour, and Pamela Lirio
15 Development of a Theoretically Grounded Model of Sexual Harassment Awareness Training Effectiveness
Lisa M. Kath and Vicki J. Magley
16 The Working Wounded: Stigma and Return to Work
Lori Francis, James E. Cameron, E. Kevin Kelloway, Victor M. Catano, Arla L. Day, and C. Gail Hepburn
17 Job Stress in University Academics: Evidence from an Australian National Study
Anthony H. Winefield
Part 6 From Research to National Policy
18 Longitudinal Research in Occupational Stress: A Review of Methodological Issues
Robert C. Brusso, Konstantin P. Cigularov, and Rachel C. Callan
19 Measuring Wellbeing in Modern Societies
Paul Allin
Index
Volume IV Wellbeing in Later Life
Edited by Thomas B. L. Kirkwood and Cary L. Cooper
About the Editors
Contributors
Full Contents of Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Introduction to Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
1 Introduction: Wellbeing in Later Life
Cary L. Cooper and Thomas B. L. Kirkwood
Part 1 Longevity and Wellbeing
2 The Changing Demographic Context of Aging
Roland Rau and James W. Vaupel
3 Biological Determinants and Malleability of Aging
Thomas B. L. Kirkwood
4 Wellbeing as Experienced by the Very Old
Carol Jagger and Katie Brittain
Part 2 Factors Influencing Wellbeing
5 Psychological Wellbeing in Later Life
Kate M. Bennett and Laura K. Soulsby
6 Nutrition and Lifelong Wellbeing
C. Alexandra Munro and John C. Mathers
7 Physical Activity, Exercise, and Aging
Grainne S. Gorman, Josh Wood, and Michael I. Trenell
8 Capability and Independency in Later Life
John Bond
9 Combating Isolation Through Technology in Older People
Peter Gore
10 Wellbeing and Vitality in Later Life: The Role of the Consumer Industry
Michael Catt and Frans J. G. van der Ouderaa
11 Education and its Role in Wellbeing
Jim Soulsby
Part 3 Wellbeing at the End of Life
12 The Threat to Wellbeing from Cognitive Decline
Louise Robinson and Lynne Corner
13 When Vitality Meets Longevity: New Strategies for Health in Later Life
Rudi G. J. Westendorp, Bert Mulder, A. J. Willem van der Does, and Frans J. G. van der Ouderaa
14 Maintaining Wellbeing Through the End of Life
Julian C. Hughes
Part 4 Comparative Perspectives on Wellbeing
15 Cultures, Aging, and Wellbeing
Ngaire Kerse, Mere Kēpa, Ruth Teh, and Lorna Dyall
16 Wellbeing in the Oldest Old and Centenarians in Japan
Yasuyuki Gondo, Yasumichi Arai, and Nobuyoshi Hirose
17 Wellbeing in Later Life in Eighteenth-Century England
Helen Yallop
Appendix
Foresight Mental Capital and Wellbeing Project: Mental Capital Through Life: Future Challenges
Thomas B. L. Kirkwood, John Bond, Carl May, Ian McKeith, and Min-Min Teh
Index
Volume V The Economics of Wellbeing
Edited by David McDaid and Cary L. Cooper
About the Editors
Contributors
Full Contents of Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Introduction to Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
