IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0121839.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Psychological Well-Being and the Human Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity

Author

Listed:
  • Barbara L Fredrickson
  • Karen M Grewen
  • Sara B Algoe
  • Ann M Firestine
  • Jesusa M G Arevalo
  • Jeffrey Ma
  • Steve W Cole

Abstract

Research in human social genomics has identified a conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) characterized by up-regulated expression of pro-inflammatory genes and down-regulated expression of Type I interferon- and antibody-related genes. This report seeks to identify the specific aspects of positive psychological well-being that oppose such effects and predict reduced CTRA gene expression. In a new confirmation study of 122 healthy adults that replicated the approach of a previously reported discovery study, mixed effect linear model analyses identified a significant inverse association between expression of CTRA indicator genes and a summary measure of eudaimonic well-being from the Mental Health Continuum – Short Form. Analyses of a 2- representation of eudaimonia converged in finding correlated psychological and social subdomains of eudaimonic well-being to be the primary carriers of CTRA associations. Hedonic well-being showed no consistent CTRA association independent of eudaimonic well-being, and summary measures integrating hedonic and eudaimonic well-being showed less stable CTRA associations than did focal measures of eudaimonia (psychological and social well-being). Similar results emerged from analyses of pooled discovery and confirmation samples (n = 198). Similar results also emerged from analyses of a second new generalization study of 107 healthy adults that included the more detailed Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-being and found this more robust measure of eudaimonic well-being to also associate with reduced CTRA gene expression. Five of the 6 major sub-domains of psychological well-being predicted reduced CTRA gene expression when analyzed separately, and 3 remained distinctively prognostic in mutually adjusted analyses. All associations were independent of demographic characteristics, health-related confounders, and RNA indicators of leukocyte subset distribution. These results identify specific sub-dimensions of eudaimonic well-being as promising targets for future interventions to mitigate CTRA gene expression, and provide no support for any independent favorable contribution from hedonic well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Barbara L Fredrickson & Karen M Grewen & Sara B Algoe & Ann M Firestine & Jesusa M G Arevalo & Jeffrey Ma & Steve W Cole, 2015. "Psychological Well-Being and the Human Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(3), pages 1-17, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0121839
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121839
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0121839
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0121839&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0121839?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Keyes, C.L.M. & Simoes, E.J., 2012. "To flourish or not: Positive mental health and all-cause mortality," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(11), pages 2164-2172.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Carol D. Ryff, 2017. "Eudaimonic well-being, inequality, and health: Recent findings and future directions," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 64(2), pages 159-178, June.
    2. Elliot M. Friedman & Elizabeth Teas, 2023. "Self-Rated Health and Mortality: Moderation by Purpose in Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(12), pages 1-14, June.
    3. Tiffany C Armenta & Steve W Cole & Daniel H Geschwind & Daniel T Blumstein & Robert K Wayne, 2019. "Gene expression shifts in yellow-bellied marmots prior to natal dispersal," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 30(2), pages 267-277.
    4. Barbara L Fredrickson, 2016. "Selective Data Analysis in Brown et al.'s Continued Critical Reanalysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(8), pages 1-3, August.
    5. Nicholas J L Brown & Douglas A MacDonald & Manoj P Samanta & Harris L Friedman & James C Coyne, 2016. "More Questions than Answers: Continued Critical Reanalysis of Fredrickson et al.’s Studies of Genomics and Well-Being," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(6), pages 1-7, June.
    6. Ryff, Carol D., 2019. "Entrepreneurship and eudaimonic well-being: Five venues for new science," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 646-663.
    7. Snodgrass, Jeffrey G. & Lacy, Michael G. & Cole, Steven W., 2022. "Internet gaming, embodied distress, and psychosocial well-being: A syndemic-syndaimonic continuum," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    8. Wijnand A. P. Tilburg & Eric R. Igou, 2019. "Dreaming of a Brighter Future: Anticipating Happiness Instills Meaning in Life," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(2), pages 541-559, February.
    9. Kengo Mihara & Hisayoshi Okamura & Yoshihisa Shoji & Kyoko Tashiro & Yukie Kinoshita & Akira Tsuda, 2020. "Personal Growth and Psychobiological Stress Responsiveness to the Trier Social Stress Test in Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alan C. Logan & Susan H. Berman & Richard B. Scott & Brian M. Berman & Susan L. Prescott, 2021. "Wise Ancestors, Good Ancestors: Why Mindfulness Matters in the Promotion of Planetary Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-14, October.
