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Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine synergies between a eudaimonic model of psychological well-being (Ryff, 1989) and mental health practice. The model grew out of clinical, developmental, existential and humanistic perspectives that emphasized psychological strengths and capacities, in contrast to the focus on emotional distress and dysfunction in clinical psychology. Design/methodology/approach: Conceptual foundations of the eudaimonic approach are described, along with the six components positive functioning that are used to measure well-being. These qualities may be important in facilitating the recovery experiences, which are of interest in Mental Health and Social Inclusion. Findings: Four categories of empirical evidence about eudaimonia are reviewed: how it changes with aging, how it matters for health, what are its biological and neurological underpinnings and whether it can be promoted. Major contemporary forces against eudaimonia are also considered, including ever-widening inequality, the enduring pandemic and world-wide strife. In contrast, encounters with the arts and nature are put forth as forces for eudaimonia. The relevance of these ideas for mental health research and practice is considered. Practical implications: Enormous suffering defines our contemporary world. Such realities call for greater attention to factors that undermine as well as nurture the realization of human potential, the core of eudaimonic well-being. Originality/value: Mental health is often defined as the absence of mental illness. The novelty of the eudaimonic approach is to define mental health as the presence of well-being, assessed with different components of positive functioning.

Purpose: Growing evidence indicates that a higher sense of purposein life (purpose) is associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases and mortality. However, epidemiological studies have not evaluated if change in purposeis associated with subsequent health and well-being outcomes.Design: We evaluated if positive change in purpose(between t0; 2006/2008 and t1;2010/2012) was associated with better outcomes on 35 indicators of physical health, health behaviors, and psychosocial well-being (at t2;2014/2016).Sample: We used data from 12,998 participants in the Health and Retirement study—a prospective and nationally representative cohort of U.S. adults aged >50.Analysis: We conducted multiple linear-, logistic-, and generalized linear regressions.Results: Over the 4-year follow-up period, people with the highest (versus lowest) purpose had better subsequent physical health outcomes (e.g., 46% reduced risk of mortality (95% CI [0.44, 0.66])), health behaviors (e.g., 13% reduced risk of sleep problems (95% CI [0.77, 0.99])), and psychosocial outcomes (e.g., higher optimism (β = 0.41, 95% CI [0.35, 0.47]), 43% reduced risk of depression (95% CI [0.46, 0.69]), lower loneliness (β = −0.35, 95% CI [−0.41, −0.29])). Importantly, however, purpose was not associated with other physical health outcomes, health behaviors, and social factors.Conclusion: With further research, these results suggest that sense of purpose might be a valuable target for innovative policy and intervention work aimed at improving health and well-being.

I dispute the characterization of psychological aspects of well-being as fragmented and a landscape of confusion in need of an organizing conceptual framework. After 30+ years of research in this area, I see progress toward a multi-faceted, ever more differentiated understanding of what well-being is. This richness reflects decades of painstaking empirical inquiry. I also challenge the view that emotion is the overarching theme of well-being research. Missing from the target article was much-needed emphasis on empirical assessment tools. A growing problem in contemporary research is the proliferation of thin, poorly validated measures, which should concern all of the newly funded Emotion Networks. I conclude with a call for greater emphasis on major historical challenges that are undermining the well-being and health of many.

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We investigate whether socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood shapes adult health lifestyles in domains of physical activity (leisure, work, chores) and diet (servings of healthy [i.e., nutrient-dense] vs. unhealthy [energy-dense] foods). Physical activity and food choices vary by gender and are key factors in the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Thus, we examined gender differences in the intervening role of these behaviors in linking early-life SES and MetS in adulthood. We used survey data (n = 1054) from two waves of the Midlife in the U.S. Study (MIDUS 1 and 2) and biomarker data collected at MIDUS 2. Results show that individuals who were disadvantaged in early life are more likely to participate in physical activity related to work or chores, but less likely to participate in leisure-time physical activity, the domain most consistently linked with health benefits. Women from low SES families were exceedingly less likely to complete recommended amounts of physical activity through leisure. Men from low SES consumed more servings of unhealthy foods and fewer servings of healthy foods. The observed associations between childhood SES and health lifestyles in adulthood persist even after controlling for adult SES. For men, lack of leisure-time physical activity and unhealthy food consumption largely explained the association between early-life disadvantage and MetS. For women, leisure-time physical activity partially accounted for the association, with the direct effect of childhood SES remaining significant. Evidence that material deprivation in early life compromises metabolic health in adulthood calls for policy attention to improve economic conditions for disadvantaged families with young children where behavioral pathways (including gender differences therein) may be shaped. The findings also underscore the need to develop gender-specific interventions in adulthood.

