Emotional well-being is a popular topic of modern research. It refers to an individual’s ability to generate and process his or her emotions and adapt to life’s challenges. Environmental factors such as relationships, physical health, social factors, self-esteem, stress, and external influence affect emotional well-being (Campbell et al., 2018). Emotional well-being is the ability to successfully cope with life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times. This paper focuses on a meta-analysis of existing research on emotional well-being.
There is a number of papers that discuss the concept of emotional well-being from different prospects. In recent decades, numerous studies have suggested a positive relationship between pro-sociality and well-being (Hui et al., 2020). The study has indicated that there is a strong effect of pro-sociality on emotional well-being. Pro-sociality “was most strongly related to psychological functioning, showing a more modest relationship with psychological malfunctioning and physical health” (Hui et al., 2020). This means that by providing emotional care and support for others, an individual’s emotional well-being levels increase. Since emotional well-being depends on the individual’s ability to process feelings, the study proved that projecting positive emotions, such as empathy and support, encourages the positive emotions of the giver. Therefore, giving positive emotions affects emotional well-being in a good way.
Another study by Campbell et al. in 2018 researched the effects on the emotional well-being of refugees. The paper identified several external and internal factors, such as post-displacement social factors. Moreover, language proficiency, employment status, and satisfaction with housing were important determinants of refugees’ emotional well-being (Campbell et al., 2018). Changes in these social factors have the potential to improve refugees’ mental health, making them legitimate, modifiable targets for important public health interventions. The fact that these factors are socially focused underlines how positive sociability is important for emotional well-being.
The existing literature on subjective emotional well-being offers some insights into the potential impact of COVID-19. The pandemic had a profound effect on emotional well-being and stability, effects of which should be studied further. Pandemic-induced changes in people’s daily lives on their emotional well-being (Lades et al., 2020). Aspects of everyday life associated with raised positive and reduced negative affect during the COVID-19 pandemic include the following: time spent outdoors, exercising, going for a walk, gardening, taking care of children, and engaging in in-person social interactions with friends. It was found that positive affect is greatest when spending time outdoors and that hobbies and physically active activities such as sports, walking, and gardening are particularly positive activities.
As well as that, it was identified that social media use and information about COVID -19 are both associated with increased levels of negative effects. Thus, the negative effects and decreased positive emotional well-being are based on being at work, teaching children at home, obtaining information about COVID -19, work-related social interactions, and interactions with a spouse or significant other (Lades et al., 2020). Furthermore, Lutz et al. (2020) suggested that in times of permanent networking via mobile devices, accessibility requirements often cross the boundaries between work and private life. This lack of boundaries between work and personal life was found to have an increased negative effect on the employees’ emotional well-being. However, aspects of everyday life, such as time spent outdoors, exercising, going for a walk, gardening, taking care of children, and engaging in in-person social interactions with friends, associated with reduced positive and raised negative affect during the COVID-19 pandemic (Lades et al., 2020). In contrast, time spent alone, social media use, and caring for children were associated with lower emotional well-being.
Additionally, a 2020 study by Yang and Ma suggested that factors associated with the likelihood of contracting the disease, the extent of potential harm, and relational issues exacerbated the detrimental effect of the outbreak on emotional well-being. However, the researchers identified that if an individual possesses vast knowledge about the pandemic, emotional well-being levels increase accordingly. Moreover, the effects of the pandemic on emotional well-being were found to be profound not only by the knowledge of the pandemic but through other factors as well. In 2020, Ebert et al. suggested that restrictions and emphasis on the danger to the elderly had a negative impact on the younger adults. Younger adults experienced higher levels of anxiety due to the information inflow and the focus on the elderly population (Ebert et al., 2020). It is possible, and undeniably likely, that as adults continue to face restrictions in daily living due to the pandemic, additional negative emotional effects may be witnessed.
Continuing on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on emotional well-being, it is important to study the effects on child well-being. According to Bartlett et al. (2020), parents have to provide an age-appropriate explanation of the pandemic and not isolate the children. With necessary means taken, such as PCR tests, children can communicate and interact with those of their age. Parents also have to keep their children busy and increase their self-efficacy. These factors have proven to have a positive impact on children’s emotional well-being.
