Childhood and demographic predictors of life evaluation, life satisfaction, and happiness: A cross-national analysis of the Global Flourishing Study

Abstract

Subjective wellbeing has increasingly attracted attention across academia and beyond (e.g., policy making). However, the research literature has various shortcomings, including (1) conceptual confusion around key constructs, (2) limited and fragmented understanding of contextual dynamics, and (3) a lack of cross-cultural consideration. This paper reports on data from an ambitious research endeavour capable of redressing these three issues: the Global Flourishing Study (GFS), an intended five-year (minimum) panel study investigating the predictors of human flourishing. In addressing the aforementioned issues, first, the GFS has separate items for three constructs at the heart of subjective wellbeing that are often used interchangeably but are actually distinct: life evaluation; life satisfaction, and happiness. Second, the GFS enables an analysis of the association with these constructs of 15 contextual factors (eight relating to childhood, four demographic, and three pertaining to both). Third, the GFS includes (in this first year) 202,898 participants from 22 geographically and culturally diverse countries. Regarding contextual factors, all 15 had a significant association with all three outcome variables, with the largest variation observed being for self-reported health among the childhood predictors and employment status among the demographic factors. Significantly though, the overall patterns were not uniform across countries, suggesting the trends observed are not inevitable or universal, but are contingent on socio-cultural factors. The findings provide a better understanding of, and the foundation for future work on, the conceptual, contextual, and cross-cultural dynamics of this important topic.