We evaluate the variability in estimates of self-reported physical limitations by age across four nationally representative surveys in the US. We consider its implications for determining whether, as previous literature suggests, the US estimates reveal limitations at an earlier age than in three countries with similar life expectancy: England, Taiwan, and Costa Rica. Based on cross-sectional data from seven population-based surveys, we use local mean smoothing to plot self-reported limitations by age for each of four physical tasks for each survey, stratified by sex. We find substantial variation in the estimates in the US across four nationally-representative surveys. For example, one US survey suggests that American women experience a walking limitation 15 years earlier than their Costa Rican counterparts, while another US survey implies that Americans have a 4-year advantage. Differences in mode of survey may account for higher prevalence of limitations in the one survey that used a self-administered mail-in questionnaire than in the other surveys that used in-person or telephone interviews. Yet, even among US surveys that used the same mode, there is still so much variability in estimates that we cannot conclude whether Americans have better or worse function than their counterparts in the other countries. Seemingly minor differences in question wording and response categories may account for the remaining inconsistency. If minor differences in question wording can result in such extensive variation in the estimates within a given population, then lack of comparability is likely to be an even greater problem when examining results across countries that do not share the same language or culture. Despite the potential utility of self-reported physical function within a survey sample, our findings imply that absolute estimates of population-level prevalence of self-reported physical limitations are unlikely to be strictly comparable across countries—or even across surveys within the same population.

Psychological well-being predicts favorable cardiovascular outcomes, but less evidence addresses biological mediators underlying these effects. Therefore, associations among well-being and metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) were examined in a national sample.

Hierarchy can be conceptualized as objective social status (e.g., education level) or subjective social status (i.e., one’s own judgment of one’s status). Both forms predict well-being. This is the first investigation of the relative strength of these hierarchy–well-being relationships in the U.S. and Japan, cultural contexts with different normative ideas about how social status is understood and conferred. In probability samples of Japanese (N= 1,027) and U.S. (N= 1,805) adults, subjectivesocial status more strongly predicted life satisfaction, positive affect, sense of purpose, and self-acceptance in the United States than in Japan. In contrast, objectivesocial status more strongly predicted life satisfaction, positive relations with others, and self-acceptance in Japan than in the United States. These differences reflect divergent cultural models of self. The emphasis on independence characteristic of the United States affords credence to one’s own judgment (subjective status), and the interdependence characteristic of Japan gives weight to what others can observe (objective status).

Understanding the metabolic processes associated with aging is key to developing effective management and treatment strategies for age-related diseases. We investigated the metabolic profiles associated with age in a Taiwanese and an American population. 1H NMR spectral profiles were generated for urine specimens collected from the Taiwanese Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study (SEBAS; n= 857; age 54–91 years) and the Mid-Life in the USA study (MIDUS II; n= 1148; age 35–86 years). Multivariate and univariate linear projection methods revealed some common age-related characteristics in urinary metabolite profiles in the American and Taiwanese populations, as well as some distinctive features. In both cases, two metabolites4-cresyl sulfate (4CS) and phenylacetylglutamine (PAG)were positively associated with age. In addition, creatine and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) were negatively correlated with age in both populations (p< 4 × 10–6). These age-associated gradients in creatine and HMB reflect decreasing muscle mass with age. The systematic increase in PAG and 4CS was confirmed using ultraperformance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS). Both are products of concerted microbial–mammalian host cometabolism and indicate an age-related association with the balance of host–microbiome metabolism.

To examine multiple aspects of anger experience and expression (frequency, outward expression, suppression, and control) as moderators of the association of social inequality, as measured by educational status, with inflammation and coagulation markers.

To determine whether early life adversity (ELA) was predictive of inflammatory markers and to determine the consistency of these associations across racial groups.

To investigate the effect of age on heart rate recovery (HRR) from cognitive challenge.

