Table 3.
Longitudinal associations between individual survey items of the flourishing index and subsequent flourishing (N = 1209δ).
| Individual survey items of the flourishing index in 2018 | Flourishing in 2019 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composite flourishing± | Composite flourishing (other domains only)§ | Composite flourishing, with simultaneous controlσ | Composite flourishing (other domains only), with simultaneous controlα | |
| Emotional health domain | ||||
| How satisfied are you with life as a whole these days? | 0.04 (− 0.01, 0.09) | 0.01 (− 0.04, 0.06) | 0.01 (− 0.04, 0.06) | 0.00 (− 0.05, 0.06) |
| How happy have you felt during the last 7 days? | 0.03 (− 0.02, 0.08) | 0.00 (− 0.05, 0.05) | − 0.02 (− 0.07, 0.04) | − 0.02 (− 0.07, 0.04) |
| I expect more good things in my life than bad | 0.07 (0.02, 0.12)** | 0.03 (− 0.01, 0.08) | 0.05 (0.00, 0.10)* | 0.03 (− 0.02, 0.08) |
| How would you rate your mental health? | 0.09 (0.04, 0.14)*** | 0.03 (− 0.02, 0.08) | 0.04 (− 0.02, 0.11) | 0.02 (− 0.04, 0.08) |
| Are you depressed? (reversed) | 0.07 (0.02, 0.11)** | 0.01 (− 0.03, 0.05) | 0.03 (− 0.02, 0.08) | 0.00 (− 0.05, 0.05) |
| Do you have anxiety that keeps you from doing the things in life that you need to do? (reversed) | 0.04 (0.01, 0.08)* | 0.01 (− 0.03, 0.05) | 0.01 (− 0.03, 0.05) | 0.00 (− 0.04, 0.04) |
| In stressful situations, I manage my emotions so that I am still in control of myself | 0.08 (0.04, 0.13)*** | 0.04 (0.00, 0.09) | 0.06 (0.01, 0.11)** | 0.04 (− 0.01, 0.08) |
| Physical health domain | ||||
| How would you rate your physical health? | 0.06 (0.01, 0.10)* | − 0.02 (− 0.06, 0.03) | − 0.02 (− 0.07, 0.03) | − 0.05 (− 0.10, 0.00) |
| I have no major illnesses or injuries | 0.11 (0.08, 0.15)*** | 0.04 (0.00, 0.08) | 0.03 (− 0.02, 0.08) | 0.02 (− 0.03, 0.07) |
| I do not routinely get sick | 0.11 (0.07, 0.14)*** | 0.03 (− 0.01, 0.07) | 0.03 (− 0.01, 0.08) | 0.00 (− 0.05, 0.05) |
| My health does not prevent me from doing what I would like | 0.12 (0.08, 0.16)*** | 0.03 (− 0.01, 0.07) | 0.02 (− 0.04, 0.08) | 0.01 (− 0.05, 0.06) |
| My pain makes it hard for me to do my usual activities. (reversed) | 0.08 (0.04, 0.12)*** | 0.01 (− 0.03, 0.05) | 0.02 (− 0.02, 0.07) | − 0.01 (− 0.06, 0.04) |
| Based on my past health, I expect to be healthy long into the future | 0.16 (0.12, 0.20)*** | 0.06 (0.02, 0.10)** | 0.09 (0.04, 0.15)** | 0.06 (0.00, 0.12)* |
| I regularly do things to maintain and improve my health, in diet, exercise, and healthcare | 0.08 (0.04, 0.13)*** | 0.02 (− 0.02, 0.06) | 0.03 (− 0.01, 0.08) | 0.01 (− 0.04, 0.06) |
| Meaning and purpose domain | ||||
| I have values and beliefs that help me understand who I am | 0.06 (0.01, 0.11)* | 0.01 (− 0.04, 0.06) | − 0.04 (− 0.09, 0.02) | − 0.05 (− 0.11, 0.00) |
| I know what gives meaning to my life | 0.11 (0.06, 0.15)*** | 0.05 (0.00, 0.09) | 0.05 (− 0.01, 0.11) | 0.02 (− 0.04, 0.08) |
| My life has a clear sense of purpose | 0.16 (0.11, 0.21)*** | 0.09 (0.04, 0.14)*** | 0.07 (− 0.03, 0.16) | 0.06 (− 0.03, 0.15) |
| I understand my purpose in life | 0.17 (0.12, 0.22)*** | 0.09 (0.05, 0.14)*** | 0.10 (0.02, 0.19)* | 0.07 (− 0.02, 0.16) |
| To what extent do you feel the things you do in your life are worthwhile? | 0.09 (0.04, 0.14)*** | 0.05 (0.00, 0.10)* | 0.04 (− 0.01, 0.09) | 0.03 (− 0.02, 0.08) |
| I am pursuing what is most important to me in my life | 0.06 (0.01, 0.10)* | 0.01 (− 0.04, 0.05) | − 0.03 (− 0.08, 0.03) | − 0.05 (− 0.10, 0.01) |
| Character strengths domain | ||||
| I always act to promote good in all circumstances, even in difficult and challenging situations | 0.08 (0.03, 0.12)*** | 0.03 (− 0.02, 0.07) | 0.08 (0.03, 0.14)** | 0.07 (0.02, 0.12)** |
| I always know the right thing to do | 0.00 (− 0.04, 0.04) | − 0.04 (− 0.08, 0.00)* | − 0.03 (− 0.07, 0.02) | − 0.04 (− 0.09, 0.00)* |
| I always treat everyone with kindness, fairness and respect | 0.03 (− 0.01, 0.07) | − 0.02 (− 0.06, 0.02) | 0.00 (− 0.05, 0.04) | − 0.03 (− 0.08, 0.01) |
| I am always able to give up some happiness now for greater happiness later | 0.03 (− 0.01, 0.07) | − 0.01 (− 0.05, 0.02) | 0.01 (− 0.03, 0.06) | 0.00 (− 0.05, 0.05) |
| I am willing to face difficulties in order to do what is right | 0.02 (− 0.02, 0.06) | − 0.02 (− 0.06, 0.02) | − 0.01 (− 0.06, 0.04) | − 0.02 (− 0.07, 0.03) |
| I give up personal pleasures whenever it is possible to do some good instead | 0.02 (− 0.02, 0.06) | − 0.02 (− 0.06, 0.02) | 0.00 (− 0.05, 0.05) | − 0.01 (− 0.06, 0.04) |
| I get to use my strengths to help others | 0.01 (− 0.03, 0.05) | − 0.02 (− 0.06, 0.02) | 0.00 (− 0.05, 0.04) | − 0.01 (− 0.06, 0.03) |
