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Purpose in life, sleep, and loneliness in later life : a cross-sectional study of older New Zealanders : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science in Health Psychology, School of Psychology, Massey University, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Wang, Nina
Background: Loneliness and sleep issues are increasingly prevalent in older adults and negatively affect their physical, mental, psychosocial health and well-being. In New Zealand (NZ), one in four people is projected to be aged 65 years or older by 2050. This unprecedented demographic shift presents significant challenges for social support and healthcare systems, particularly as older adults become more vulnerable due to physical decline, retirement and bereavement. Despite growing concern, limited research examines how sleep and loneliness interact to influence later life outcomes. There is evidence suggesting that purpose in life (PiL defined as a meaningful direction or goal that motivates and guides human behaviour) may help individuals adopt healthy behaviours (e.g., sleep), engage in social participation, and enhance emotional well-being, including loneliness. The present study investigates the relationship between PiL and loneliness, and tests whether sleep health mediates this relationship. Methods: Analyses were conducted of data from the 2022 NZ Health, Work and Retirement Study, which included 5,514 older adults aged between 55–93 years. Bivariate analyses examined associations between loneliness (scored on the De Jong Gierveld Scale), PiL (Life Engagement Test), sleep status (self-reported duration and satisfaction), and key sociodemographic and health variables. Multivariate regression was used to identify independent predictors of loneliness. Mediation analyses tested whether sleep quality or duration mediates the relationship between PiL and loneliness. Results: Poor sleep outcomes were associated with increased scores on the loneliness scale. PiL, mental health, socioeconomic status (SES), age, living arrangement, ethnicity, and gender were all independently associated with loneliness. For example, a 1-point increase in PiL test corresponded to a 0.85-point decrease in loneliness score. Sleep satisfaction partially mediated the relationship between PiL and loneliness, such that individuals with higher PiL were more likely to report greater sleep satisfaction, which, in turn, contributed to less lonely. The mediation effect of sleep duration was statistically significant but negligible. Conclusion: The present study supports prior research findings that higher levels of PiL are associated with reduced levels of loneliness. This thesis contributes to the literature by highlighting the mediating role of sleep in this relationship. These findings will inform future research examining the interactions between psychosocial well-being and sleep health, as well as guide practices that build and maintain PiL, promote sleep health, and combat loneliness, enabling older adults to age with purpose and independence.
“It makes me feel like less of a woman” : a reflexive thematic analysis of endo belly and the gendered illness experience of endometriosis : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology (Health Psychology) at Massey University, Albany, Aotearoa New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Daniels, Lindsay Monica
Endometriosis is characterised as an incurable gynaecological condition causing inflammatory reactions across multiple bodily systems. Endometriosis affects one in 10 women of reproductive age in Aotearoa New Zealand. Endometriosis has historically been framed through a biomedical lens within Western contexts, with limited attention paid to how wider sociocultural meanings shape sufferers’ experiences, especially in relation to gender identity. While there is a developing interest in the broader impact of endometriosis on body image, “endo belly”—the visible abdominal bloating that alters the body’s appearance and can prompt significant distress— remains under-researched. This research examines how individuals who experience endo belly construct and negotiate their feminine identity in Western sociocultural discourses that often define womanhood through bodily appearance and normative gender ideals. A feminist, social constructionist approach was adopted to prioritise the embodied lived experience of 59 participants, positioning them as experts in their social realities. The participation criteria included an endometriosis diagnosis by laparoscopy situated within the context of Aotearoa New Zealand. An online qualitative survey, advertised through social media platforms, was utilised as the method of data collection, and the data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019). Four key themes were identified: (1) “It Makes Me Feel Like Less of a Woman”: Endo Belly as a Disruption of Normative Femininity; (2) Striving to Perform Ideal Womanhood: “We Have to Put On a Brave Face”; (3) The Enemy Within: Battling and Making Peace with the Unruly Body; and (4) Rewriting the Rules: Redefining Femininity and Resistance. The findings suggest that many of the women’s experiences of endo belly are associated with psychological and social challenges, as its pervasive appearance-based symptoms disrupt sociocultural expectations of femininity, identity, and illness experiences in Western cultural contexts. Ultimately, this thesis calls for a re-evaluation of healthcare encounters in Aotearoa New Zealand to support empirically guided interventions that better address the appearance-based symptoms of endo belly.
