Master assignments stream 1: Longitudinal Intensive Methods

Flourishing mental health in women’s midlife

 Method Stream: Longitudinal Intensive Methods

ECs:  Both 14 and 23 EC thesis possible

Description:

According to Keyes, people flourish when they possess a high level of emotional well-being and a high level of social and psychological well-being. He used the MIDUS (MIDlife in the United States) study to show the importance of flourishing mental health in relation to mental illness, physical health and mortality.

In this assignment, you will also use data from the MIDUS study, but you will focus on women’s mental and physical health in midlife. Data about mental wellbeing (emotional, social and psychological wellbeing) and data about menopausal symptoms and other possible related factors have been gathered at least once or twice between 2011 and 2016 (core study 3 and subsamples). Perhaps data from 1995 (core study 1) and 2005 (core study 2) are also possible. See also: https://midus.colectica.org

Good example papers to give an idea about the possible questions and analyses are:
- Keyes CL. The mental health continuum: from languishing to flourishing in life. J Health Soc Behav 2002;43:207–22.
- Keyes CLM, Dhingra SS, Simoes EJ. Change in level of positive mental health as a predictor of future risk of mental illness. Am J Public Health 2010;100:2366–71.
- Schotanus-Dijkstra M, Pieterse ME, Drossaert CHC, Westerhof GJ, de Graaf R, ten Have M, et al. What factors are associated with flourishing? Results from a large representative national sample. J Happiness Stud 2016; 17:1351–1370.
- Brown L, Bryant C, Judd FK. Positive well-being during the menopausal transition: a systematic review. Climacteric. 2015;18(4):456-69.

Possible research questions are:

- How many women flourish in midlife?
- How do women of different age groups score on the 14 dimensions of mental wellbeing?
- What factors predict flourishing of women in midlife? (Demographics, personality traits, BMI, vigorous or moderate physical activity, menopausal symptoms)
- Does flourishing predict less severe menopausal symptoms? (Controlled by …)
- Does a change in flourishing over time predict less severe menopausal symptoms?

In a group of 2 or 3 students, each could focus on

1. A cross-sectional analysis of flourishing (and menopausal symptoms)
2. A longitudinal analysis of flourishing and menopausal symptoms
3. A focus on the change in level of positive mental health and menopausal symptoms