To investigate whether socioeconomic status and psychological well-being (eudaimonic and hedonic aspects) predicted nondiabetic levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) over time, after adjusting for covariates and baseline level of HbA1c.

To test the hypothesis that socioeconomic status (SES) would be associated with sleep quality measured objectively, even after controlling for related covariates (health status, psychosocial characteristics). Epidemiological studies linking SES and sleep quality have traditionally relied on self-reported assessments of sleep.

The Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CHSA) provided an opportunity to examine the positive aspects of aging. CHSA-2 included the 18-item Ryff multidimensional measure of well-being, which taps six core theoretical dimensions of positive psychological functioning. The measure was administered to 4,960 seniors without severe cognitive impairment or dementia at CSHA-2. Intercorrelations across scales were generally low. At the same time, the internal consistency reliability of each of the 6 subscales was not found to be high. Confirmatory factor analyses provide support for a 6-factor model, although some items demonstrate poor factor loadings. The well-being measures in CSHA-2 provide an opportunity to examine broad, descriptive patterns of well-being in Canadian seniors.

Quality ties to others are universally endorsed as central to optimal living. Social scientists have extensively studied the relational world, but in somewhat separate literatures (e.g., attachment, close relationships, marital and family ties, social support). Studies of intimacy and close connection are infrequently connected to health, whereas studies of health and social support rarely intersect with literatures on relational flourishing. Efforts to probe underlying physiological processes have been disproportionately concerned with the negative (e.g., adverse effects of relational conflict). A worthy goal for the new millennium is promoting greater cross talk between these realms via a focus on the positive health implications of interpersonal flourishing. Vital venues for the future include mapping the emotional configurations of quality social relationships and elaborating their physiological substrates.

Widely documented inverse associations between socioeconomic standing and incident chronic disease and mortality invite explanation in terms of pathways to these outcomes. Empirical identification of pathways, or histories, requires measures that assess cumulative wear and tear on physiological systems following from psychosocial adversity and genetic predispositions. Such an assessment, allostatic load, has been shown to predict later life mortality, incident cardiovascular disease, and decline in physical and cognitive functioning. Using data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS), we seek precursors to allostatic load via ordered categories of cumulative adversity relative to advantage over the life course. We operationalize these histories via unfolding economic circumstances and social relationship experiences (e.g., parent-child interactions, quality of spousal ties). Findings reveal a strong direct association between the extent of adversity relative to advantage in an ordering of these histories and likelihood of high allostatic load. Importantly, resilient individuals with economic disadvantage, but compensating positive social relationship histories also show low prevalence of high allostatic load.

Previous approaches to the study of successful ageing are reviewed. It is argued that there has been an absence of theory guiding this research; an implicit negativism in the proposed conceptions of well-being; a neglect of the possibility for continued growth and development in old age; and a failure to see conceptions of positive ageing as human constructions that are open to cultural variations and historical change. An alternative approach that draws on the convergence in life-span developmental theories, clinical theories of personal growth, and mental health perspectives is presented. Six criteria of well-being result from this integration: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. These dimensions are defined and their relevance for the study of adulthood and ageing is discussed. New avenues for investigating successful ageing as a human construction are presented with emphasis given to the complementarity between quantitative and qualitative research strategies.

The present research examines cohort differences in the preferred timing of events in the female life cycle. A modified and extended version of the Age Constraint Scale was administered to three groups of women: a young adult group (N = 80; mean age 20.7), a middle-aged group (N = 80; mean age 44.3), and an old age group (N = 80; mean age 66.1). Each woman answered the scale in terms of her personal timing preferences and in terms of her perceptions of the preferences of women of the other two groups. The results revealed that young adult women preferred later ages for family life events and earlier ages for general life events than either middle- or old-aged women. The most pronounced differences existed between young adult and old-aged women. In addition, the different cohorts misperceived each others' preferences by attributing their own ideals to women of other ages. The findings are discussed in terms of the changing nature of social clocks among contemporary American women.

The unique challenges and growth processes of middle and late adulthood have not been fully incorporated into previous studies of successful aging. This article examines earlier conceptualizations of successful aging and calls for a reformulation that is more responsive to developmental processes and theoretical guidance. Issues of operational definitions, selective sampling, and stage theory are discussed, and the perspective is illustrated with empirical research in the personality realm.