Abstract
Although considerable attention has been devoted to the topic of savoring positive experiences in adulthood (e.g., Bryant and Veroff in Savoring: A new model of positive experience, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Mahwah, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701794434), research on adolescent savoring is lacking. To address this gap in the literature, we conducted a short-term longitudinal study to investigate: (1) the structure of adolescents’ everyday ways of savoring and (2) the associations of these different styles of savoring with well-being. A sample of 265 adolescents (59% girls) aged 13–15 years from four schools in New Zealand completed self-report measures two times separated by one month. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed that these young people employed four ways of savoring: (1) self-focus; (2) dampening, (3) cognitive amplifying, and (4) expressive sharing. These four savoring styles differentially predicted well-being indices over 1 month: self-focus positively predicted eudaimonia, happiness, and life satisfaction, and expressive sharing positively predicted eudaimonia. We conclude that adolescent savoring is more varied and dynamic than previously observed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arbuckle, J. L. (2014). Amos (Version 23.0) [computer program]. Chicago: IBM SPSS.
Blackemore, S. J., & Choudhury, S. (2006). Development of the adolescent brain: Implications for executive function and social cognition. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(3), 296–312. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01611.x.
Blackemore, S. J., & Mills, K. (2014). Is adolescence a sensitive period for sociocultural processing? Annual Review of Psychology, 65, 187–207. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115202.
Boehm, J. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2009). The promise of sustainable happiness. In S. J. Lopez & C. R. Snyder (Eds.), Oxford handbook of positive psychology (2nd ed., pp. 667–677). New York, NY: Oxford Press.
Bradburn, N. (1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago: Aldine Pub. Co.
Bryant, F. B. (2003). Savoring beliefs inventory (SBI): A scale for measuring beliefs about savouring. Journal of Mental Health, 12, 175–196.
Bryant, F. B., Chadwick, E. D., & Kluwe, K. (2011). Understanding the processes that regulate positive emotional experience: Unsolved problems and future directions for theory and research on savoring. International Journal of Well-being, 1(1), 107–126. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v1i1.18.
Bryant, F. B., & Veroff, J. (2007). Savoring: A new model of positive experience. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760701794434.
Burkhart, M. L., Borelli, J. L., Rasmussen, H. F., & Sbarra, D. A. (2015). Cherish the good times: Relational savoring in parents of infants and toddlers. Personal Relationships, 22(4), 692–711. https://doi.org/10.1111/pere.12104.
Cafasso, L. L., Bryant, F. B., & Jose, P. E. (1994). A scale for measuring children’s savoring beliefs. In Paper presented at the 102nd annual American Psychological Association convention, Los Angeles, CA.
Carl, J., Soskin, D., Kerns, C., & Barlow, D. (2013). Positive emotion regulation in emotional disorders: A theoretical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(3), 343–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.01.003.
Casey, B. J., Jones, R. M., Levita, L., Libby, V., Pattwell, S. S., Ruberry, E. J., et al. (2010). The storm and stress of adolescence: Insights from human imaging and mouse genetics. Developmental Psychobiology, 52(3), 225–235. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20447.
Chadwick, E. D., & Jose, P. E. (2010). Does savoring enhance well-being among adolescents? In Conference paper presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence conference, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Cornell Statistical Consulting Unit. (2019). Fit statistics commonly reported for CFA and SEM. Web-page downloaded 14 October, 2019. https://www.cscu.cornell.edu/news/Handouts/SEM_fit.pdf.
Costa-Ramalho, S., Marques-Pinto, A., Ribeiro, M. T., & Pereira, C. R. (2015). Savoring positive events in couple life: Impacts on relationship and dyadic adjustment. Family Science, 6(1), 170–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/19424620.2015.1082047.
Crone, E. A., & Dahl, R. E. (2012). Understanding adolescence as a period of social-affective engagement and goal flexibility. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 13, 636–650. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3313.
Diener, E., & Diener, M. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(4), 653–663.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13.
Feldman, G. C., Joormann, J., & Johnson, S. L. (2008). Responses to positive affect: A self-report measure of rumination and dampening. Cognitive Therapy Research, 32(4), 507–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-006-9083-0.
Froh, J. J., Emmons, R. A., Card, N. A., Bono, G., & Wilson, J. (2011). Gratitude and the reduced costs of materialism in adolescents. Journal of Happiness Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-010-9195-9.
Froh, J. J., Sefick, W. J., & Emmons, R. A. (2008). Counting blessings in early adolescents: An experimental study of gratitiude and subjective well-being. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 213–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2007.03.005.
