Everyday happiness can be described more informatively by considering both the situations surrounding happiness reports and how people engage with and respond to everyday experience over the relevant assessment interval. The present research examined activity–companion contexts and humor repertoire breadth as two complementary sources of information about everyday experience and their associations with happiness across two 60-day experience-sampling studies conducted in naturalistic settings. In Study 1, daytime reports assessed momentary happiness together with activity and social context, whereas end-of-day reports assessed daily happiness and humor use across the day. Momentary happiness varied across activity–companion contexts, and broader daily humor repertoire breadth was positively associated with daily happiness. In Study 2, a separate sample completed momentary reports assessing current activity, social context (including perceived intimacy with companions), recent humor use, and momentary happiness. As in Study 1, activity–companion contexts were associated with happiness, and broader humor repertoire breadth over the preceding 15 min was positively associated with momentary happiness. Taken together, these findings indicate that situational information and information about engagement with everyday experience provide two complementary ways of characterizing everyday happiness across daily and momentary timescales.
Adolescents often struggle to connect daily experiences with a broader sense of meaning and direction, leaving them vulnerable to declines in motivation and well-being. To address this, the current research tested a novel, theory-based intervention approach: purpose-affirmation, in which students reflect on their personally meaningful life purposes through a brief, semi-structured writing activity to foster their purpose in life (meaningfulness, goal-directedness, beyond-the-self orientation) and subjective happiness. Two large-scale randomized controlled trials assessed its effectiveness in a one-month post-intervention follow-up. In Study 1 (n = 2,173, Mage = 15.14, 52.9
The Mindfulness-Based Strengths Practice (MBSP) is an 8-week manualized program that integrates character strengths and mindfulness to promote well-being. Although its benefits for well-being are documented, its impact on the development of character strengths and mindfulness, and the mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. Across two randomized controlled trials (N1 = 42, Mage = 44.74, SDage = 9.70, N2 = 53, Mage = 32.23, SDage = 14.40), we examined MBSP’s impact on character strengths and dispositional mindfulness over time (five and two time points, respectively), on a multidimensional measure of well-being (i.e., PERMA), and the mediating role of basic psychological needs (Study 2, pre-registered). Overall, MBSP produced small to medium effects on half of character strengths and overall dispositional mindfulness that lasted beyond the end of the intervention (up to six and three months after, respectively). For well-being, the only significant direct effect was on negative emotions; however, changes in overall PERMA were fully mediated by satisfaction of basic psychological needs, particularly autonomy. Higher character strengths also mediated gains in well-being. These findings suggest that MBSP can enhance character strengths and mindfulness, reduce negative emotions, and improve well-being via the satisfaction of basic psychological needs and changes in character strengths levels.
According to the sociometer theory and the hierometer theory, self-esteem tracks both social inclusion and social status. Thus, threats to either inclusion or status would diminish individuals’ self-esteem. The current research aimed to identify psychological resources that might mitigate the adverse impact of such social threats. One survey and two preregistered experiments (total N = 1300) indicated that the satisfaction of basic needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence significantly attenuated the effects of low inclusion and low status on self-esteem. However, the moderating effects accounted for only about 1
This article aims to examine the actor and partner effects of personality traits on well-being among older people in Europe. They include the effects on longitudinal development of well-being as well as the under-researched impact of partners’ (dis)similarity in terms of personality traits. Personality traits are strong predictors of well-being with meta-analyses supporting the theory that they have an influence. However, the role of personality similarity in romantic couples, especially among older adults, remains unclear. The study analyzes well-being among older European couples using data from three waves of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (from 2017 to 2022). It employs APIM and DRSA models to examine actor, partner, and personality similarity effects. Well-being is measured using the CASP-12 scale, while personality traits are assessed using the Big Five inventory. Personality predicted CASP-12 over time at actor level, but not at the partner level. Extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness showed positive actor effects, neuroticism a negative actor effect. For CASP-12 development, partner effects were generally more influential than actor effects for most traits. Similarity effects were limited, though trait combinations revealed nuanced interactions. The findings confirm the importance of individuals’ personality traits for subsequent well-being levels, whereas partners’ personality traits played more prominent role in shaping how well-being changed over time. They underscore the value of a dyadic longitudinal approach in revealing complex, trait- and outcome-specific dynamics beyond simple similarity effects.