Social media has always had a correlation with the emotional well-being of an individual. The conundrum of whether digital media enhance or damage psychological well-being has preoccupied researchers and the public for decades (Liu et al., 2019). Resulting from the media richness theory, this study proposed that “phone calls and text messages improve well-being, whereas the use of social network sites (SNSs), instant messaging (IM), and online games may displace other social contacts and thereby harm emotional well-being” (Liu et al., 2019, para. 1). The researchers identified that the nature of social media interactions might be limited by the nature of the relationship. It was found that interactions with close relationship partners would enhance well-being, whereas interactions with distant acquaintances or strangers may be irrelevant or even detrimental to emotional well-being. Previously published studies simply counted interactions without differentiating the qualities of the relationships involved.
However, assuming that social media have filled nearly every aspect of people’s lives in almost every country, an important case for examining how technology and communication affect human well-being is presented. The study by Liu et al. 2019, provides two new insights into the relationship between digital media use and psychological well-being: “(a) whether the global effect of using a digital medium on well-being is negative or positive depends on the intimacy available through the media niche in which it resides; and (b) different types of media activities are associated with well-being in different ways” (Liu et al., 2019, para. 5). Overall, the results of the study suggest that the effects of social media use on emotional well-being depend on the proximity of the relationships maintained and the type of media use.
Furthermore, the results of the study by Liu et al. 2019, showed that phone calls and text messaging were positively correlated with well-being, whereas online games were negatively associated with emotional well-being. In addition, the connotation between digital social media use and well-being also depended on how the technology was used. Thus, the study suggests that social media use can have a positive impact on emotional well-being if it is used to communicate with close friends and relatives, self-expression, and the time spent on the device is limited. On the other hand, when social media is used for prolonged periods of time to interact with strangers and passive consumption of the content, it has a negative effect on emotional well-being.
Since emotional well-being is easily affected by different factors, numerous studies have researched the area. The 2021 study by Kang et al. proposes minimalism as a deliberate paradigm shift in consumer behavior based on the principle of a sustainable lifestyle and seeks to provide evidence for its operationalization and impact on emotional well-being. As a result, minimalism identifies and confirms the hierarchical structure, which consists of four distinct but interrelated behaviors: decluttering, careful shopping, longevity, and self-sufficiency. The results also show that minimalism increases well-being while alleviating depression.
It was identified that mindfulness-based and multi-component positive psychological interventions have an impact on emotional well-being. The research demonstrated the greatest efficacy in both clinical and non-clinical populations (van Agteren et al. 2021). Meta-analyzes by van Agteren et al. 2021, also found that singular positive psychological interventions, cognitive and behavioral therapy interventions, acceptance and commitment therapies, and memory interventions were effective. Although the evidence needs further improvement, the review offers insight into how psychological interventions can be designed to improve emotional well-being. Therefore, the study suggests that positive multi-component psychological interventions have a great effect on the emotional well-being of tested individuals.
In conclusion, several papers examine the effects on an individual’s emotional well-being. Some authors analyze the effects of pro-sociality (Hui et al., 2020), post-displacement social factors (Campbell et al., 2018), mobile communication (Lutz et al., 2020) and lifestyle choices (Kang et al., 2021), social media (Lui et al., 2019) on the emotional well-being. All these factors were found to have a profound effect on the individual’s wellness levels. Pro-sociality and lifestyle choice of minimalism had a positive impact on emotional well-being. However, constant mobile communication with employers and colleagues and aimless use of social media had a profound negative effect. Moreover, texting, calling, and use of social media to communicate with friends and family had a positive effect. As well as that, post-displacement social factors such as language proficiency, housing, and employability had a correlation with well-being. If an individual lacked post-displacement factors, the emotional wellness would deteriorate and vice versa.
Furthermore, in the face of the recent pandemic, many studies focused on the effects of COVID-19 on emotional well-being. It was found that social media use and information overflow on COVID -19 were both associated with increased levels of negative affect (Lades et al., 2020). Bartlett et al. (2020) and Yang and Ma (2020) support this theory by identifying information availability as an influence on emotional well-being. It was suggested to share information with children in an appropriate way in order to reduce the negative effects of the pandemic (Bartlett et al., 2020). Moreover, the increased knowledge and preparedness for the pandemic and positive effects on the adults’ well-being. Contrary, Ebert et al. (2020) identified that information overflow has a profound negative effect on wellness levels and results in increased anxiety.
As well as that, the 2021 study by van Agteren et al. suggests that positive psychological interventions with multiple components have a large impact on the emotional well-being of the individuals tested. Thus, emotional well-being can be influenced by individuals’ good actions, sports, social media, lifestyle, external environmental factors, information availability and overflow, and psychological interventions.
References
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