Garland, E. L., Thielking, P., Thomas, E. A., Coombs, M., White, S., Lombardi, J., et al. (2016). Linking dispositional mindfulness and positive psychological processes in cancer survivorship: A multivariate path analytic test of the mindfulness-to-meaning theory. Psycho-Oncology. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4065.
Gentzler, A. L., Morey, J. N., Palmer, C. A., & Yi, C. Y. (2013). Young adolescents’ responses to positive events: Associations with positive affect and adjustment. Journal of Early Adolescence, 33, 662–681. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431612462629.
Gentzler, A. L., Ramsey, M. A., Yuen Yi, C. Y., Palmer, C. A., & Morey, J. N. (2014). Young adolescents’ emotional and regulatory responses to positive life events: Investigating temperament, attachment, and event characteristics. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 9(2), 108–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2013.848374.
Gilbert, K. E. (2012). The neglected role of positive emotion in adolescent psychopathology. Clinical Psychology Review, 32, 467–481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2012.05.005.
Gilbert, K. E., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Gruber, J. (2013). Positive emotion dysregulation across mood disorders: How amplifying versus dampening predicts emotional reactivity and illness course. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51(11), 736–741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2013.08.004.
Harmon-Jones, E., & Gable, P. A. (2009). Incorporating motivational intensity and direction into the study of emotions: Implications for brain mechanisms of emotion and cognition–emotion interactions. Netherlands Journal of Psychology, 64, 132–142. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03076416.
Hou, W. K., Lau, K. M., Ng, S. M., Lee, T. M., Cheung, H. Y., Shum, T. C., et al. (2016). Psychological detachment and savoring in adaptation to cancer caregiving. Psycho-Oncology, 25(7), 839–847. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.4065.
Hurley, D. B., & Kwon, P. (2012). Results of a study to increase savoring the moment: Differential impact on positive and negative outcomes. Journal of Happiness Studies, 13(4), 579–588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9280-8.
Jose, P. E., Lim, B. T., & Bryant, F. B. (2012). Does savoring increase happiness? A daily diary study. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(3), 176–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2012.671345.
Jose, P. E., Lim, B. T., Kim, S., & Bryant, F. B. (2018). Does savoring mediate the relationship between explanatory style and mood outcomes? Journal of Positive Psychology and Well-being, 2(2), 149–167. Retrieved from http://journalppw.com/index.php/JPPW/article/view/46.
Joshanloo, M., Lepshokova, Z. K., Panyusheva, T., Amerkhanova, N., Poon, W.-C., Yeung, V. W., et al. (2014). Cross-cultural validation of fear of happiness scale across 14 national groups. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 45(2), 246–264. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022113505357.
Kamvar, S., Mogilner, C., & Aaker, J. (2009). The meaning(s) of happiness. Research Paper Series Standford Graduate School of Business.
Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 593–602. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593.
Keyes, C. L. M. (2005). The subjective well-being of America’s youth: Toward a comprehensive assessment. Adolescent & Family Health, 4, 3–11. https://doi.org/10.12691/education-3-1-16.
Keyes, C. L. M. (2006). Mental health in adolescence: Is America’s youth flourishing? American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76(3), 395–402. https://doi.org/10.1037/0002-9432.76.3.395.
Keyes, C. L. M. (2007). Promoting and protecting mental health as flourishing: A complementary strategy for improving national mental health. American Psychologist, 62(2), 95–108. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.2.95.
Keyes, C. L. M., & Annas, J. (2009). Feeling good and functioning well: Distinctive concepts in ancient philosophy and contemporary science. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 4(3), 197–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760902844228.
Kline, R. B. (2011). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (3rd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.
Kurtz, J. L. (2008). Looking to the future to appreciate the present: The benefits of perceived temporal scarcity. Psychological Science, 19, 1238–1241.
Layous, K., Chancellor, J., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2014). Positive activities as protective factors against mental health conditions. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 123(1), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034709.
Lindberg, T. L. (2004). Culture and savoring of positive experiences (unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Little, T. D., Cunningham, W. A., Shahar, G., & Widaman, K. F. (2002). To parcel or not to parcel: Exploring the question, weighing the merits. Structural Equation Modeling, 9(2), 151–173. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15328007SEM0902_1.
Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). The how of happiness. New York, NY: Penguin Press.
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005a). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 803–855. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803.
Lyubomirsky, S., & Layous, K. (2013). How do simple positive activities increase well-being? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(1), 157–162. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721412469809.
Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validitation. Social Indicators Research, 46(2), 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006824100041.
Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K., & Schkade, D. (2005b). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9(2), 111–131. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.9.2.111.
Matsuda, T., Tsuda, A., Kim, E., & Deng, K. (2014). Association between perceived social support and subjective well-being among Japanese, Chinese, and Korean college students. Psychology, 5(6), 491–499. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2014.56059.
McMakin, D. L., Siegle, G. J., & Shirk, S. R. (2011). Positive affect stimulation and sustainment (PASS) module for depressed mood: A preliminary investigation of treatment-related effects. Cognitive Therapy Research, 35(3), 217–226.
Miyamoto, Y., & Ma, X. (2011). Dampening or savoring positive emotions: A dialectical cultural script guides emotion regulation. Emotion, 11(6), 1346–1357. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025135.
Mogilner, C., Kamvar, S., & Aaker, J. (2011). The shifting meaning of happiness. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(4), 395–402. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550610393987.
Moran, K. M., Root, A. E., Vizy, B. K., Wilson, T. K., & Gentzler, A. L. (2019). Maternal socialization of children’s positive affect regulation: Associations with children’s savoring, dampening, and depressive symptoms. Social Development, 28(2), 306–322.
Ng, W. (2012). Neuroticism and well-being? Let’s work on the positive rather than negative aspects. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(5), 416–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2012.709270.
Otto, A. K., Laurenceau, J. P., Siegel, S. D., & Belcher, A. J. (2015). Capitalizing on everyday positive events uniquely predicts daily intimacy and well-being in couples coping with breast cancer. Journal of Family Psychology, 29(1), 69–79. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000042.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2009). Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Social Indicators Research Series, 39, 101–117. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2354-4.
Quoidbach, J., Berry, E. V., Hansenne, M., & Mikolajczak, M. (2010). Positive emotion regulation and well-being: Comparing the impact of eight savoring and dampening strategies. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 368–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.03.048.
Raes, F., Smets, J., Nelis, S., & Schoofs, H. (2012). Dampening of positive affect prospectively predicts depressive symptoms in non-clinical samples. Cognition and Emotion, 26(1), 75–82.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166.
Ryff, C. D. (2014). Psychological well-being revisited: Advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 83, 10–28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000353263.
Sato, I., Conner, T. S., & Jose, P. E. (2017). Savoring mediates the effect of nature on positive affect. International Journal of Well-being, 8(1), 18–33. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v8i1.621.
Sawyer, S. M., Afifi, R. A., Bearinger, L. H., Blakemore, S. J., Dick, B., Ezeh, A. C., et al. (2012). Adolescence: A foundation for future health. The Lancet, 379(9826), 1630–1640. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60072-5.
Schueller, S. (2012). Personality fit and positive interventions: Extraverted and introverted individuals benefit from different happiness increasing strategies. Psychology, 3(12), 1166–1173. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2012.312A172.
Schueller, S. M. (2010). Preferences for positive psychology exercises. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 5(3), 192–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439761003790948.
Smith, J. L., & Bryant, F. B. (2012). Are we having fun yet? Savoring, type a behavior, and vacation enjoyment. International Journal of Well-Being, 3, 1–19.
Speer, M. E., Bhanji, J. P., & Delgado, M. R. (2014). Savoring the past: Positive memories evoke value representations in the striatum. Neuron, 84(4), 847–856. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.09.028.
Stats New Zealand. (2013). 2013 New Zealand census. Web-page downloaded November 08, 2019 from http://archive.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census.aspx.
Steinberg, L. (2014). Age of opportunity: Lessons from the new science of adolescence. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Veenhoven, R. (1996). Developments in satisfaction research. Social Indicators Research, 37(1), 1–46.
Wood, J. V., Heimpel, S. A., & Michela, J. L. (2003). Savoring versus dampening: Self-esteem differences in regulating positive affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(3), 566–580. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.566.
Funding
This study was funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand (Marsden, Grant No. 06080611).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
The authors received ethical approval from the School of Psychology Human Ethics Committee of Victoria University of Wellington before conducting the research. We stated that we followed APA ethical guidelines in designing and carrying out this study.
Informed Consent
As stated in our ethics application, we obtained both parental consent as well as participant assent (because participants were minors) before including participants in the study. Both forms were hard copies with signatures.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
The research was funded by a Marsden Grant from the Royal Society of New Zealand to the second author. Appreciation is expressed to the adolescents who participated in the present study.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chadwick, E.D., Jose, P.E. & Bryant, F.B. Styles of Everyday Savoring Differentially Predict Well-being in Adolescents Over One Month. J Happiness Stud 22, 803–824 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00252-6
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00252-6