Greater Subjective Well-being Research Articles

Correlation of higher right-wing authoritarianism and lower social dominance orientation with greater subjective well-being in China.

The associations between authoritarian personality and subjective well-being remains understudied, especially in China. In addition, as Chinese individuals and Chinese organizations generally attach importance to authority, exploring the matching effect of individual authoritarian personality and organizational culture (OC) can provide information for career selection, talent recruitment and university enrollment. The present study aimed to test associations between authoritarian personality traits (right-wing authoritarian, RWA; social dominance orientation, SDO) and subjective well-being (SWB; including positive affect, PA; negative affect, NA; and life satisfaction, LS) at the general and component-specific levels and the possible moderating role of OC (military or nonmilitary universities) on the associations in Chinese culture for the first time. A total of 6,580 Chinese students from military and nonmilitary universities were surveyed using the Right Wing Authoritarianism Scale, Social Dominance Orientation Scale, Campbell Index of Well-being, Patient Health Questionnaire, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. A higher score on RWA, but lower on SDO, correlated with greater SWB at both the general level and the component-specific levels. The links of RWA/SDO and positive factors (PA/LS) of SWB as well as latent SWB were moderated by the OC (being in military or nonmilitary universities). Specifically, these correlations were stronger for military than for civilian students. Further, although the moderating roles of OC existed in all three subgroups (sex, age, and socioeconomic status [SES] level), the negative link between OC and latent SWB existed in the male, younger, and high-SES individuals, while this link was not significant in female, older, and low-SES ones. The present study extends the findings of the moderating roles of organizational culture on the positive RWA-SWB relationship and the negative SDO-SWB relationship in oriental cultural contexts.

Reliability and Validity of Ecological Momentary Assessment Response Time-Based Measures of Emotional Clarity: Secondary Data Analysis.

Emotional clarity has often been assessed with self-report measures, but efforts have also been made to measure it passively, which has advantages such as avoiding potential inaccuracy in responses stemming from social desirability bias or poor insight into emotional clarity. Response times (RTs) to emotion items administered in ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) may be an indirect indicator of emotional clarity. Another proposed indicator is the drift rate parameter, which assumes that, aside from how fast a person responds to emotion items, the measurement of emotional clarity also requires the consideration of how careful participants were in providing responses. This paper aims to examine the reliability and validity of RTs and drift rate parameters from EMA emotion items as indicators of individual differences in emotional clarity. Secondary data analysis was conducted on data from 196 adults with type 1 diabetes who completed a 2-week EMA study involving the completion of 5 to 6 surveys daily. If lower RTs and higher drift rates (from EMA emotion items) were indicators of emotional clarity, we hypothesized that greater levels (ie, higher clarity) should be associated with greater life satisfaction; lower levels of neuroticism, depression, anxiety, and diabetes distress; and fewer difficulties with emotion regulation. Because prior literature suggested emotional clarity could be valence specific, EMA items for negative affect (NA) and positive affect were examined separately. Reliability of the proposed indicators of emotional clarity was acceptable with a small number of EMA prompts (ie, 4 to 7 prompts in total or 1 to 2 days of EMA surveys). Consistent with expectations, the average drift rate of NA items across multiple EMAs had expected associations with other measures, such as correlations of r=-0.27 (P<.001) with depression symptoms, r=-0.27 (P=.001) with anxiety symptoms, r=-0.15 (P=.03) with emotion regulation difficulties, and r=0.63 (P<.001) with RTs to NA items. People with a higher NA drift rate responded faster to NA emotion items, had greater subjective well-being (eg, fewer depression symptoms), and had fewer difficulties with overall emotion regulation, which are all aligned with the expectation for an emotional clarity measure. Contrary to expectations, the validities of average RTs to NA items, the drift rate of positive affect items, and RTs to positive affect items were not strongly supported by our results. Study findings provided initial support for the validity of NA drift rate as an indicator of emotional clarity but not for that of other RT-based clarity measures. Evidence was preliminary because the sample size was not sufficient to detect small but potentially meaningful correlations, as the sample size of the diabetes EMA study was chosen for other more primary research questions. Further research on passive emotional clarity measures is needed.