The “paradox of aging” indicates that although health declines with age, happiness may remain stable or even improve. However, existing research has focused on happiness at discrete time points rather than across the entire remaining lifespan, leaving unclear whether added years are predominantly happy or unhappy. This study addresses this gap by jointly estimating happy life expectancy (HapLE) and healthy life expectancy (HLE) among Chinese older adults. Data were drawn from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (2008–2018). A multistate interpolated Markov Chain approach was used to estimate HLE, HapLE, and their proportions (HLE
The alarmingly high prevalence of depression and historically understudied flourishing highlight the dual challenges of improving adolescent wellbeing worldwide. Responding to these pressing issues and drawing on the dual-continua model of mental health, the present study aimed to investigate the prospective effects of growth mindset of intelligence on both depression and flourishing concurrently, while examining hope as a potential underlying pathway through the lens of positive psychology. Using cluster sampling, we conducted a three-wave, six-month-interval longitudinal survey with a sample of 3384 secondary students (43.5
Although numerous studies have emphasized the significant role of social capital in relation to subjective well-being, there remains limited understanding of the moderating role of income in the relationship between different forms of social capital and subjective well-being. This paper examines how different forms of social capital, namely bonding social capital, bridging social capital and linking social capital, affect subjective well-being among rural populations across income groups. Using data from the Vietnam Access to Resources Household Survey (VARHS) for the 2016–2020 period and Fixed-effects ordered logit model, the analysis reveals that income significantly moderates the relationship between social capital and subjective well-being. Notably, bonding social capital plays a more significant role for low-income individuals, whereas bridging and linking social capital are more influential among higher-income groups. The study contributes to the theoretical understanding of the relationship between social capital and subjective well-being under income heterogeneity in rural contexts and offers policy implications tailored to different income strata to improve well-being among rural residents.
Ikigai is a Japanese term often described as “one’s reason for living”, but a consistent definition remains elusive. The present scoping review of the published works on ikigai is guided by the central research question, “How is ikigai defined in both the scholarly/academic and popular press literature?” The review is complemented by classic and contemporary conceptualizations of ikigai, as well as recent empirical efforts to generate an evidence-based definition of the term. Results of the scoping reveal five key findings. First, the perception and experience of a life worth living is more appropriately termed ikigai-kan; ikigai refers to the source of these perceptions and experiences. Second, ikigai is differentiated from meaning in life (MIL), comprising affective and cognitive components that include both hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Third, the majority of English scholarly and popular press definitions continue to define the term as ‘purpose in life’ and ‘reason for being’ while Japanese-only sources reflect nuances in describing the experience as associated with meaning and joy. Fourth, measures of ikigai are varied, with a reliance on single-item closed-ended measures. Fifth, grounded theory evidence suggests that ikigai revolves around valued experiences (keiken), authentic relationships (ibasho), and life directionality (houkousei). We draw on the findings from this scoping review to offer a conceptualization of ikigai-kan and ikigai, placing this definition in the context of wellbeing and MIL research. We conclude with considerations of further research.
Although physical, functional, cognitive, and social functioning have been used as components of successful aging, perceived happiness in later life is also an important success factor. Various circumstances influence happiness in later life, and relationships with a partner play a pivotal role due to increased time spent together in later life. This study evaluated an actor-partner interdependence model in a United States sample to understand how happiness of respondents and their spouses impact each other over time. We investigated effects of age, education, gender, and whether parents are alive on the respondents’ and their spouses’ happiness. A total of 11,289 respondents (mean age = 63.57) from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) were included in the analysis. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that past happiness is directly associated with present happiness for both respondents and spouses. Respondents’ happiness was significantly associated with spouses’ happiness, and vice versa. Furthermore, male gender and higher education were associated with happiness. A conditional constrained random intercept cross-lagged panel model (RI-CLPM) linking respondents’ and spouses’ happiness over four waves fit the data well, χ2 (df = 41) = 265.767, p < .001, AIC = 82664.735, BIC = 82978.752, RMSEA = .022 [0.020, 0.025], CFI = 0.960. Spill-over (partner) effects were generally smaller and fluctuated across waves, occasionally displaying negative associations. Male gender and higher education were positively associated with happiness, while age and the number of living parents was not a consistent predictor. Model comparisons showed that constraining cross-partner effects over time did not worsen model fit compared to allowing them to vary, supporting the use of the less complex constrained model. These findings highlight the stability and interdependence of happiness within older couples and underscore the importance of relational and demographic factors in shaping emotional well-being in later life. Future research should further explore how family dynamics and social contexts influence happiness trajectories across aging populations.
