Abstract
The effect of life events on subjective well-being (SWB) was explored in a 2-year longitudinal study of 115 participants. It was found that only life events during the previous 3 months influenced life satisfaction and positive and negative affect. Although recent life events influenced SWB even when personality at Time 1 was controlled, distal life events did not correlate with SWB. SWB and life events both showed a substantial degree of temporal stability. It was also found that good and bad life events tend to covary, both between individuals and across periods of the lives of individuals. Also, when events of the opposite valence were controlled, events correlated more strongly with SWB. The counterintuitive finding that good and bad events co-occur suggests an exciting avenue for explorations of the structure of life events.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1091-1102 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |
| Volume | 70 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1996 Jan 1 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Social Psychology
- Sociology and Political Science
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Events and Subjective Well-Being : Only Recent Events Matter. / Suh, Eun Kook; Diener, Ed; Fujita, Frank.
In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 70, No. 5, 01.01.1996, p. 1091-1102.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Events and Subjective Well-Being
T2 - Only Recent Events Matter
AU - Suh, Eun Kook
AU - Diener, Ed
AU - Fujita, Frank
PY - 1996/1/1
Y1 - 1996/1/1
N2 - The effect of life events on subjective well-being (SWB) was explored in a 2-year longitudinal study of 115 participants. It was found that only life events during the previous 3 months influenced life satisfaction and positive and negative affect. Although recent life events influenced SWB even when personality at Time 1 was controlled, distal life events did not correlate with SWB. SWB and life events both showed a substantial degree of temporal stability. It was also found that good and bad life events tend to covary, both between individuals and across periods of the lives of individuals. Also, when events of the opposite valence were controlled, events correlated more strongly with SWB. The counterintuitive finding that good and bad events co-occur suggests an exciting avenue for explorations of the structure of life events.
AB - The effect of life events on subjective well-being (SWB) was explored in a 2-year longitudinal study of 115 participants. It was found that only life events during the previous 3 months influenced life satisfaction and positive and negative affect. Although recent life events influenced SWB even when personality at Time 1 was controlled, distal life events did not correlate with SWB. SWB and life events both showed a substantial degree of temporal stability. It was also found that good and bad life events tend to covary, both between individuals and across periods of the lives of individuals. Also, when events of the opposite valence were controlled, events correlated more strongly with SWB. The counterintuitive finding that good and bad events co-occur suggests an exciting avenue for explorations of the structure of life events.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0030139835&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/0022-3514.70.5.1091
DO - 10.1037/0022-3514.70.5.1091
M3 - Article
VL - 70
SP - 1091
EP - 1102
JO - Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
JF - Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
SN - 0022-3514
IS - 5
ER -