Having a tree in front of one’s home is associated with GREATER subjective wellbeing in adult residents in Melbourne, Australia, and Toronto, Canada

While urban trees can be important determinants of human health and wellbeing in world cities, the specific influence of nearby urban trees upon human wellbeing has not been adequately explored. While many studies have associated urban greenery abundance with wellbeing scores, many measures of urban greenery do not specify the type of vegetation or the impact of co-location. Here we fill this gap by associating self-reported measures of the presence of nearby trees (tree in front of one's home) with validated subjective wellbeing (SWB) scores. We also tested for the mediating role of what people thought about trees and nature, with a focus on the values people associate with urban trees and nature relatedness (NR). We used electronic panel survey data based on a demographic and geographical representative sample of more than 3400 residents living in Toronto, Canada, and Melbourne, Australia. We analysed these data using regression-based mediation and path analyses. We found that having a tree in front of one's home was strongly and positively associated with SWB scores in both cities with similar results (Melbourne, β = 0.17, p < 0.05; Toronto, β = 0.18, p < 0.05), while accounting for NR, values associated with urban trees, and demographics (e.g., age, education, home ownership). The mediating role of NR and values was small. The specific pathways of association between tree in front of one's home, SWB, NR, and values, varied by city, when accounting for demographics. We discuss how increasing the abundance of nearby urban trees in cities may also increase human wellbeing.

Beliefs about the universality of meaning in life enhance psychological and academic adjustment among university students: The role of meaning in life and stress mindset

Lay beliefs about psychological constructs influence experiences and behaviors of individuals in real life. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships of beliefs regarding the universality of meaning in life with subjective well-being (SWB) and academic procrastination, as well as their potential mediating mechanisms. Using a sample of 726 Chinese university students, the present study demonstrated that a higher tendency to believe in the universality of meaning in life correlated with a higher manifestation of meaning in life, stress-is-enhancing mindset, positive affect, and life satisfaction, as well as with lower negative affect and academic procrastination. In addition, the present study indicated that the meaning in life and stress mindset mediated the relationship between beliefs regarding universality of meaning in life and SWB and academic procrastination. That is, university students who believed that meaning in life is universal were more likely to experience it and perceive stress as positive, thus having greater SWB and less academic procrastination. These findings suggest the power of identifying with the universality of meaning in life promotes youth mental health and academic adaptation.

Субъективные критерии предпочтения профессии и работы в старшем подростковом и юношеском возрасте

Background. The present article addresses the criteria for choosing a profession and work among modern adolescents and young adults in the changing and transient world. It sets the ideals of professions that illusorily seem to be accessible, easy, well-paid, and interesting at the same time. Objective. The present study aims at identifying subjective criteria of the preference for occupation and work in senior adolescents and young adults and their relationship with personality traits, values, user activity, and subjective well-being. Study Participants. 172 subjects, 54 students of 8–11 grades at the age from 13 to 16 and 118 students of Moscow universities at the age from 17 to 23, including 103 males (59.9%) and 69 females (40.1%). Methods. The respondents fill in the scale of subjective criteria for job preference, the Ten Item Personality Measure, the Portrait Values Questionnaire and techniques for assessing subjective well-being and user activity. The answer the questions about the possibility and intention to combine several criteria of career and job choice. Results. The scale of the subjective criteria for job preference is a reliable, factor- and content-valid screening instrument assessing the importance of payment, interest, convenience, prospect, usefulness to others, ease, difficulty, and image in the work. In choosing a profession and job, both high school and college students focus on a wide range of criteria. Conscientiousness is associated with the preference for a well-paid, promising, and challenging work; openness to new experience is associated with the preference for interesting work. Orientation to the values of conformity and tradition is associated with the readiness to choose between different criteria, while the orientation to the values of achievement and power is associated with a wider range of subjective criteria, which the future job should correspond to. A higher level of positive emotions is associated with the preference for many criteria of job selection at the same time. A greater user activity is connected to the desire for easy work. Conclusions. In contemporary adolescents and young adults, a greater subjective well-being and the values of achievement and power are paradoxically associated with an unrealistically wide range of criteria of choosing a profession and job that are simultaneously important to them. This may further lead to some difficulties in searching for the job and disappointments in it.

