Emotional Well-Being: High-Priority Research Networks

NCCIH-Funded Networks

• M3EWB: Mechanisms Underlying Mind-Body Interventions & Measurement of EWB
  • The interdisciplinary M3EWB research network will build consensus on a definition of EWB, explore existing measurement of EWB and contribute to gaps in this area (e.g., adapting and validating measures of EWB for children and adolescents), and investigate the relationship between mind-body interventions and EWB (i.e., whereby EWB may be an outcome or mediator of improved mental and physical health).
• Plasticity of Well-Being
  • The Plasticity of Well-Being research network’s goal is to identify ways to measure people’s emotional health and well-being in everyday life and understand how flexible those aspects of well-being could be with effective, culturally relevant interventions and training.
• EMOT-ECON: Emotional Well-Being & Economic Burden
  • The EMOT-ECON network will advance research and generate new knowledge about the impact of economic burden of disease on emotional well-being. It will be a leader in research that will minimize the impact of economic burden of disease and enhance well-being.

NIA-Funded Networks

• NEW Brain Aging: Network for Emotional Well-Being and Brain Aging
  • The NEW Brain Aging research network aims to address mechanistic research on the role of emotional well-being in health, identifying and testing mechanisms by which brain aging influences emotional well-being and on how emotional well-being may impact risk for, and progression of, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
• NEW-B: Network for Emotional Well-Being
  • The NEW-B research network consists of a cohesive transdisciplinary network of scientists. Their goal is to enhance empirical rigor and consensus around the conceptual definition of EWB and measurement approaches, to promote synergy across methods and study paradigms, and to catalyze mechanistic intervention-relevant research that can yield reliable pathways for improving EWB.

NICHD-Funded Network

• FAM-NET: Family Well-Being Research Network 
  • The FAM-NET research network will support and advance research on measurement of family well-being and children’s quality of life. The network will build knowledge by funding new research, supporting and mentoring the next generation of scholars, and providing education and training in the area of family well-being. 

Related Resources

• Koslouski JB, Wilson-Mendenhall CD, Parsafar P, et al. Measuring emotional well-being through subjective report: a scoping review of reviews. BMJ Open. 2022;12(12):e062120.
• Mechanisms Underlying Mind-Body Interventions & Measurement of Emotional Well-Being: M3EWB website; University of Connecticut.
• Necka EA, Edwards E, King RB, et al. Why definitional clarity matters: implications for the operationalization of emotional well-being. Affective Science. October 21, 2022. [Epub ahead of print.]
• Park CL, Kubzansky LD, Chafouleas SM, et al. A perfect storm to set the stage for ontological exploration: response to commentaries on “Emotional well-being: what it is and why it matters.” Affective Science. December 14, 2022. [Epub ahead of print.]
• Park CL, Kubzansky LD, Chafouleas SM, et al. Emotional well-being: what it is and why it matters. Affective Science. November 15, 2022. [Epub ahead of print.]

Contacts

For further questions or further information about this program, please contact:

NCCIH
Erin Burke Quinlan, Ph.D.
Program Director, Basic and Mechanistic Research Branch
Division of Extramural Research
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
erin.quinlan@nih.gov 

NIA
Janine Simmons, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief, Individual Behavioral Processes Branch
Division of Behavioral and Social Research
National Institute on Aging
simmonsj@mail.nih.gov 

NICHD
Tracy King, M.D., M.P.H.
Medical Officer, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Branch
Division of Extramural Research
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
tracy.king@nih.gov