The role of functional native herbage in improving community stability: evidence from a grazing and nitrogen addition experiment in an alpine meadow of Qinghai–Xizang Plateau
(2026-07-08) Li L; Xu M; He XZ; Sun Y; Xiao T; Liu Y; Du W; Nogayev A; Hou F
An explorative study on how needle exchange programme service users construct health : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Psychology - Health Psychology Subject, at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Knudsen, Zoe Frances
Needle Exchange Programmes (NEPs) are a social initiative, where people who inject drugs (PWID) are able to access sterile injecting equipment and safely dispose of used needles. NEPs use harm reduction principles to reduce the poor health outcomes that can result from practices such as needle sharing and reusing. There is an assumption that PWID do not care about their health, which is linked to neoliberal ideas of health and morality regarding individual choices and their health. There is some evidence that shows, contrary to popular belief, PWID do care about their health. The current research project had two aims: firstly, to understand how Needle Exchange Program (NEP) users construct their health; and, secondly, to explore how, according to service users, the NEP contributes to service users’ overall health. Participants were six service users of an Aotearoa New Zealand, South Island NEP outlet store. All participants identified as Pākehā/NZ European, and five identified as male, with one participant not disclosing their gender. Interviews were conducted on the premise of a South Island NEP outlet store. Reflexive Thematic Analysis was used to analyse the transcribed interviews and three themes were produced:1) PWID constructions of health and health practices; 2) Social factors and health; and 3) The NEPs contribution to health. Participants overwhelmingly felt that health was an individual responsibility, in accordance with neoliberal beliefs, and they engaged in daily practices, such as mindful nutrition consumption, to maintain a good health citizen status. Participants also framed their injecting drug use as a positive health behaviour which benefited their health maintenance. Despite describing health as an individual responsibility, participants still acknowledged external factors as impacting their health. The experience of stigma negatively affected participants through creating barriers to health access, whereas important relationships contributed positively to their health. Finally, the NEP was a significant contributor to the health of participants, through enabling positive physical health, and through the relational support provided.
The case of a crafting care workshop in Shenzhen : considering the experiences of middle-aged women and social order from the perspective of Confucian feminism : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2026) Huang, Yuxin
Gender equality is often evaluated through the liberal constructs of individual autonomy and labour participation. In contemporary China, many women’s wellbeing and agency are also shaped through everyday negotiations of relational obligations within families, communities, and state-regulated public life. This thesis explores the lived experiences of a group of middle-aged Chinese women participating in a community handcrafting workshop located within a Party Masses Service Centre in Shenzhen. I examine how participants navigate formal (state-affiliated) and informal (peer-formed) infrastructures of support to secure safety, belonging, and practical resources in this space and beyond. I am particularly interested in how these arrangements enable participants to engage in and reflect on culturally resonant forms of gendered agency. Theoretically, thesis is guided primarily by Li-Hsiang Lisa Rosenlee’s reconstructive Confucian feminism, focusing on four core virtues: Xiao 孝 (Filial Piety); Ren 仁 (Humaneness/Benevolence); Li 礼 (Propriety/Ritual); He 和 (Harmony), as practical ethical tools rather than fixed patriarchal imperatives for participating women. Rosenlee’s work informed both the ethical orientation of the study and my interpretation of the accounts of four workshop members. Methodologically, I employed a qualitative case-based approach, combining sustained participant observation in the workshop (11 months) and four in-depth semi-structured interviews in Mandarin with four of the workshop members. The participants included Gang (lead instructor, retired), Hua (logistics manager, retired), Qiao (co-instructor, full-time housewife), and Wan (regular member, full-time housewife). These women represented a cross-section of the workshop’s roles and domestic contexts, offering rich insights into how middle-aged Chinese women navigate gender dynamics and relational wellbeing. Findings suggest that the workshop functions as an enclave of care that supports the wellbeing of participating women through institutional legitimacy and safety, peer-based practices of teaching and mutual support, and the re-articulation of Confucian virtues toward reciprocal responsibility and negotiated harmony. I argue that the everyday relational competencies displayed by workshop members constitute ethical expertise and a form of practical agency under the conditions of the present social order in China. This thesis contributes to feminist and community psychologies by exploring how women’s experiences and agency move them beyond a binary of oppression versus resistance. In acting with agency, participants balance the preservation of traditional relational values and responsibilities that are highly gendered, whilst seeking increased equity and agency for women. From exploring these issues and tensions with participating women, I reframe their relational labour as ethical expertise, and as a universal human competency rather than women’s naturalised responsibility.