Well-being balance and lived experiences: understanding the impact of life situations on human flourishing
BackgroundThis study aimed to determine the most significant indicators of positive well-being and understand differences in sources of well-being across different life situations, age groups, genders, and income levels, utilizing a novel measure of positive well-being, the Well-being Balance and Li...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1516729/full |
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| author | Christopher R. Brydges Alexandra Thérond Troy W. Norris |
| author_facet | Christopher R. Brydges Alexandra Thérond Troy W. Norris |
| author_sort | Christopher R. Brydges |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundThis study aimed to determine the most significant indicators of positive well-being and understand differences in sources of well-being across different life situations, age groups, genders, and income levels, utilizing a novel measure of positive well-being, the Well-being Balance and Lived Experiences (WBAL) Assessment, which evaluates the frequency of various positive experiences and feelings across a range of activation and arousal levels that have previously been demonstrated to affect subjective well-being and human flourishing.MethodsA sample of 496 evaluable subjects aged 20-69 and census-balanced for gender were recruited from a U.S. population panel. Differences in well-being and sources of well-being were analyzed across subgroups via MANOVA analysis followed by post-hoc ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD analyses using Cohen’s d to determine size and direction of effects between categorical subgroups.ResultsLife situations, including relationship, parenting and employment status, were shown to have a more significant effect on overall well-being than the demographic variables of age, gender and household income. Reported well-being improved significantly with life situations, including companionate relationships (d=0.38, p<0.001) and parenting (d=0.35, p<0.001), that provide greater opportunities for more frequent social connection (d’s=0.25, p<0.01 to 0.62, p<0.001) and purposeful contribution to others’ well-being (d’s=0.34 to 0.71, p<0.001), associated with increased feelings of significance (d’s=0.40 to 0.45, p<0.001) and efficacy (d’s=0.37 to 0.44, p<0.001). An age-related positivity effect was observed, with older adults reporting more frequent positive feelings than younger age groups (d=0.31, p<0.01). Measures of mindset positivity, variety of positive experiences and feelings, and frequency and range of positive feelings across arousal levels each corresponded closely with overall well-being.ConclusionLife situations, including relationship, parenting and employment status, had a more broad and significant effect on wellbeing than age, gender or income. Across life situations, purposeful contribution and social connection, with associated feelings of efficacy and significance were key drivers of differences in well-being. Mindset positivity and variety of positive experiences and feelings correspond closely with overall well-being. Findings from this study can help guide the design and implementation of intervention programs to improve well-being for individuals and targeted subgroups, demonstrating the utility of the WBAL Assessment to evaluate discrete modifiable sources of positive well-being. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5d4c2e169b6344e8803b2065d9750c90 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-0640 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj-art-5d4c2e169b6344e8803b2065d9750c902025-01-31T06:40:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychiatry1664-06402025-01-011510.3389/fpsyt.2024.15167291516729Well-being balance and lived experiences: understanding the impact of life situations on human flourishingChristopher R. Brydges0Alexandra Thérond1Troy W. Norris2NIH West Coast Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, CanadaWellBalance Institute, Boston, MA, United StatesBackgroundThis study aimed to determine the most significant indicators of positive well-being and understand differences in sources of well-being across different life situations, age groups, genders, and income levels, utilizing a novel measure of positive well-being, the Well-being Balance and Lived Experiences (WBAL) Assessment, which evaluates the frequency of various positive experiences and feelings across a range of activation and arousal levels that have previously been demonstrated to affect subjective well-being and human flourishing.MethodsA sample of 496 evaluable subjects aged 20-69 and census-balanced for gender were recruited from a U.S. population panel. Differences in well-being and sources of well-being were analyzed across subgroups via MANOVA analysis followed by post-hoc ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD analyses using Cohen’s d to determine size and direction of effects between categorical subgroups.ResultsLife situations, including relationship, parenting and employment status, were shown to have a more significant effect on overall well-being than the demographic variables of age, gender and household income. Reported well-being improved significantly with life situations, including companionate relationships (d=0.38, p<0.001) and parenting (d=0.35, p<0.001), that provide greater opportunities for more frequent social connection (d’s=0.25, p<0.01 to 0.62, p<0.001) and purposeful contribution to others’ well-being (d’s=0.34 to 0.71, p<0.001), associated with increased feelings of significance (d’s=0.40 to 0.45, p<0.001) and efficacy (d’s=0.37 to 0.44, p<0.001). An age-related positivity effect was observed, with older adults reporting more frequent positive feelings than younger age groups (d=0.31, p<0.01). Measures of mindset positivity, variety of positive experiences and feelings, and frequency and range of positive feelings across arousal levels each corresponded closely with overall well-being.ConclusionLife situations, including relationship, parenting and employment status, had a more broad and significant effect on wellbeing than age, gender or income. Across life situations, purposeful contribution and social connection, with associated feelings of efficacy and significance were key drivers of differences in well-being. Mindset positivity and variety of positive experiences and feelings correspond closely with overall well-being. Findings from this study can help guide the design and implementation of intervention programs to improve well-being for individuals and targeted subgroups, demonstrating the utility of the WBAL Assessment to evaluate discrete modifiable sources of positive well-being.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1516729/fullsubjective well-beingpositive psychologyhuman flourishingbalanced well-beingwell-being assessmentmindset |
| spellingShingle | Christopher R. Brydges Alexandra Thérond Troy W. Norris Well-being balance and lived experiences: understanding the impact of life situations on human flourishing Frontiers in Psychiatry subjective well-being positive psychology human flourishing balanced well-being well-being assessment mindset |
| title | Well-being balance and lived experiences: understanding the impact of life situations on human flourishing |
| title_full | Well-being balance and lived experiences: understanding the impact of life situations on human flourishing |
| title_fullStr | Well-being balance and lived experiences: understanding the impact of life situations on human flourishing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Well-being balance and lived experiences: understanding the impact of life situations on human flourishing |
| title_short | Well-being balance and lived experiences: understanding the impact of life situations on human flourishing |
| title_sort | well being balance and lived experiences understanding the impact of life situations on human flourishing |
| topic | subjective well-being positive psychology human flourishing balanced well-being well-being assessment mindset |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1516729/full |
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