Determinants of subjective outdoor thermal comfort in an urban historic and cultural heritage landscape in Xi’an, China

ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated factors related to subjective outdoor thermal comfort in the Ancient Ming Dynasty Walled City in Xi’an, China. Environmental data were collected from study sites by microclimate monitoring. Survey locations, demographics, psychological characteristics, thermal sensation vote (TSV), and thermal comfort vote (TCV) data were collected from 639 individuals in a questionnaire survey. Generalized linear regression analysis and path analysis were used to understand the associations between the TSV, environmental and psychological factors, and TCV. We found that green space locations, higher age, and greater subjective well-being and environmental satisfaction were associated with increased TCV. The universal thermal climate index was associated with TCV, and this association could have been affected by the individual’s psychological state. Our findings suggest that environmental factors and psychological factors had non-negligible effects on the subjective thermal comfort of individuals located in an open urban area with historical and cultural significance.

Antecedents and consequences of LGBT individuals' perceptions of straight allyship.

People often self-identify as allies to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This research examined on what basis LGBT individuals perceive others to be allies and documents the consequences of perceived allyship. Studies 1a (n = 40) and 1b (n = 69) collected open-ended descriptions of allyship provided by LGBT participants. Coding of the responses suggested multiple components to being an ally: (a) being nonprejudiced toward the group, (b) taking action against discrimination and inequality, and (c) having humility about one's perspective in discussions about LGBT issues. In Studies 2a (n = 161) and 2b (n = 319, with nationally representative characteristics), an allyship scale was developed and validated for general and specific relational contexts, respectively. Study 2b also showed that LGBT individuals' perceptions of close others' allyship were positively associated with their own well-being and relationship quality with the close other. Study 3, an experiment, demonstrated that nonprejudice and action had an interactive effect on perceived allyship, such that action increased perceived allyship more when prejudice was low (vs. high). Study 4 was a weekly experience study of LGBT participants and an outgroup roommate. Perceiving one's roommate to be a good ally predicted higher self-esteem, greater subjective well-being, and better relationship quality with the roommate, both between and within participants. Furthermore, perceived allyship in 1 week was associated with increases in LGBT individuals' mental health and relationship quality with the roommate the following week. This research advances knowledge about what allyship means to LGBT individuals and identifies intra- and interpersonal benefits of allyship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Association between subjective well-being and all-cause mortality among older adults in China

BackgroundAlthough several studies in high-income countries have suggested a positive association between subjective well-being (SWB) and mortality, studies conducted in low- and middle-income countries, such as China, are scarce. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between SWB and all-cause mortality among the older Chinese population.MethodsData were from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), a population-based longitudinal cohort study in 22 of 31 provinces in mainland China. A total of 13,282 individuals aged 65 ≥ years who were recruited in 2002 and followed-up until 2018 were included. SWB was assessed with an eight-item tool covering life satisfaction, positive affect (including optimism, happiness, personal control and conscientiousness) and negative affect (including anxiety, loneliness and uselessness). Cox proportional hazards regression methods were carried out to estimate the association between SWB and total mortality, adjusting for a wide range of potential confounders. Subgroup analyses and interaction analyses were further conducted.ResultsDuring the 16.5 years of follow-up, 8459 deaths were identified. Greater SWB was independently associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.81–0.89) after adjustment for age, sex, marital status, education level, place of residence, smoking status, drinking, exercise, diet, BMI, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases and cancer. Of the eight individual SWB symptoms, only 2 items, feelings of uselessness (adjusted HR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.89–0.99) and happiness (adjusted HR = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.86–0.95), were significantly associated with total mortality. Associations remained significant across all subgroups regardless of different characteristics.ConclusionsHigher SWB overall and 2 certain symptoms (feelings of uselessness and happiness) were independently associated with all-cause mortality risk among older Chinese adults. The association was consistent across different groups, suggesting that promoting a healthier SWB may be beneficial to all older individuals irrespective of their characteristics.

