Love of Life Model: role of psychological well-being, depression, somatic health, and spiritual health

ABSTRACT

The aims of the present study were (a) to develop a Love of Life Model for psychiatric outpatients, (b) to explore correlations for love of life with psychological well-being, depression, somatic health, and spiritual health, and (c) to explore gender-related differences. A sample of 250 Iranian psychiatric outpatients responded to the Love of Life Scale, World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Patient Health Questionnaire-15, and Spiritual Well-Being Scale. The regression analysis was successful in predicting Love of Life scores with spiritual health and psychological well-being as significant predictors of love of life, indicating the importance of paying attention to these two components and strengthening them in psychiatric outpatients. Gender-related differences were not significant. The results support the development and practice of love of life-focused therapy for the treatment of psychiatric outpatients, with a concentration on two issues: creating enjoyable positive emotions and changing the patient's focus toward a positive outlook on life.

KEYWORDS:

• Love of Life
• psychological well-being
• depression
• somatic health
• spiritual health
• psychiatric outpatients
• Iran

Acknowledgments

We thank the psychiatric outpatients for their participation in the study, and the research assistants for help in the collection of data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).