Subjective well-being and adaptation to life events: A meta-analysis.
Top Cited Papers
- 1 March 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Psychological Association (APA) in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Vol. 102 (3), 592-615
- https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025948
Abstract
Previous research has shown that major life events can have short- and long-term effects on subjective well-being (SWB). The present meta-analysis examines (a) whether life events have different effects on affective and cognitive well-being and (b) how the rate of adaptation varies across different life events. Longitudinal data from 188 publications (313 samples, N = 65,911) were integrated to describe the reaction and adaptation to 4 family events (marriage, divorce, bereavement, childbirth) and 4 work events (unemployment, reemployment, retirement, relocation/migration). The findings show that life events have very different effects on affective and cognitive well-being and that for most events the effects of life events on cognitive well-being are stronger and more consistent across samples. Different life events differ in their effects on SWB, but these effects are not a function of the alleged desirability of events. The results are discussed with respect to their theoretical implications, and recommendations for future studies on adaptation are given.Keywords
Funding Information
- National Institutes of Health (AG032001)
This publication has 100 references indexed in Scilit:
- Alcohol use, alcohol problems, and depressive symptomatology among newly married couplesDrug and Alcohol Dependence, 2006
- Cohort study of depressive moods in Thai women during late pregnancy and 6–8 weeks of postpartum using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS)Archives of Women's Mental Health, 2005
- Profile of Mood States and Parental Attitudes in Motherhood: Comparing Women with Planned and Unplanned PregnanciesBirth, 2005
- Mothers' evaluation of their caregiving for premature and full‐term infants through the first year: Contributing factorsResearch in Nursing & Health, 2001
- Adult attachment and the transition to parenthood.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2001
- Neuroticism, marital interaction, and the trajectory of marital satisfaction.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1997
- Social support and relationship change after childbirth: An expectancy modelHealth Care for Women International, 1993
- Identification of predictor variables of a postpartum emotional reactionHealth Care for Women International, 1990
- Subjective well-being.Psychological Bulletin, 1984
- Lottery winners and accident victims: Is happiness relative?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1978