1 Introduction
David McDaid and Cary L. Cooper
Part 1 Perspectives on the Economics of Wellbeing
2 A Short History of Wellbeing Research
Laura Stoll
3 Income and Wellbeing: A Selective Review
Brendan Kennelly
4 Does Money Buy Me Love? Testing Alternative Measures of National Wellbeing
Arthur Grimes, Les Oxley, and Nicholas Tarrant
5 The Impact of the Great Recession on Economic Wellbeing: How Different Are OECD Nations and Why?
Lars Osberg and Andrew Sharpe
6 Was the Economic Crisis of 2008 Good for Icelanders? Impact on Health Behaviours
Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir, Hope Corman, Kelly Noonan, 
órhildur Ólafsdóttir, and Nancy E. Reichman
7 Mental Health: A New Frontier for Labor Economics
Richard Layard
Part 2 Promoting Wellbeing: The Economic Case for Action
8 Investing in the Wellbeing of Young People: Making the Economic Case
David McDaid, A-La Park, Candice Currie, and Cara Zanotti
9 Investing in Wellbeing in the Workplace: More Than Just a Business Case
David McDaid and A-La Park
10 Promoting the Health and Wellbeing of Older People: Making an Economic Case
A-La Park, David McDaid, Anna K. Forsman, and Kristian Wahlbeck
11 Promoting and Protecting Mental Wellbeing during Times of Economic Change
David McDaid and Kristian Wahlbeck
12 Making Use of Evidence from Wellbeing Research in Policy and Practice
David McDaid
Index
Volume VI Interventions and Policies to Enhance Wellbeing
Edited by Felicia A. Huppert and Cary L. Cooper
About the Editors
Contributors
Full Contents of Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Introduction to Wellbeing: A Complete Reference Guide
Introduction to this Volume
1 The State of Wellbeing Science: Concepts, Measures, Interventions, and Policies
Felicia A. Huppert
Part 1 Individual and Group Interventions across the Life Course
2 Parenting Interventions to Promote Wellbeing and Prevent Mental Disorder
Sarah Stewart-Brown
3 Promoting Mental Health and Wellbeing in Schools
Katherine Weare and Melanie Nind
4 An Exploration of the Effects of Mindfulness Training and Practice in Association with Enhanced Wellbeing for Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Practice
Christine Burke
5 MindMatters: Implementing Mental Health Promotion in Secondary Schools in Australia
Louise Rowling and Trevor Hazell
6 A Systematic Review of Mental Health Promotion in the Workplace
Czesław Czabała and Katarzyna Charzy
ska
7 Wellbeing Begins with “We”: The Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Interventions that Increase Social Closeness
Bethany E. Kok and Barbara L. Fredrickson
8 The Experience Corps®: Intergenerational Interventions to Enhance Wellbeing Among Retired People
George W. Rebok, Michelle C. Carlson, Kevin D. Frick, Katherine D. Giuriceo, Tara L. Gruenewald, Sylvia McGill, Jeanine M. Parisi, William A. Romani, Teresa E. Seeman, Elizabeth K. Tanner, and Linda P. Fried
9 Enhancing Mental Health and Mental Wellbeing in Older People: Important Concepts and Effective Psychosocial Interventions
