INTEGRATE LOWRI'S DOCUMENT FOCUSING ON VAGAL FUNCTION AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The Updated GENIAL
model: GENIAL 2.0
”Models, of course, are never true, but fortunately it is only necessary
that they be useful”.
– George Box, 1979, Journal of the American Statistical Association,
74:365, 1-4
The GENIAL framework illustrates common pathways to ill-health and
premature mortality versus health and wellbeing. The evidence-base for these pathways - including a key regulatory role for vagal function - have been described previously \cite{Kemp_2017,Kemp2017}. While our original GENIAL model highlighted the importance of positive social ties for individual health and wellbeing \cite{Kemp_2017}, our updated model (see Fig \ref{div-162276}) provides an important update to our original GENIAL model, emphasising individual, community and environmental contributors to personal wellbeing. In doing so, our model could be described as a social-ecological theory, characterising the relationships between individuals, communities and their environments, as well as the impacts of sociostructural factors and their impact on the health and wellbeing of the individual. Key features of the individual, community and environmental domains are now briefly described with a particular focus on vagal function.
Individual wellbeing is promoted through positive psychological experiences and positive health behaviours, the focus of our recently published NIACT model \cite{Kemp2017}. Meta-analyses have demonstrated that positive psychological interventions (PPIs) are effective in the general public as well as those with clinical disorders [REF], with effect sizes ranging from small to large. Positive psychological interventions (PPIs) such as practicing
gratitude [REF], counting one’s blessings [REF], the ‘best possible self’ optimism
intervention [REF], savouring positive emotions [REF] and performing acts of
kindness [REF] provide opportunities for promoting positive psychological
experiences. Research focusing specifically on
interventions to increase optimism including the ‘best possible self’
activity, meaning making and focusing on positive future events
indicates that the ‘best possible self’ method may be associated with a higher mean effect size (associated with a moderate effect size)
than other methods for enhancing optimism (a small effect size) [REF]. The three main models of psychological wellbeing [REF: SELIGMAN, DIENER, RYFF] provide the theoretical foundation for developing new and novel interventions for specific groups of people. Importantly, research demonstrates that despite the many different theories that have been proposed for wellbeing, that each of these contributes to a higher order construct. XXX KASHDAN AND DIASBOTO PAPERS XXX In other words, there are many potential pathways through which positive psychological experience may be enhanced, and there is scope for better targeting specific interventions for particular groups of people.
Focusing on health behaviours typically
involves consideration of one’s physical health, however recent research has
highlighted the impact of positive health behaviours on mental
wellbeing [REF]. For instance, SUMMARISE META-ANALYSES OF HEALTH BEHAVIOURS
(EXERCISE, DIET, SLEEP, SMOKING, ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION) TO ENHANCE
WELLBEING, THEN ON SOCIAL CONNECTIONS. CONCLUDE WITH LINK TO NIACT.
Recent developments in psychological science have highlighted a key role for social relationships for the health and wellbeing of the individual. Therefore, individual wellbeing may also be promoted by focusing on community, the focus of our original GENIAL model \cite{Kemp_2017}. Others have also promoted the role of social relationships in health and wellbeing, a role exemplified in the recent publication of the Haslam's book titled 'The New Psychology of Health: Unlocking the Social Cure' [REF]. XXX BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE GROUPS4HEALTH PAPER BY CATHERINE HASLAM, AND ANY OTHER KEY STUDIES XXX
Finally, our updated model emphasises the environmental
context within which individual health and wellbeing is promoted. Glenn Albrecht \cite{albrecht2019} provides a solid foundation for understanding the link between our emotions and the environment, coining numerous words to emphasise negative and positive 'psychoterratic' states with important implications for the health and wellbeing of communities and societies now and into the future. XXX
Clinical targets include health behaviours, social connections
and psychological experiences, bringing together recent evidence that
has highlighted a key role for positive psychology in enhancing mental
[KEY REFS], physical [KEY REFS] and social wellbeing, the
impacts of positive health behaviours [KEY REFS] as well as positive
social relationships [REF: HASLAM’S NEW PSYCHOLOGY OF HEALTH] on
wellbeing [KEY REFS]. INTEGRATE STUDY ZOE SENT ME IN EMOTION JOURNAL
OF TRANSCENDENT EMOTIONS:
DOI: 10.1177/1754073916684557 LINK TO NEXT SECTION