A socioecological perspective to understanding mental and physical health: The mediating role of relationship mindsets and goals

Hajin Lee, Nigel Mantou Lou, Matthew D. Johnson, Sun W. Park

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    8 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    People’s mindsets and goals regarding social relationships affect their relationship quality and psychological well-being. We employed multiple group path modeling to examine how perceived relational mobility affects mental and physical health through relationship mindsets (destiny and growth mindsets) and relationship goals (approach and avoidance goals) across countries, surveying community adults in the U.S. (n = 206; Mage = 39.14; 48% female) and South Korea (n = 236; Mage = 38.89; 51% female) through online questionnaires. Results showed that stronger growth mindsets and approach goals predicted better mental and physical health, whereas stronger destiny mindsets and avoidance goals predicted poorer mental and physical health in both countries. Moreover, higher levels of relational mobility were linked to higher levels of subjective well-being and fewer depressive symptoms via growth mindsets and approach goals. The results provide evidence for the importance of socioecological factors such as relational mobility in influencing relationship mindsets and goals with eventual consequences for health outcomes.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)3117-3138
    Number of pages22
    JournalJournal of Social and Personal Relationships
    Volume36
    Issue number10
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2019 Oct 1

    Bibliographical note

    Funding Information:
    The authors would like to thank Heejin Choi and Sumin Eom for their contribution to the back-translation procedure. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This work was supported by the Field Law Leilani Muir Graduate Research Scholarship, and the work of second author was supported by the Canadian Psychology Association Grants for Student Research and Knowledge Dissemination.

    Publisher Copyright:
    © The Author(s) 2018.

    Keywords

    • Mental and physical health
    • relational mobility
    • relationship goals
    • relationship mindsets
    • social ecology

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Social Psychology
    • Communication
    • Developmental and Educational Psychology
    • Sociology and Political Science

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