Islamic religiosity, subjective well-being, and health

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between Islamic religiosity and satisfaction with a diverse range of life and health domains, in a sample of 2909 participants (1446 males, 1463 females) from Algeria. Factor analysis of the Islamic Religiosity Scale (IRS) indicates that it measures Religiosity as a multidimensional construct with two useful factors: Religious Practice and Religious Altruism. Religiosity at some level is ubiquitous through this sample, and it has a strong positive relationship with Subjective Well-Being (SWB). Moreover, this relationship is relatively unaffected by health deficiencies, even though such deficiencies generally have a negative influence on SWB scores. These findings are discussed in terms of the social context of Algeria.<br /

Children's subjective well-being in Africa: A comparative analysis across three countries

Recent trends in child well-being research have shown a substantial advancement in studies investigating children's subjective well-being (SWB). This advancement has raised questions concerning the measurement of SWB and the extent to which various measures can be compared across countries and diverse cultures. With a dearth of empirical data on cross-cultural comparisons, the validation of existing measures and cross-cultural comparisons and adaptations, have been identified as a critical course of action. The current study contributes to this process – it aims to report on children's SWB in three African countries (Algeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa), using two multiple item measures of SWB (the context-free Students' Life Satisfaction Scale and the domain- specific Personal Well-Being Index-School Children). Within this process the study further aims to test the structural validity of these measures and to ascertain its cross-country comparability. Data from the second wave of the Children's Worlds survey were used; and includes a randomly selected sample of 3394 children between the ages of 11–12 from Algeria (Provinces of El Bayedh, Oran, and Tlemcen), Ethiopia and South Africa (Western Cape Province). Located within the goodness of fit theoretical framework, confirmatory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modelling were used to test the overall fit structure, while multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to test measurement invariance. The results show appropriate fit structure for the individual models, with metric and scalar factor invariance tenable across the three countries for the Students' Life Satisfaction Scale and partial scalar invariance obtained for four items on the Personal Well-Being Index-School Children. The Algerian sample scored significantly higher than Ethiopia and South Africa on both SWB measures. Appropriate fit structure was obtained for the combined model and for the structural model, indicating adequate convergent validity with the single item Overall Life Satisfaction. Metric and partial scalar invariance was tenable for the structural model, suggesting cross-country comparability for correlations, regressions and means. The overall findings suggest that the two measures are appropriate for use with children from the three countries and that meaningful comparisons can be made between the three countries.IS

Measurement of psychological entitlement in 28 countries

This article presents the cross-cultural validation of the Entitlement Attitudes Questionnaire, a tool designed to measure three facets of psychological entitlement: active, passive, and revenge entitlement. Active entitlement was defined as the tendency to protect individual rights based on self-worthiness. Passive entitlement was defined as the belief in obligations to and expectations toward other people and institutions for the fulfillment of the individual’s needs. Revenge entitlement was defined as the tendency to protect one’s individual rights when violated by others and the tendency to reciprocate insults. The 15-item EAQ was validated in a series of three studies: the first one on a general Polish sample (N = 1,900), the second one on a sample of Polish students (N = 199), and the third one on student samples from 28 countries (N = 5,979). A three-factor solution was confirmed across all samples. Examination of measurement equivalence indicated partial metric invariance of EAQ for all national samples. Discriminant and convergent validity of the EAQ was also confirmed

Cultural Dimensions of Entitlement (Kulturowe wymiary postaw roszczeniowych)

W oparciu o dane z prób studenckich z 27 krajów (N = 6192) sprawdzano uniwersalność trójwymiarowego modelu postaw roszczeniowych - zarówno w obrębie badanych prób krajowych, jak i na poziomie ponadkulturowym. W artykule przedstawiamy model teoretyczny umożliwiający porównania międzykulturowe w odniesieniu do postaw roszczeniowych oraz związki wyróżnionych postaw ze wskaźnikami rozwoju socjoekonomicznego społeczeństw (w tym funkcjonowania demokracji i gospodarki) oraz wartościami kulturowymi Schwartza. Uzyskane wyniki omawiamy w odniesieniu do modelu ekokulturowego Berry’ego oraz teorii rozwoju ludzkiego Ingleharta.On the basis of findings obtained from students samples from 27 countries (N = 6192) applicability of three-dimensional entitlement model on individual and cultural level were tested. In the article we present theoretical model allowing for cross-cultural comparisons of entitlement attitudes and its relations to socioeconomic development of societies (including functioning of democracy and economy) and cultural values by Shalom Schwartz. Obtained results are discussed in the terms of John Berry’s eco-cultural model and Ronald Inglehart’s human development theory

Perceptions of the appropriate response to norm violation in 57 societies

An Author Correction to this article: DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22955-x.Norm enforcement may be important for resolving conflicts and promoting cooperation. However, little is known about how preferred responses to norm violations vary across cultures and across domains. In a preregistered study of 57 countries (using convenience samples of 22,863 students and non-students), we measured perceptions of the appropriateness of various responses to a violation of a cooperative norm and to atypical social behaviors. Our findings highlight both cultural universals and cultural variation. We find a universal negative relation between appropriateness ratings of norm violations and appropriateness ratings of responses in the form of confrontation, social ostracism and gossip. Moreover, we find the country variation in the appropriateness of sanctions to be consistent across different norm violations but not across different sanctions. Specifically, in those countries where use of physical confrontation and social ostracism is rated as less appropriate, gossip is rated as more appropriate.Peer reviewe