Anna K. Forsman, Eija Stengård, and Kristian Wahlbeck
Part 2 Interventions to Create Positive Organizations and Communities
10 Wellbeing as a Business Priority: Experience from the Corporate World
Catherine Kilfedder and Paul Litchfield
11 The Power of Philanthropy and Volunteering
Sara Konrath
12 Community Change: The Complex Nature of Interventions to Promote Positive Connections
Sue Roffey and Jacqueline Barnes
13 The Health and Wellbeing Effects of Active Labor Market Programs
Adam P. Coutts, David Stuckler, and David J. Cann
Part 3 The Policy Perspective
14 Creating Good Lives Through Computer Games
Daniel Johnson, Peta Wyeth, and Penny Sweetser
15 Retooling for Wellbeing: Media and the Public's Mental Health
Marten W. deVries
16 Policy and Wellbeing: The U.K. Government Perspective
David Halpern
17 Measuring what Matters
Juliet Michaelson, Charles Seaford, Saamah Abdallah, and Nic Marks
18 Mental Health and Wellbeing at the Top of the Global Agenda
Eva Jané-Llopis, Peter Anderson, and Helen Herrman
19 How can Subjective Wellbeing be Improved?
John F. Helliwell
Index
This series of six volumes explores one of the most important social issues of our times, that of how to enhance the mental wellbeing of people, whether in the developed, developing, or underdeveloped world, and across the life course from birth to old age. We know that 1 in 4–6 people in most countries in the world suffer from a common mental disorder of anxiety, depression, or stress. We also know that mental ill health costs countries billions of dollars per annum. In the United Kingdom, for example, mental health-care costs have amounted to over £77 billion per annum, the bill for sickness absence and presenteeism (people turning up to work ill or not delivering due to job stress) in the workplace is another £26 billion, and the costs of dementia will rise from £20 billion to an estimated £50 billion in 25 years' time (Cooper, Field, Goswami, Jenkins, & Sahakian, 2009). In Germany, the leading cause of early retirement from work in 1989 was musculoskeletal disease but by 2004 it was stress and mental ill health, now representing 40% of all early retirements (German Federal Health Monitoring, 2007). In many European countries (e.g., Finland, Holland, Norway, and Switzerland) the cost of lost productive value due to lack of mental wellbeing is a significant proportion of gross domestic product (McDaid, Knapp, Medeiros, & MHEEN Group, 2008). Indeed, the costs of depression alone in the European Union were shown to be €41 billion, with €77 billion in terms of lost productivity to all the economies (Sobocki, Jonsson, Angst, & Rehnberg, 2006).
The issue of wellbeing has been around for sometime but has been brought to the fore more recently because of the global recession and economic downturn, which have made the situation worse (Antoniou & Cooper, 2013). But it was as early as 1968 that politicians began to talk about the inadequacy of gross national product as a measure of a society's success. In a powerful speech by Bobby Kennedy at the University of Kansas, when he was on the campaign trail for the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. President, he reflected:
But even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction—purpose and dignity—that afflicts us all. Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product, now, is over $800 billion a year, but that gross national product—if we judge the United States of America by that—that gross national product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in the chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armoured cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. …Yet the GNP does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.
University of Kansas, March 18, 1968,http://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/robert-f-kennedy
Since that time there have been numerous studies to show that the wealth of a country is not related to its happiness (Cooper & Robertson, 2013); indeed, as you earn far beyond your means you may become less happy or content. More recently, we have had politicians like former President Sarkozy of France, Prime Minister Cameron of the United Kingdom, and the King of Bhutan extoll the virtue of gross national wellbeing; that is, that the goal of a nation's politicians should be to enhance wellbeing among its citizens, with gross national product being only one indicator of a country's success. Indeed, Prime Minister Cameron has instituted an annual assessment of this through the U.K. Office of National Statistics which measures wellbeing among a large sample of the U.K. population, publishing the results, highlighting concerns, and ultimately considering policies to deal with them. The World Economic Forum of leading global companies, nongovernmental organizations, international bodies, and global charities now has one of its Global Agenda Councils on “mental health and wellbeing.” Happiness and wellbeing indices abound (e.g., The Happy Planet), and many countries are being compared and assessed on a range of quality-of-life metrics. Indeed, in April 2012, 79 countries in the General Assembly of the United Nations signed the Bhutan Agreement, supporting the view that an overarching goal of a country should be to enhance the wellbeing and happiness of its people.
The biggest study of its kind undertaken by any government was the 2 year U.K. Government's Foresight project on mental capital and wellbeing, the aim of which was “to produce a challenging and long-term vision for optimising mental capital and wellbeing in the United Kingdom in the 21st century—both for the benefit of society and for the individual” (Cooper et al., 2009). Mental capital was defined as the metaphorical “bank account of the mind,” which gets enhanced or depleted throughout the life course (see figure). Mental wellbeing was defined as “a dynamic state that refers to individuals' ability to develop their potential, work productively and creatively, build strong and positive relationships with others and contribute to their community” (Beddington et al., 2008).
Figure. Synthetic View of the Mental Capital Trajectory.
