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Age-Related Differences in Lay Conceptions of Well-Being and Experienced Well-Being

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Abstract

Conceptions of well-being are defined as a system of beliefs concerning the nature and experience of well-being and can be described generally by the degree to which four dimensions, representing (1) the experience of pleasure, (2) avoidance of negative experience, (3) selfdevelopment, and (4) contribution to others, are emphasized. A first main objective of the current study was to investigate age-related differences in younger and older adults’ conceptions of well-being. A second main objective was to address whether conceptions of well-being are differentially associated with experienced well-being in younger and older adults. Results indicated several age-related differences in conceptions of well-being, with younger adults reporting more emphasis on the experience of pleasure and self-development, older adults reporting more emphasis on avoidance of negative experience, and younger and older adults reporting similar levels of emphasis on contribution to others. Results further indicated several age-related differences in associations between the experience of pleasure and avoidance of negative experience dimensions and well-being, with these two dimensions being more strongly and positively associated with well-being in older adults. Self-development and contribution to others were found to be positively associated with well-being regardless of age.

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Notes

  1. Self-esteem is often considered to be a predictor, rather than a component, of well-being (e.g., DeNeve and Cooper 1998). However, there exists a great deal of theoretical rationale for including a measure of self-esteem as an index of positive psychological functioning, as many researchers suggest that self-esteem is an important and integral part of well-being (e.g., Diener et al. 2010; Ryff and Singer 1998, 2008). Accordingly, we include self-esteem as an outcome measure related to well-being in the current investigation.

  2. Levene’s tests indicated unequal variance between younger and older adult samples for the experience of pleasure, F(2, 178) = 6.44, p < .05, and self-development, F(2, 178) = 5.24, p < .05, subscales of the BWBS. Accordingly, t tests of age-related mean differences in these two subscale scores were conducted with equal variances not assumed (i.e., Welch’s t test; Welch, 1947). All other tests of age-related mean differences were conducted with equal variances assumed.

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  1. Psychology Division, Western Oregon University, 345N. Monmouth Ave., Monmouth, OR, 97351, USA

    Ethan A. McMahan

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Ave., Laramie, WY, 82071, USA

    David Estes

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McMahan, E.A., Estes, D. Age-Related Differences in Lay Conceptions of Well-Being and Experienced Well-Being. J Happiness Stud 13, 79–101 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-011-9251-0

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