Anger and disgust shape judgments of social sanctions across cultures, especially in high individual autonomy societies

When someone violates a social norm, others may think that some sanction would be appropriate. We examine how the experience of emotions like anger and disgust relate to the judged appropriateness of sanctions, in a pre-registered analysis of data from a large-scale study in 56 societies. Across the world, we find that individuals who experience anger and disgust over a norm violation are more likely to endorse confrontation, ostracism and, to a smaller extent, gossip. Moreover, we find that the experience of anger is consistently the strongest predictor of judgments of confrontation, compared to other emotions. Although the link between state-based emotions and judgments may seem universal, its strength varies across countries. Aligned with theoretical predictions, this link is stronger in societies, and among individuals, that place higher value on individual autonomy. Thus, autonomy values may increase the role that emotions play in guiding judgments of social sanctions

Subjective Wellbeing, Psychological needs, Meaning in life, Religious Practice and Income in the Population of Algeria

e present study investigated the relationship between Subjective Wellbeing (Satisfaction with life (SWL), Personal WellbeingIndex (PWI), Positive Aect (PA) and Negative Aect (NA)), Psychological needs (Autonomy, Competence and Relatedness),Meaning in Life, and Religious Practice. It examined the distributions of these constructs in a large sample of 3,173 subjects(1,638 males and 1,535 females) who participated in the 4th Algerian Wellbeing Survey. It aimed also to weigh up to whatextent they were aected by household income. Finally, it estimated the mediating eect of demographic variables (gender, age,education and location) in the contribution of the studied constructs in each other.e results indicated that these constructs were signicantly inter-correlated and almost similarly distributed in this population.ey also showed that they were all negatively aected by low incomes and proved that generally and beyond demographic factors,SWB measures predict better needs satisfaction, meaning in life and religiosity than the opposite direction. e results werediscussed on the light of previous international wellbeing research

Waiting for happiness in Africa

publisher versionFrom Introduction: Are the people in Africa really among the least happy in the world? And if African countries do have a ‘happiness deficit’, what are the prospects of Africa achieving happiness in the near future? These are questions we shall try to address in this chapter. The World Happiness Report (WHR), published since 2012, has found that happiness is less evident in Africa than in other regions of the world. It reports Gallup World Poll (GWP) ratings of happiness, measured on the ‘ladder of life’, a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 indicating greatest happiness. On the map of the Geography of Happiness, published in an earlier World Happiness Report Update 2015, the happiest countries in the world are shaded green, the unhappiest red. Africa stands out as the unhappiest continent, being coloured almost entirely in shades of glaring red (See Fig. 4.1). In 2017, the WHR reports that average ladder scores for over four in five African countries are below the mid-point of the scale (see Fig. 4.2). And only two African countries have made significant gains in happiness over the past decade . There are also considerable inequalities in life evaluations in African countries, and this inequality in happiness has increased over the past years . In this chapter, we shall tentatively seek a number of explanations for the unhappiness on the African continent, which is home to about 16% of the world’s population. It will be no easy task to identify factors that may have shaped perceptions of well-being among the 1.2 billion African people who live in 54 nation states with different historical, cultural, and socio-economic backgrounds. Nonetheless, we shall attempt to describe some of the positive and negative experiences in the lives of people in African countries that likely impact on personal well-being. We shall also try to identify the prospects for change and development that could spell hope for increasing the happiness of African people in future

Measuring wellbeing in developing countries: the case of Algeria

The International Wellbeing Index (IWI) has been developed as a complementary measure to already well-known economic measures, and as a tool for cross-cultural comparisons. It comprises two subscales: the Personal Wellbeing Index (PWI) and the National Wellbeing Index (NWI). The aims of this paper are two-fold. Firstly, to test the psychometric characteristics of the IWI. Secondly, to study how people of Algeria, a third world country that is yet suffering from a harsch economical and social situation, respond to questions dealing with their own lives and life in their country in general, compared to samples from more developed countries where wellbeing was previously measured. The IWI items were presented to individuals either in a questionnaire form to be self-rated or in interview sessions. The total of 1417 answers were analysed. As was expected, a very low satisfaction on both scales was found, compared to the results that were reported in countries, such as Australia or Hong Kong. Comparisons on the demographic characteristics basis show that women are significantly more satisfied than men with their personal lives, though no differences were found with regard to NWI. Eldest and youngest age groups rated the PWI significantly higher than other age groups. Education groups comparisons showed higher ratings on both subscales in favour of groups with no education and those with university levels. Marginal statistically significant differences were found with regard to the PWI in favour of the higher earning group, but no differences in the NWI. No statistically significant results were found as far as marital status, number of children, and income are concerned. The results add to the evidence of the usefulness of the scale to predict satisfaction of people with their own lives and life in their country. Its psychometric performance was proved to be very high in terms of validity, reliability and sensitivity. The results were interpreted on the light of the Homeostasis Theory and the particular situation of the Algerian society.<br /