Meaningful work is the subjective experience that work has meaning and is understood as an avenue for personal development, from a eudaimonic point of view. The aim of this study is to adapt the WAMI scale of meaningful work to Spanish, as well as to explore its relationship with job and life satisfaction. Two independent studies were developed. A first study analyzed the consistency of the original factorial model using a sample of Spanish varied workers (N = 350) through a confirmatory factor analysis. Results show an adequate replication of the original model and the validity of the Spanish version. A second study addressed the predictive capacity of the scale in relation to two satisfaction measures in a sample of Spanish health workers (N=312), through a mediation analysis. The relationship between meaningful work and job satisfaction is mediated by life satisfaction. The idea of meaningful work as a eudaimonic construct discards it as a variable resulting from or consequence of work, as it is an inherent part of occupational activity itself.
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to conceptually and empirically verify the meaning of the food construct, while adapting and validating the Meaning of Food in Life Questionnaire proposed by Arbit et al. (2017) into Spanish and comparing groups with specific and non-specific eating patterns in relation to the meaning of food.Design/methodology/approach: Confirmatory factor analysis and multivariate analysis involving groups with specific and non-specific eating patterns.Findings: Results show that the adapted version of the scale retained the five food meaning factors, although four items from the original version had to be removed. Multivariate analyses of variance show that there are significant differences in the moral and sacred factors of food meaning when comparing people with specific and non-specific eating patterns. Significant differences in the moral, sacred and social factors were found when comparing between people with a specific diet, vegans/vegetarians and people who do not consume gluten/lactose or are on a diet.Research limitations/implications: Differences in the meanings attributed to food can be observed among the different ways people eat. This could have implications on ethics, sustainability and well-being by considering the characteristics of the five factors of food meaning.Originality/value: This study suggests that food meaning is a complex and rational process, where eating patterns play a key role in the attribution of meaning.
The findings of this Systematic Review suggest that Green Social Work (GSW) is gaining momentum as a framework that integrates environmental sustainability with social and relational justice. In the context of climate emergencies and deepening socio-environmental inequalities, GSW proposes a transformative vision for professional practice and highlights the need to rethink the role of social work in addressing ecological challenges. This article presents a systematic review of academic literature aimed at analyzing the conceptual development, areas of application, and methodological characteristics of GSW. Fifteen peer-reviewed articles were selected through a structured search in five international databases, applying inclusion criteria that required explicit reference to the GSW framework. The review examines how GSW has been implemented in practice, education, community intervention, and policy design. The findings point to emerging patterns in the application of GSW across contexts of environmental vulnerability, such as disaster recovery, rural development, and climate justice, as well as its incorporation into professional training and ethical codes. However, the review also reveals the absence of shared operational definitions and the predominance of qualitative, exploratory studies with limited generalizability. Overall, GSW offers a valuable pathway for strengthening the contribution of social work to ecological and social challenges. Its integration into education, research, and policy can enhance professional responses to complex crises, although clearer operational frameworks and more robust empirical studies are needed to consolidate GSW as a key tool for socio-environmental transformation.
Purpose: The paper aims to determine whether people with different eating patterns, specifically meat-free diets, engage in other types of eco-friendly behaviours and whether the meanings attributed to food allow for a better understanding of this relationship.Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected between 2019 and 2020, on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Different instruments were used: The meaning of food in life questionnaire (MFLQ; Arbit et al., 2017); the dietarian identity questionnaire (DIQ; Rosenfeld and Burrow, 2018) and the frugal behaviour scale (Muiños et al., 2015) and two items were used to identify the frequency with which participants purchased ecological or second-hand products. The final sample consisted of 202 participants who ate a vegan, vegetarian or omnivorous diet. Spearman's Correlations were performed and the Kruskal–Wallis statistical test was used.Findings: People with a vegan or vegetarian diet purchased ecological (p ≤ 0.001) and second-hand products (p = 0.006) more frequently compared to omnivores. Furthermore, the meanings attributed to food, specifically the moral, sacred and health meanings, were related to differences in eating patterns (p ≤ 0.001), while also being related to some eco-friendly purchase and consumption behaviours. Lastly, frugal behaviour was only found to be related to the health factor of meaning in food (rs = 0.27).Research limitations/implications: The measurement used to evaluate the purchase of ecological and second-hand products is very simple/the role of the meaning of food in guiding more eco-friendly behaviours and promoting less ecologically impactful eating patterns.Originality/value: The study provides valuable information on how vegan, vegetarian and omnivorous diets relate to eco-friendly behaviours.
11 August 2021 in International Journal of Social Psychology: Revista de Psicología Social
The aim of this study is to adapt and validate the Dietarian Identity Questionnaire (DIQ) into the Spanish context. In an initial study, a confirmatory factor analysis was performed, obtaining good validity and goodness-of-fit indices (CMIN/DF = 2.026; CFI = .976; NNFI = .972; SRMR = .054 and RMSEA = .057). In a second study, evidence of validity based on the relationship with other variables was analysed using the ‘Meaning of Food in Life’ questionnaire. Correlations were made and differences between people with a vegan (N = 43), vegetarian (N = 44) and omnivorous (N = 115) diet were analysed. The results indicate that vegans and vegetarians differ from omnivores in all identity factors (p = ≤ .001). In addition, differences were found between vegans and vegetarians in the Public Regard (p = .035), Outgroup Regard (p = .036) and Moral Motivation (p = .036) factors. DIQ is a good instrument that can be used in studies on food choices and sustainability.
26 July 2022 in Revista Interamericana de Psicologia = Interamerican Journal of Psychology
During the early outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, a strict home lockdown was maintained in Spain for more than 50 days, disrupting social and economic activities. The aim of this study is to explore affective and well-being responses during the initial period of mandatory home lockdown. Specifically, we analyzed: 1) differences in risk perception according to sociodemographic and health profile; 2) relation between social and environmental characteristics of home isolation, positive and negative affect and meaning in life; and 3) the relationship between activities and behaviors performed by people under lockdown and well-being. A total of 1343 Spanish residents participated in this correlational and cross-sectional study. Results show a significant relationship between health and economic risk perception associated with confinement. Higher health risk perception was identified among the older population and those belonging to high-risk groups. High resilience was linked to lower negative affect and greater positive affect and meaning in life. Regarding social and environmental characteristics of home isolation, people living with others reported greater negative affect than people living alone and the daily frequency of use of open-air spaces was linked to positive affect. Higher positive affect and meaning in life were also reported in people who frequently participated in community activities or by helping others. Lower negative affect was only associated with physical exercise.