| Social connectedness domain | ||||
| My relationships are as satisfying as I would want them to be | 0.11 (0.06, 0.16)*** | 0.05 (0.00, 0.09)* | 0.04 (− 0.02, 0.10) | 0.03 (− 0.03, 0.09) |
| There are people who really understand me | 0.11 (0.06, 0.15)*** | 0.05 (0.01, 0.09)* | 0.04 (− 0.01, 0.10) | 0.03 (− 0.02, 0.08) |
| How often do you feel lonely? (reversed) | 0.06 (0.01, 0.10)* | 0.02 (− 0.03, 0.06) | 0.02 (− 0.03, 0.07) | 0.00 (− 0.04, 0.05) |
| I am content with my friendships and relationships | 0.12 (0.07, 0.16)*** | 0.04 (0.00, 0.09) | 0.02 (− 0.05, 0.09) | − 0.01 (− 0.08, 0.06) |
| I have enough people I feel comfortable asking for help at any time | 0.11 (0.07, 0.16)*** | 0.05 (0.01, 0.09)* | 0.06 (0.01, 0.11)* | 0.04 (− 0.02, 0.09) |
| I feel connected to the broader community around me | 0.08 (0.03, 0.12)** | 0.02 (− 0.03, 0.06) | 0.00 (− 0.07, 0.06) | − 0.02 (− 0.08, 0.04) |
| People in my broader community trust and respect one another | 0.07 (0.02, 0.11)** | 0.02 (− 0.02, 0.06) | 0.03 (− 0.03, 0.08) | 0.01 (− 0.05, 0.07) |
| Financial security domain | ||||
| I am able to meet my normal monthly living expenses without any difficulty | 0.25 (0.20, 0.29)*** | 0.07 (0.02, 0.11)** | 0.09 (0.03, 0.15)** | 0.04 (− 0.02, 0.11) |
| How often do you worry about food, housing, or health expenses? (reversed) | 0.20 (0.16, 0.24)*** | 0.05 (0.00, 0.09)* | 0.04 (− 0.01, 0.09) | 0.00 (− 0.06, 0.06) |
| I have sufficient savings that I could cover six months of expenses | 0.26 (0.22, 0.30)*** | 0.06 (0.02, 0.10)** | 0.11 (0.05, 0.18)** | 0.03 (− 0.04, 0.10) |
| My financial circumstances give me freedom to pursue my goals | 0.24 (0.20, 0.29)*** | 0.05 (0.00, 0.09)* | − 0.01 (− 0.08, 0.07) | − 0.03 (− 0.11, 0.04) |
| Given my age, I have done adequate financial planning for the future | 0.24 (0.20, 0.28)*** | 0.06 (0.01, 0.11)** | 0.08 (0.02, 0.14)* | 0.03 (− 0.03, 0.10) |
| The amount of debt I have often overwhelms me | 0.21 (0.17, 0.26)*** | 0.05 (0.01, 0.10)* | 0.06 (0.01, 0.11)* | 0.02 (− 0.04, 0.08) |
A set of separate linear regression models were used to regress the outcome variables at follow-up (one at a time) on individual items under each flourishing domain at baseline (these individual items were first examined separately one at a time, and then were included simultaneously in the models), adjusting for the other 5 domain-specific scores that were not used as the independent variable. All models adjusted for gender, age, race, marital status, voting, education, number of children, care for older persons, home ownership, religious service attendance, spirituality, community participation, volunteering, work hours, salary bands, work type and the number of physician-diagnosed physical health problems. The domain of physical health in the flourishing index assessed self-rated health, whereas the covariate of physician-diagnosed illness was an objective indicator of health. Likewise, the domain of social connectedness in the flourishing index assessed perceived social relationships, whereas the covariates of social participation measured objective features of the social networks.
Bolded values indicate: *p < .05 before Bonferroni correction, **p < .01 before Bonferroni correction, ***p < .05 after Bonferroni correction (the p value cutoff for Bonferroni correction is p = 0.05/92 tests = 0.0005).
δParticipants with missing data on the dependent variables were excluded from the analyses. Multiple imputation was performed to impute missing data on the independent variables and covariates.
±The models examined the associations between individual items of the flourishing index in 2018 (examined one at a time) and a composite flourishing score in 2019 that includes all flourishing domains.
§The models examined the associations between individual items of the flourishing index in 2018 (examined one at a time) and an alternative composite flourishing score in 2019 that excludes the particular domain under which the items were used as the independent variables.
σThe models examined the associations between individual items of the flourishing index in 2018 (items under each domain were simultaneously included in the models) and a composite flourishing score in 2019 that includes all flourishing domains.
αThe models examined the associations between individual items of the flourishing index in 2018 (items under each domain were simultaneously included in the models) and an alternative composite flourishing score in 2019 that excludes the particular domain under which the items were used as the independent variables.