Over 85 international science reviews were commissioned to assess the factors that influence an individual's mental capital and wellbeing throughout life, from early childhood to school years to working life to old age. There were numerous findings in this report, which were costed and developed as potential government policy and/or interventions. An example of some of the findings were: (a) if society does not catch learning difficulties in children early enough, there will be increased personal and economic costs downstream, leading to depleted mental wellbeing in terms of increased antisocial behavior as well as significant health costs; (b) if society does not identify the common mental disorders (CMDs) of anxiety, depression, and stress early enough, and provide appropriate treatment and support, society won't be able to tackle the 1 in 4–6 people suffering from depression and other CMDs; (c) with the workplace being more insecure, people working longer hours, and being more overloaded, occupational stress in many countries is now the leading cause of sickness absence and presenteeism, which has implications for the viability of businesses and their productivity; and, finally, (d) with the doubling of over-65-year-olds and the tripling of over-80-year-olds over the next 30 years, society needs to deal with the consequences of dementia now with preventative strategies, better early diagnosis, and more successful and evidence-based treatment regimes. The Foresight project developed many recommendations to enhance mental capital and wellbeing not only in the United Kingdom but also for other countries (Cooper et al., 2009), and its legacy has provided a roadmap for how other countries should think about this in the future, in terms of both policies and interventions for wellbeing.
Each volume in the series has a senior editor who is a leading international scholar in a particular field, following the life-course model described by the Foresight program. We start with Wellbeing in children and families and progress to Wellbeing and the environment, Work and wellbeing, Wellbeing in later life, The economics of wellbeing, and, finally, Interventions and policies to enhance wellbeing. The contributors to each of these volumes are distinguished international academics who work in the domain covered, reviewing the evidence that can help to develop policies and interventions to enhance wellbeing in that particular context.
In the first volume on children and families we explore four different themes, with a number of chapters under each of these: the development of the early social and cognitive skills that are important in child wellbeing, parenting and children's development, school and child care-settings that impact child and family wellbeing, and stress and family and child wellbeing.
The second volume is on wellbeing and the environment. This comprises sections, with chapters in each, on wellbeing and the neighborhood, wellbeing and buildings, wellbeing and green spaces, crime and the urban environment (and the implications for wellbeing), and wellbeing and the environmental implications for design.
The third volume highlights the issues of work and wellbeing. A range of topics is covered here: the impact of job demands, the role of workplace control, the organizational characteristics of “happy organizations,” leadership behaviors that influence employee wellbeing, the sustainable workforce, the “working wounded” (including stigma and return to work), organizational coping strategies and wellbeing, and many more.
The fourth volume highlights wellbeing in later life. Topics covered include the changing demographic context of aging, biological determinants and malleability of aging, psychological aspects of wellbeing in later life, nutrition and lifelong wellbeing, physical exercise and aging, combating isolation through technology in older people, the threat to wellbeing from cognitive decline, and maintaining wellbeing through the end of life, among others.
The fifth volume explores the economics of wellbeing, with chapters on income and wellbeing, alternative measures of national wellbeing, the impact of the great recession on economic wellbeing, whether recessions are good for one's health, investing in the wellbeing of children, investing in wellbeing in the workplace, promoting health and wellbeing of older people and protecting population mental health, wellbeing during an economic crisis, and many others.
Finally, the sixth volume highlights interventions and policies that can enhance wellbeing throughout the life course. There are three sections, with chapters on the state of wellbeing science, individual/group interventions on childhood and adolescence, promoting mental health and wellbeing in schools, mindfulness training for children and adolescents, interventions in working years and post retirement, mental health promotion in the workplace, intergenerational interventions to enhance wellbeing among retired people, interventions to create positive organizations and communities with wellbeing as a business priority, the power of philanthropy and volunteering, and creating community connections. Finally, policies are discussed, such as mental health and wellbeing at the top of the global agenda, how subjective wellbeing can influence policy, media and the public's mental health, and promoting wellbeing through new technology.