Mediation analysis of circadian preferences and other behavioral and sociodemographic factors associated with subjective well-being in undergraduate students

ABSTRACT Undergraduate students are usually subjected to a routine with constant pressure, stress, circadian misalignment, and sleep irregularity that impairs their subjective well-being. Recent evidence suggests that circadian preference is also a risk factor for impaired mental health and factors related to subjective well-being. This study aimed to identify the sociodemographic factors associated with subjective well-being and describe the mediating behavioral variables. Between September 2018 and March 2021, 615 Brazilian students enrolled in higher educational institutions completed an electronic form containing questionnaires on subjective well-being, sociodemographic, and behavioral-related factors (convenience sample). A statistical mediation model was applied to describe how these variables influence subjective well-being. We observed that Morningness (p < .001), identification with the male gender (p = .010), not working while studying (p = .048), and the practice of Pilates/yoga (p = .028) were associated with greater subjective well-being. Except for employment status, no direct effects were observed, which reinforces the need to consider a multidimensional approach. The relationship between subjective well-being and sociodemographic factors exists only in the presence of behavioral mediators, specifically perceived stress, daytime sleepiness, symptoms of depression, sleep quality, and positive and negative affects. Future work should investigate in more detail the impact of sleep, stress, and circadian preferences on this relationship.

Are Some Ways of Expressing Gratitude More Beneficial Than Others? Results From a Randomized Controlled Experiment

Gratitude activities have been shown to increase well-being and other positive outcomes in numerous experiments to date. The current study tested whether self-directed gratitude interventions that vary by type (i.e., social vs. nonsocial) and format (i.e., long-form letters vs. shorter lists) produce differential benefits. To that end, 958 Australian adults were assigned to one of six activities to complete each day for 1 week, including five gratitude activities that varied by type and format and an active control condition (i.e., keeping track of daily activities). Regressed change analyses revealed that, overall, long-form writing exercises (i.e., essays and letters) resulted in greater subjective well-being and other positive outcomes than lists. Indeed, those who were instructed to write social and nonsocial gratitude lists did not differ from controls on any outcomes. However, participants who wrote unconstrained gratitude lists—that is, those who wrote about any topics they wanted—reported greater feelings of gratitude and positive affect than did controls. Finally, relative to the other gratitude conditions, participants who wrote gratitude letters to particular individuals in their lives not only showed stronger feelings of gratitude, elevation, and other positive emotions but also reported feeling more indebted. This study demonstrates that not only does gratitude “work” to boost well-being relative to an active neutral activity, but that some forms of gratitude may be more effective than others. We hope these findings help scholars and practitioners to develop, tailor, implement, and scale future gratitude-based interventions.

Emotion regulation and subjective wellbeing among Turkish population: the mediating role of COVID-19 fear.

We examined fear of COVID-19 as a mediator of the relationship between emotion regulation (suppression, reappraisal) and subjective wellbeing. In this cross-sectional study, 1,014 Turkish individuals completed assessments of positive affect, negative affect, satisfaction with life, emotion regulation (suppression, reappraisal), and fear of COVID-19. Network analysis revealed that all variables were associated with each other. Structural equation modelling indicated that greater suppression was associated with greater fear of COVID-19 and less subjective wellbeing. Greater reappraisal was associated with less fear of COVID-19 and greater subjective wellbeing. In addition greater suppression was associated with less subjective well-being and greater reappraisal was associated with greater subjective well-being. Mediation analyses demonstrated that fear of COVID-19 partially mediated the relationship between suppression, reappraisal and subjective wellbeing. Findings expand our understanding of the link between emotion regulation and subjective wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Associations between grip strength, brain structure, and mental health in > 40,000 participants from the UK Biobank

BackgroundGrip strength is a widely used and well-validated measure of overall health that is increasingly understood to index risk for psychiatric illness and neurodegeneration in older adults. However, existing work has not examined how grip strength relates to a comprehensive set of mental health outcomes, which can detect early signs of cognitive decline. Furthermore, whether brain structure mediates associations between grip strength and cognition remains unknown.MethodsBased on cross-sectional and longitudinal data from over 40,000 participants in the UK Biobank, this study investigated the behavioral and neural correlates of handgrip strength using a linear mixed effect model and mediation analysis.ResultsIn cross-sectional analysis, we found that greater grip strength was associated with better cognitive functioning, higher life satisfaction, greater subjective well-being, and reduced depression and anxiety symptoms while controlling for numerous demographic, anthropometric, and socioeconomic confounders. Further, grip strength of females showed stronger associations with most behavioral outcomes than males. In longitudinal analysis, baseline grip strength was related to cognitive performance at ~9 years follow-up, while the reverse effect was much weaker. Further, baseline neuroticism, health, and financial satisfaction were longitudinally associated with subsequent grip strength. The results revealed widespread associations between stronger grip strength and increased grey matter volume, especially in subcortical regions and temporal cortices. Moreover, grey matter volume of these regions also correlated with better mental health and considerably mediated their relationship with grip strength.ConclusionsOverall, using the largest population-scale neuroimaging dataset currently available, our findings provide the most well-powered characterization of interplay between grip strength, mental health, and brain structure, which may facilitate the discovery of possible interventions to mitigate cognitive decline during aging.

