Health and cognitive determinants of subjective quality of life

Abstract

Prior research recognized the importance of health status in subjective quality of life. Also, it is believed that thought processes play a crucial role in psychological functioning and affect mental health, which underlie subjective quality of life. Automatic negative thoughts are result of a specific thinking pattern and represent negative statements concerning the self, the world and the future. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between health, automatic negative thoughts and subjective quality of life and to evaluate whether health and automatic negative thoughts were predictive of quality of life and to what extent. The sample consisted of 485 participants, 312 females and 173 males, aged between 17 and 85. Participants were administered Health Status Questionnaire SF-36, Personal Wellbeing Index and Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. Results revealed significant correlations between all dimensions of health, automatic negative thoughts and subjective quality of life. Hierarchical regression analysis indicates that health dimensions Mental Health and General Health Perception, and automatic negative thoughts were predictors of subjective quality of life, after controlling socio-demographic variables. Also, variable Automatic negative thoughts is the mediator between Role Limitation due to Emotional Problems and Energy and Vitality. These findings point out the existence of high impact of health on subjective quality of life. It is also shown that cognitive aspects have a major influence on self-reported quality of life. Moreover, high frequency of automatic negative thoughts indicates lower health and quality of life. Eventually, intervention regarding change in cognitions will be discussed.