These volumes contain the leading-edge research, practice, and policies to help government, businesses, local authorities, and global institutions consider how we can action some of what Bobby Kennedy suggested were an important set of outcomes for a successful society. Our institutions need to change, and we as individuals need to do so as well, if we are to achieve personal wellbeing, or as Abraham Lincoln wrote during the American Civil War, “it is not the years in your life which are important, but the life in your years.” Winston Churchill reflected on this as well, when he wrote in an essay on how he dealt with the excessive pressures of life and found solace: “many remedies are suggested for the avoidance of worry and mental overstrain by persons who, over prolonged periods, have to bear exceptional responsibilities and discharge duties upon a very large scale. Some advise exercise, and others, repose. Some counsel travel, and others, retreat…no doubt all of these may play their part according to individual temperament. But the element which is constant and common in all of them is Change…a man can wear out a particular part of his mind by continually using it and tiring it, just in the same way as he can wear out the elbows of his coats…but the tired parts of the mind can be rested and strengthened, not merely by rest, but by using other parts…it is only when new cells are called into activity, when new stars become the lords of the ascendant, that relief, repose, refreshment are afforded.”
I hope that these volumes will provide you with the science, practice, and tools to enhance the mental wellbeing of people in your own work.
Antoniou, A., & Cooper, C. L. (Eds.) (2013). The psychology of the recession on the workplace. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Beddington, J., Cooper, C. L., Field, J., Goswami, U., Huppert, F., Jenkins, R., …Thomas, S. (2008). The mental wealth of nations. Nature, 455(23), 1057–1060.
Cooper, C. L., Field, J., Goswami, U., Jenkins, R., & Sahakian, B. (Eds.) (2009). Mental capital and wellbeing. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell.
Cooper, C. L., & Robertson, I. (Eds.) (2013). Management and happiness. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
German Federal Health Monitoring (2007). Trends in causes of early retirement. http://www.gber.bund.de.
McDaid, D., Knapp, M., Medeiros, H., & MHEEN Group (2008). Employment and mental health. Brussels: European Commission.
Sobocki, P., Jonsson, B., Angst, J., & Rehnberg, C. (2006). Cost of depression in Europe. Journal of Mental Health Policy and Economics, 9(2), 87–98.
The wellbeing of children and families is of utmost importance to our communities, cities, and nations. This volume is a collection of chapters that address many of the issues related to understanding the wellbeing of young children and, in turn, the wellbeing of their families. The first part of this volume includes four chapters that describe different, but related, areas of children's early development that together provide an important foundation for later competence. The changes in children's self-regulation and executive control over the first years of life, described in Chapter 2, are dramatic. This is important to appreciate as these skills are critical to children's ability, at entry into school, to function somewhat independently in a classroom with all of the numerous social and cognitive demands they face in this complex setting. The inclusion of these discussions in this book is important, given how self-regulation and executive control together with emotion regulation are integral to later academic and social competence.
Chapter 3 provides a sound rationale for considering the importance of early emotional regulatory skills for understanding that early cognitive learning can be best supported if there is careful attention to these skills and the emotional climates of children's learning environment (e.g., classrooms, schools, and home). We also understand, from information provided in Chapter 4, how early math and literacy skills that develop across the first 5 years are key to understanding later academic achievement. The rigorous research described in this chapter demonstrates longitudinal support for these skills as early predictors that can guide educational policy to make informed decisions.
When Chapters 2, 3, and 4 are considered together, the complex nature of children's early development, in terms of the need to consider the interrelatedness of skills across different developmental domains in order to account for later life competence, is truly highlighted. However, in light of the dynamic nature of the early development of the many skills necessary to put children on a trajectory that will better assure life success, the evidence provided in Chapter 5 is concerning. This chapter considers the importance of intrinsic motivation for understanding a sustained high level of learning in light of the decline in this key predictor across the elementary-school years. Discussion of the factors that may buffer this decline provides hope for ways to intervene effectively.
