ELIJAH
MURPHY
PAPERS
Hope and well-being
Abstract:
The numerous benefits of hope have been supported through decades of empirical research. One of these benefits is a marked increase in one’s well-being. Well-being has been theoretically explored in the realms of an individual’s interpersonal relations, life satisfaction, and capacity to reach their full potential. This positive relationship between hope and well-being has continued to be supported in recent literature and has been observed in various populations and amid a world-wide pandemic. Hope predicts increases in well-being in students, children, adolescents, and adults of different ages. This effect is seen across several ethnic groups and clinical populations. In addition, hope plays a mediating role between predictive constructs and well-being outcomes. To expand existing knowledge surrounding hope and its impacts on wellness, it is crucial to continue to diversify our populations of interest when exploring these constructs.
The Unique Associations Between Ethnic Discrimination, Hope, Anxiety, Depression, and Well-being in African American, Asian, and Hispanic Adults
Abstract:
Objectives: Discrimination is a form of stress that contributes to negative outcomes for people of color, including higher anxiety and depression. Hope is associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression and greater well-being. This study examines the unique associations of hope and discrimination with anxiety, depression, and well-being among Asian, Hispanic, and African American adults.
Methods: 2800 students (626 men, 2164 women, 10 other) from a large southwestern university who identified as African American or Black (16%), Hispanic or Latino (43%), or Asian or Pacific Islander (41%) completed self-report questionnaires on discrimination, hope, well-being, and psychopathology. Participant ages ranged from 18-56 (Mage= 21.55 years, SD= 4.51 years)..
Results: Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses showed that hope was associated with higher levels of emotional (β= 0.51, C.I = 0.49:0.54), social (β= 0.39, C.I= 0.34:0.41), and psychological (β= 0.57, C.I =0.53:0.60) well-being, and lower levels of anxiety (β=-0.22, C.I= -0.27: -0.18)) and depression (β=-0.27, C.I = -0.31:-0.24). Discrimination was associated with lower emotional (β= -0.18, C.I= -0.22:-0.14) and psychological well-being (β= -0.12, C.I= -0.16: -0.08) but not social well-being (β= -0.03, C.I = -0.07:0.01), while being associated with higher levels of anxiety (β= 0.27, C.I =0.23:0.31) and depression (β= 0.25, C.I = 0.21:0.29).
Conclusion: Hope is associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression and higher levels of well-being while discrimination is associated with greater anxiety and depression and lower levels of well-being. Hope has a unique relationship with anxiety, depression, and well-being when accounting for discrimination in ethnically diverse adults.
Category-Specific Stress Mindsets: Beliefs about the Debilitating Versus Enhancing Effects of Specific Types of Stressors among Young Adults
Abstract:
Recently, research has shown that stress mindsets, or the degree to which people believe that stress is enhancing versus debilitating, impact the ways they process and react to stress. However, young adults encounter various forms of stress, which might elicit different stress mindsets. This study investigated (1) how much young adults think about specific types of stressors as they complete stress mindset measures and (2) how stress mindsets vary across stressor types. Method: Participants (n = 182) completed measures of general and category-specific stress mindsets (academic, interpersonal, identity-based, illness, societal, financial) and rated how much they thought of each category when completing the general mindset measure. Results: Academic stress was the most salient, and identity-based discrimination was the least salient as participants completed the stress mindset measure. Academic stress was perceived as the most stress-enhancing, and illness stressors were rated as the least stress-enhancing. Cisgender women reported stronger stress-is-debilitating mindsets for interpersonal and illness/injury-related stressors as compared with cisgender men. Conclusion: Stress mindset ratings in research studies might be weighted toward certain types of stressors. Further, young adults’ mindsets differ across different stressor categories. This nuance has implications for how we conceptualize stress mindset in interventions and research.
A Community-Based Men’s Expo to Reach and Engage Men for Health Promotion
Abstract:
Introduction:
Strategies are needed to promote the uptake of preventive health services among Black, Hispanic, and rural men because these men underutilize health services. Previous research indicates that men prefer community-based health promotion programming, such as health fairs; however, specific guidance on how to tailor health fairs for Black, Hispanic, and rural men are lacking. The present seeks to study provides that guidance.
Methods:
A multisectoral team developed, implemented, and evaluated a men’s health fair in a county of South Carolina with a sizeable Black, Hispanic, and rural-dwelling population. Although the health fair was open to all men in the county, specific outreach campaigns were implemented to attract Black and Hispanic men. The health fair occurred on Father’s Day weekend in 2023 and consisted of health screenings, health information, and other resources (eg, condoms, research studies). Participants who attended the health fair were asked to complete a check-in survey (N = 103) that assessed demographic information and how they heard about the health fair, followed by a survey (N = 58) that assessed facilitators/barriers to participation in a men’s health fair.
Results:
Results were stratified by the gender of respondent. The results highlight the facilitators/barriers experienced by men to attending health fairs and also highlight important differences in facilitators/barriers for men to attend a health fair as perceived by men and women.
Conclusions:
These findings have implications for the design and implementation of future men’s health fairs to promote preventive health service use among Black, Hispanic, and rural men.