Does Neurocognition Predict Subjective Well-Being?

Greater subjective well-being (SWB) is associated with a myriad of positive outcomes across adulthood. While several studies have demonstrated a relationship between cognition and SWB, the current study extends previous work by examining the relationship between neurocognition and SWB across age and time. Data were drawn from 3,856 individuals between the ages of 18-99 years who participated in the Virginia Cognitive Aging Project, a prospective study of cognition in community dwelling adults. Participants completed a battery of neurocognitive tasks (assessing spatial visualization, episodic memory, reasoning, processing speed, and vocabulary) and measures assessing SWB (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect). Results indicated that spatial visualization, episodic memory, and processing speed predicted life satisfaction only in specific age groups, but the magnitude of the coefficients were not significantly different between the groups, providing limited evidence of age moderation. Vocabulary was negatively associated with positive affect for all age groups. The temporal relationships between neurocognition and SWB were generally non-significant, and age did not moderate this relationship. Within the broader context of neurocognition, this study provides evidence that the relationship between neurocognition and SWB cross-sectionally may be partially age dependent for one facet of SWB, and the temporal relationship may be minimal.

Disability, access to out-of-home activities, and subjective well-being

People with disabilities tend to participate in fewer out-of-home activities, raising concerns about their well-being. This paper investigates travel and activity barriers faced by people with disabilities using data from the American Time Use Survey from 2008 to 2019. Our dependent variable of interest is a measure of realized accessibility known as a travel time price: that is, the number of travel minutes associated with each minute of out-of-home activity time. In using this measure, we first confirm that out-of-home activities are associated with greater subjective well-being, that travel is associated with relatively low well-being, and that travel time prices are negatively associated with life satisfaction. We next find that people with disabilities typically pay a travel time price premium 50 percent higher than those without disabilities for all out-of-home activities, and 11 percent higher for work trips. These premiums narrow but persist when accounting for personal characteristics and travel mode. We discuss the unique contributions of simple linear and multiple regression results, given that disability is so closely linked to personal characteristics like employment, income, and marital status. We then disaggregate the results by type of disability and close by presenting ideas for removing transportation and activity barriers for the heterogenous population of people with disabilities.

Positive Impact of Sudharshan Kriya Pranayam on Occupational Stress and Wellness

“Health for All” is the goal promoted since 1977 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Stresses of modern living and work life have induced several symptoms of psychopathology among people from various walks of life. Consequences of stress affects people psychologically, physiologically and behaviorally which adversely affects their work-life balance. The Sudharshan Kriya Pranayama of the ‘Art of Living’ center at Bengaluru, India is a potent and effective method to counterbalance the effects of stress and enhance wellness. An extremely unique yogic breathing practice is Sudharshan Kriya Yoga which involves various kinds of breathing patterns that alternate between slow and relaxing to quick and stimulating. One hundred senior officers of the Government of India of different Ministries / Departments participated in the experiential learning workshop at the Art of Living centre at Bengaluru for the programme ‘Building Competencies for Personal Excellence’ in 2021. The participants practiced the Sudharshan Kriya Yoga for about two months. The feedback from the officers were collected and the same were analysed. It was seen that due to the practice of Sudharshan Kriya Yoga the heightened flow of energy between the mind and the body led to stress reduction and wellness among the senior government officers. Through the practice of Sudharshan Kriya Yoga the RSA (Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia) was enhanced by calming down the participants. Other notable impacts of Susharshan Kriya are better sleep quality, trauma reduction and cortisol (stress hormone) regulation in the body. The participants were less reactive to provocation and there were fewer instances of anger outbursts. Cognitive functioning was enhanced which led to a balanced approach to social and interpersonal relationships leading to better coping with occupational stress, greater subjective well-being, increase in wellness and better adaptation to the pressures and stressors of life.