Parts 2 to 4 of this collection of chapters explore the many factors that are documented to influence the quality and rate of development of children's abilities, such as those described in Part 1. The caregiving environment and parents' interactions with their young children are consistently documented as two of the most important environmental influences on children's outcomes. The selection of chapters in Part 2 considers the mechanisms that explain this influence, as well as some of the developmental areas that are impacted by parenting. The critical nature of parents' behaviors with their children, beginning at birth, is striking—as described in Chapter 6 in relation to early language development and emergent literacy, and in Chapter 8 in relation to executive functions. In addition to delineating the mechanisms that help explain the parent–child associations, Chapter 6 provides empirical evidence for four specific features of parents' language with their young children that could have strong implications for future interventions to facilitate parents' use of effective language support strategies. The role of parenting in understanding change in development, in contrast to the role of genetic factors in explaining stable individual differences, highlights the specific aspects of parent interactional behavior that predict variability in change or rates of growth in executive function skills. The theme of specificity is expanded on in Chapter 9, where the reader is provided with insight into the complexity of parenting in terms of its multifaceted nature. A variety of factors such as the goals of parenting (e.g., teaching values or customs, obtaining cooperation, positive engagement) and how different forms of parenting predict different outcomes are highlighted as well as the importance of considering the bidirectional nature (parent–child, child–parent) of the influence of this process. As much of what is known about the importance of early parenting is based on correlational data, Chapter 7 provides experimental research that supports a causal influence of this environmental factor on children's development.
In Part 3, chapters explore the interplay of contextual influences on the child. This is illustrated in one chapter using a bioecological system approach that reveals how high-risk home and child-care environments are more likely to be present for children from poverty and describes the interconnectedness and joint negative influences of two low-quality caregiving environments on children's outcomes. In light of the destructive effect on children's development of low-quality early caregiving settings and growing documentation of the economic benefits of investing in high-quality early childhood programs, Chapter 13 describes the research that has informed this educational movement.
In a comprehensive discussion of the contribution of quality environmental stimulation across the period from birth to elementary school in Chapter 14, the importance of the relationship between children and adults (e.g., parents, teachers, and child-care staff) is demonstrated in terms of its potential influence on aspects of social and cognitive development including emergent literacy skills. Finally in Part 3, the influence of relationships with same-aged peers gets attention. Although much has been written about the adult–child relationship, elementary-school peers can influence children's openness to school participation and learning. Chapter 12 considers distinct types of peer relationships, how they develop, and the process by which they affect the child.
We understand, in the first chapter of the final part of this volume, that poverty in early childhood has a more lasting negative impact than poverty in later childhood. These effects are far-reaching and the things they impact include adult health status and earnings. When one considers how poverty affects multiple aspects of the young child's environment (e.g., the nurturance, physical, and nutritional), the explanation in this chapter regarding the extent to which safety nets are in place to protect young children from the devastating effect of poverty is revealing. Another chapter reveals the importance of considering characteristics of a child's neighborhood for understanding variability in child outcomes. A comprehensive discussion of the direct and indirect influences of neighborhood effects on child outcomes provides insight into the mechanisms by which neighborhoods manifest effects on children and their families. The theme of the importance of the early caregiving environment for understanding child wellbeing is reiterated in Chapter 16, although with a thoughtful discussion of the effect of negative early experiences impacting neurobehavioral development. When children are exposed chronically to negative experiences, biological systems are activated in response to these environmental stressors that affect brain and body. Information on this process and its environmental triggers can ultimately inform preventative approaches. The final chapter in Part 4 describes such a program. Although the effects of the Family Check-Up Program have not been investigated in relation to children's physiological responses, it targets prevention of many of the negative environmental factors that are known to be triggers for elevations in cortisol levels showing higher reactivity to stress. Programs such as the Family Check-Up, which fit within the service-delivering milieu and are effective in early identification of caregiving problems with effective solutions, may advance our public health initiatives that target the wellbeing of families and their children.
Part 1
The Development of Early Social and Cognitive Skills Important for Child Wellbeing