Psychological Capital (PsyCap) has become the focus of a growing field of research. Over the past two decades, studies have explored its impact on vocational and organisational performance, mental health, and wellbeing in adult populations. More recently, emerging evidence suggests that PsyCap, comprising hope, (self-) efficacy, resilience, and optimism (aka HERO), may also play a role in predicting mental health symptoms and wellbeing among school students. However, current PsyCap measures for youth insufficiently represents the conceptual or contextual nuances for this population. The current study aims to develop and validate a youth PsyCap assessment tool: the Measure of Youth-Hope, Efficacy, Resilience and Optimism at School (MY-HERO@School). Students (n = 741, aged 11 to 18, 93.7
Though arts engagement (AE) has been a contributor to well-being in the Western samples, large-scale population-based studies are rare in the Eastern context. The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of AE and the associations between AE and well-being in Chinese-speaking general population. A cross-sectional survey recruited a household-based sample of 2200 residents (Mean age = 44.6 years, 55.6
Stress is a major risk factor for mental health and well-being, yet few studies have examined its dynamic associations with hedonic and eudaimonic well-being from a within-person, dynamic perspective. While self-worth is considered an essential internal resource for sustaining well-being, it remains unclear whether it is involved in the momentary associations between stress and well-being at the momentary level. In addition, although grandiose narcissism has been proposed as a potential psychological buffer in stressful contexts, its protective function remains debated, with its efficacy potentially varying across temporal scales. In light of these unresolved questions, the present study employed a 10-day experience sampling design with four assessments per day among 166 participants and used dynamic structural equation modeling to test the dynamic relations between momentary stress and two forms of well-being, as well as the roles of momentary self-worth and grandiose narcissism trait. The results showed that (1) momentary stress significantly and negatively predicted subsequent hedonic well-being, but did not directly predict subsequent eudaimonic well-being; (2) momentary self-worth mediated the links between momentary stress and subsequent hedonic and eudaimonic well-being; and (3) grandiose narcissism trait moderated the association between momentary stress and subsequent self-worth, but this moderating effect was not observed when the time interval increased or at the between-person level. Taken together, these findings suggest that self-worth may serve as an important intermediate process linking stress and well-being, whereas the short-term buffering role of grandiose narcissism appears to be limited.
The prevalent engagement of adolescents with social media has prompted speculation regarding its potential impact on well-being. However, existing empirical evidence on the relationship between social media use, especially the academic use of social media, and well-being is anything but conclusive. Further, the cross-cultural generalizability of the relation is under-investigated. To address these issues, this study employed national-representative data from 52 countries/regions (N = 384,061 students) to investigate the relations of both general and academic use of social media with their well-being indicators, including life satisfaction, positive affect, and meaning in life, and examined the cross-cultural generalizability of the relations. Results of multilevel analyses showed that general use of social media had a trivial association with life satisfaction (β = − 0.011) and positive affect (β = 0.038), but not meaning in life (β = − 0.008), after controlling for covariates; academic use of social media had a larger, albeit still small association with life satisfaction (β = 0.052), positive affect (β = 0.074), and meaning in life (β = 0.092). The results are well generalizable across different countries/regions. The theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.
Combining theoretical insights from social justice literature and social comparison research, this paper argues that subjective perceptions of inequity (i.e., unfairness), rather than objective deviations from equality, are key to understanding the relationship between (in)equality and subjective well-being. To test this hypothesis, we analyze the association between respondents’ perceived fairness of own, top, and bottom incomes with subjective well-being using data from the European Social Survey 2018. Results from spline regressions indicate that perceived injustice of own and top incomes is negatively related to subjective well-being even when accounting for individuals’ relative income positions and objective macro-level inequality. However, we find no substantive relationship between perceived unfairness of bottom incomes and subjective well-being. These findings are consistent across several robustness checks and when using German panel data to test the effect of own income fairness on subjective well-being in a longitudinal setting. Overall, our results underscore the importance of integrating theoretical insights emphasizing normative and comparative social mechanisms as our results suggest that injustice for oneself hurts more than injustice for others and individuals experience greater discomfort when they believe the rich have too much than when they think the poor have too little.
To understand how individuals engage in meaning-making, scholars have primarily examined work-related factors, such as change-related resources and job crafting.Building on this research, the present study examines whether engagement in leisure activities can enhance meaning-making, with effects that can influence work behavior. Drawing on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, this study is framed around the idea that experiencing awe improves meaning-making, which in turn promotes proactive work behavior. Moreover, this process is proposed to vary according to individuals’ regulatory leisure coping styles. A 4-week diary study with 91 employees (N = 330 observations) revealed that experiencing awe during sporting events enhances weekly meaning-making and contributes to proactive work behavior. Regulatory leisure coping styles moderate the relationship between weekly meaning-making and proactive work behavior, and a moderated mediation model demonstrated that for individuals high in avoidant leisure coping style, awe-driven meaning-making further increased proactive behavior at work. The paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the study.