Applying SMART Goal Intervention Leads to Greater Goal Attainment, Need Satisfaction and Positive Affect

Previous research suggests that planning interventions lead to increased goal attainment, while other research suggests that goal attainment leads to increased well-being. This research integrates these two sets of research findings by investigating the effectiveness of one goal planning intervention, the SMART goal program, on goal attainment, and thus need satisfaction and well-being, in university students. An experimental design across a one-week period was employed to test whether participants in the experimental group, who received the SMART goal instructions, better obtained their goal in comparison to control group participants who did not receive those specific instructions. Findings indicated that the SMART goal program led to greater rated goal attainment and need satisfaction, but not greater subjective well-being (SWB). Nevertheless, one component of SWB, positive affect, was greater in the Experimental group. Type of individually chosen self-concordant goal content had no impact on whether participants attained their goal.

Subjective well-being and quality of life of rural-to-urban migrant and local older adults in Dongguan, China

We conducted a community-based survey to compare the subjective well-being (SWB) and quality of life (QoL) of 470 rural-to-urban migrant and 422 local older adults living in Dongguan, China. Ordinal logistic regression was used to assess the dose-response relationships of SWB, QoL, and individual and environmental factors. Results show that migrant (vs. local) residents had greater SWB and better QoL. Positive self-rated health, lack of chronic diseases, not being depressed, taking regular exercise, living close to recreation facilities, and having good social cohesion were positive determinants for SWB and QoL of both local and migrant respondents. Our results provide useful information for Chinese policy decision making to promote the health of older adults.

From the Good Life to Good Living: A Longitudinal Study Investigating the Relationship Between Good-Life Coherence and Motivation, Goal Progress and Subjective Well-Being.

Although considerable research has examined the traits and features involved in living a good life (Baumeister et al. in J Posit Psychol 8(6):505–516, 2013; Ryan et al. in Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness, Guilford Press, 2006; Wong in Can Psychol/Psychol Can 52(2):69–81, 2011), little research has examined personal philosophies of the good life and the motivational outcomes associated with these views. Through a prospective longitudinal study across one academic year, we examined whether perceiving oneself to be living coherently with personal conceptions of the good life was associated with greater autonomous goal motivation and, subsequently, goal progress and greater subjective well-being (SWB) over time. We hypothesize that perceiving oneself as living coherently in terms of one’s own philosophy of flourishing relates to greater volition, goal progress and happiness. Our results suggest that when individuals assess themselves as following their own philosophy of the good life, they tend to experience greater autonomous motivation, goal progress and SWB. Implications for personality coherence and Self-Determination Theory are discussed.

Do Grittier People Have Greater Subjective Well-Being? A Meta-Analysis.

The present study conducted a meta-analysis to examine the relation between grit and subjective well-being (SWB). The association between grit (i.e., overall grit, perseverance of effort, and consistency of interest) and SWB (i.e., positive affect, negative affect, happiness, depression, life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and school satisfaction) were synthesized across 83 studies and 66,518 participants. The results based on a random-effects model showed a substantial correlation between overall grit and SWB (ρ = .46, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [.43, .48]), followed by perseverance of effort (ρ = .38, 95% CI = [.33, .43]) and consistency of interest (ρ = .23, 95% CI = [.17, .28]). The moderator analysis indicated that the correlations between overall grit/consistency of effort and SWB become weaker as age increased, and these links were stronger in affective well-being than in cognitive well-being. Moreover, grit explained unique variance in SWB even after controlling for conscientiousness. Implications and directions for further research are discussed.

Parental Flow and Positive Emotions: Optimal Experiences in Parent-Child Interactions and Parents' Well-Being.

Flow is a mental state of thorough absorption and concentration in an activity, in which intrinsic motivation and enjoyment are maximized, and the individual achieves optimal performance. This study investigated how daily flow experiences during parents’ interactions with their children contribute to parental well-being. The Day Reconstruction Method was completed by 832 employed Israeli parents of children aged 2 to 12, who reconstructed their experiences on three different working days over three weeks, and rated their levels of flow, as well as positive and negative affect for each experience. Participants also completed measures of subjective well-being and parental satisfaction and efficacy. The results indicated that parents’ flow experiences during interactions with their children were positively related to parents’ positive affect, self-efficacy and satisfaction, and greater subjective well-being. The findings underscore the importance for parental well-being of daily optimal experiences with their children.