Self-Assessed Importance of Domains of Flourishing: Demographics and Correlations with Well-Being

• In Event: 3129 - Section on Medical Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 24. Identity and Well-Being

Abstract

Despite considerable advances in research on flourishing, we still have limited knowledge about the extent to which flourishing domains are actually valued. This paper examines support for six flourishing domains – emotional health, physical health, purpose, character strengths, social connectedness, and financial security. A survey of 2,370 respondents demonstrated that these domains are indeed nearly universally valued. The survey was performed using un-identifiable participant data from randomly sampled employees of Aetna, a CVS Health business. A two-factor model, which fit the data best, suggested the presence of two distinct dimensions of material and psychosocial well-being importance. Women and men ranked the six domains in the same order, though women ranked each more highly than men. Having daily spiritual practice was the strongest predictor for five out of six of the individual domains – all but financial security. These valuations were associated with higher well-being scores within and across domains, with the cross-domain associations highest for character strengths.

Authors

• Matthew T. Lee, Harvard University

• Piotr Bialowolski, Harvard University

• Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska, Harvard University

• Kay D. Mooney, Aetna, A CVS Health business

• Phillip J. Lerner, Aetna, A CVS Health business

• Eileen McNeely, Harvard University

• Tyler J. VanderWeele, Harvard University