Work serves as a primary determinant of employee well-being. Yet research has historically favored hedonic perspectives—focusing on job satisfaction and positive affect—over eudaimonic ones. While both approaches are complementary, there remains a critical paucity of validated measures specifically designed to capture eudaimonic well-being (EWB) within the unique constraints of organizational reality. Many existing EWB measures are context-free or rely on proxy measures that fail to reflect psychological well-being in the workplace. To address this gap, this study introduces and validates euwellbe, a novel 21-item questionnaire. Drawing on Ryff’s model of positive psychological functioning and work design research, the scale conceptualizes EWB through five components: meaningful work, autonomy, mastery, relationship with colleagues, and relationship with supervisors. Using a sample of 884 employees, confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a satisfactory fit for this five-dimensional structure (χ² (184) = 678.24, p < .001, CFI = 0.944, TLI = 0.936, RMSEA = 0.059, SRMR = 0.059). All variables exhibited strong composite reliability (0.81–0.93) and sufficient convergent and discriminant validity. Furthermore, the results indicate that EWB in the workplace is a robust predictor of key outcomes, including job satisfaction and withdrawal behavior. This study contributes to the scholarly understanding of employee well-being by offering a theoretically grounded instrument for researchers and practitioners, effectively navigating the “conceptual quicksand” that has previously hindered eudaimonic operationalization.
Research has extensively examined the association between self-acceptance and life satisfaction. However, studies investigating the directional relationship between self-acceptance and life satisfaction, particularly in adolescent populations, remain limited. Moreover, it is unclear whether cognitive reappraisal serves as a mediator in the directional relationship between adolescents’ self-acceptance and life satisfaction, and whether there are potential gender differences in these associations. To address this gap, a one-year longitudinal study was performed using data collected at three waves from 1566 Chinese high school students (aged 14–16 years, Mage = 15.18, SD = 0.48, 49.20
The well-being literature has identified three primary ways to pursue happiness, conceptualized as hedonic (e.g., seeking fun), eudaimonic (e.g., seeking growth), and extrinsic (e.g., seeking prestige) motives for daily activities. Prior studies have primarily examined how these distinct happiness motives contribute to individual well-being, but little is known about how they relate to adolescents’ academic distress during a crucial period of happiness-motives formation and escalating academic demands. Using a two-wave longitudinal design, this study investigates the associations between happiness motives and academic distress (indexed by test anxiety and school burnout complaints), with a particular focus on the mediating role of flourishing, among 744 high school students (Mean age = 15.59 ± 0.56 years). The cross-lagged panel model shows that eudaimonic (but not hedonic) motives predicted lower levels of school burnout, while extrinsic motives predicted higher levels of test anxiety and school burnout complaints, seven months later. Half-longitudinal mediation analyses reveal that eudaimonic motives predicted higher subsequent levels of flourishing, and flourishing predicted lower subsequent levels of test anxiety and school burnout complaints, suggesting an indirect effect via flourishing. However, there were no indirect effects of flourishing on the links between hedonic/extrinsic motives and academic distress. In view of the heightened academic pressures among contemporary adolescents, these findings suggest that eudaimonic motives may function as a drive to build a crucial psychological resource – flourishing, which may help alleviate academic distress, whereas extrinsic motives may amplify academic distress.
Purpose in life is a key resource in existential psychology. However, its conceptual variability has hindered its application in mainstream practice. This paper presents a holistic, theoretical framework of purpose in life, the purpose in life system, developed from an integration of existing motivational theories and models. Based on our framework, we constructed the 12-item Multidimensional Measure of Purpose in Life (MMOP) and tested its psychometric properties across two studies. In Study 1 (N = 238), confirmatory factor analysis supported a three-factor higher-order model of purpose in life (present-oriented purpose in life , future-oriented purpose in life, purpose congruence across time), with all fit indices meeting recommended thresholds and all subscales demonstrating high internal consistency reliability. Study 2 (N = 286) examined associations between the MMOP and established measures of purpose in life, motivation, and mental health, providing evidence for the MMOP’s concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity. While further refinement of the MMOP is recommended in future research, the findings offer promising preliminary support for our integrative, multidimensional measure of purpose in life.