    2. Jennifer S. Mascaro & Amanda Wallace & Brooke Hyman & Carla Haack & Cherie C. Hill & Miranda A. Moore & Maha B. Lund & Eric J. Nehl & Sharon H. Bergquist & Steve W. Cole, 2022. "Flourishing in Healthcare Trainees: Psychological Well-Being and the Conserved Transcriptional Response to Adversity," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-18, February.
    3. Fabiana Monteiro & Marco Pereira & Maria Cristina Canavarro & Ana Fonseca, 2020. "Be a Mom ’s Efficacy in Enhancing Positive Mental Health among Postpartum Women Presenting Low Risk for Postpartum Depression: Results from a Pilot Randomized Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Chen, Ying & Kubzansky, Laura D. & VanderWeele, Tyler J., 2019. "Parental warmth and flourishing in mid-life," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 65-72.
    5. Nathaniel W. Anderson & Anna J. Markowitz & Daniel Eisenberg & Neal Halfon & Kristin Anderson Moore & Frederick J. Zimmerman, 2022. "The Child and Adolescent Thriving Index 1.0: Developing a Measure of the Outcome Indicators of Well-Being for Population Health Assessment," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 15(6), pages 2015-2042, December.
    6. Block, Eryn Piper & Wong, Mitchell David & Kataoka, Sheryl Harumi & Zimmerman, Frederick J., 2022. "A symphony within: Frequent participation in performing arts predicts higher positive mental health in young adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    7. Carol Graham & Sergio Pinto, 2019. "Unequal hopes and lives in the USA: optimism, race, place, and premature mortality," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(2), pages 665-733, April.
    8. Ernesta Sofija & Neil Harris & Bernadette Sebar & Dung Phung, 2021. "Who Are the Flourishing Emerging Adults on the Urban East Coast of Australia?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-16, January.
    9. Pooja Garg & Renu Rastogi & Aakanksha Kataria, 2013. "Promoting Citizenship Behaviors in Workplace: The Relevance of Organizational Justice and Psychological Well-being of Employees," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 2(2), pages 67-84, December.
    10. Veronika Huta & Alan Waterman, 2014. "Eudaimonia and Its Distinction from Hedonia: Developing a Classification and Terminology for Understanding Conceptual and Operational Definitions," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(6), pages 1425-1456, December.
    11. Samuel H. Preston & Yana C. Vierboom & Mikko Myrskylä, 2023. "Socio-behavioral factors contributing to recent mortality trends in the United States," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2023-019, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    12. Yao Fu & Jia Chen, 2022. "The Influence of Parental Migration on Left-behind Children’s Mental Health in China: the Mediating Roles of Daily Stress and Sense-Making," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(5), pages 2455-2477, October.
    13. Anna Parola & Jenny Marcionetti, 2022. "Positive Resources for Flourishing: The Effect of Courage, Self-Esteem, and Career Adaptability in Adolescence," Societies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-12, December.
    14. Laura Upenieks & Matthew A. Andersson & Markus H. Schafer, 2021. "God, Father, Mother, Gender: How Are Religiosity and Parental Bonds During Childhood Linked to Midlife Flourishing?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(7), pages 3199-3220, October.
    15. Mathur, Maya B & VanderWeele, Tyler, 2018. "Statistical methods for evidence synthesis," Thesis Commons kd6ja, Center for Open Science.
    16. Santini, Ziggi Ivan & Nielsen, Line & Hinrichsen, Carsten & Nelausen, Malene Kubstrup & Meilstrup, Charlotte & Koyanagi, Ai & McDaid, David & Lyubomirsky, Sonja & Vanderweele, Tyler J. & Koushede, Vib, 2021. "Mental health economics: a prospective study on psychological flourishing and associations with healthcare costs and sickness benefit transfers in Denmark," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112166, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Corey Keyes & Kenneth Kendler & John Myers & Chris Martin, 2015. "The Genetic Overlap and Distinctiveness of Flourishing and the Big Five Personality Traits," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 655-668, June.
    18. Benjamin Heslop & Antony Drew & Elizabeth Stojanovski & Kylie Bailey & Jonathan Paul, 2018. "Collaboration Vouchers: A Policy to Increase Population Wellbeing," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-19, June.
    19. Allysa D. Quick & Irene Tung & Kate Keenan & Alison E. Hipwell, 2023. "Psychological Well-Being Across the Perinatal Period: Life Satisfaction and Flourishing in a Longitudinal Study of Young Black and White American Women," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 1283-1301, March.
    20. Rocío de la Fuente & Águeda Parra & Inmaculada Sánchez-Queija & Izarne Lizaso, 2020. "Flourishing During Emerging Adulthood from a Gender Perspective," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(8), pages 2889-2908, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0121839. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.