The Relationship Between Life Satisfaction and Health Behavior: A Cross-cultural Analysis of Young Adults
Abstract
Background Positive well-being has been associated with a range of favorable health outcomes. The contribution of health-promoting behaviors is unclear.Purpose The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between life satisfaction and seven health behaviors in young adults and investigate the consistency of associations across regions.Method Students (17,246) aged 17-30 years from 21 countries completed questionnaire measures of life satisfaction, smoking, physical exercise, alcohol consumption, sun protection, fruit intake, fat consumption, and fiber intake. Three geopolitical regions were identified: Western Europe and the USA (12 countries), Central and Eastern Europe (five countries), and Pacific Asia (four countries).Results Life satisfaction was positively associated with not smoking, physical exercise, using sun protection, eating fruit, and limiting fat intake, but was not related to alcohol consumption or fiber intake, after adjusting for age, gender, and data clustering. Results were consistent across regions for smoking and physical exercise, but differences were apparent for sun protection, fruit intake, and fat avoidance. Relationships between life satisfaction and health behaviors were independent of beliefs in the health benefits of behavior.Conclusions The association between life satisfaction and health-promoting behavior is likely to be bidirectional, but may partly account for the relationship between positive states and good health.
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Positive psychology interventions have effectiveness and durability similar to psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy.
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From An online positive affect skills intervention reduces depression in adults with type 2 diabetes (2014) · cites this paper as [24]
A meta-analysis of 25 positive psychology programs found a medium median effect size for depression relief (r = .26), with stronger effects in currently depressed participants.
“A meta-analysis of 25 programs targeting constructs such as gratitude, happiness, and optimism found a medium effect size for relief of depression symptoms (median r = .26), with stronger effects for currently-depressed participants[24].”
From An online positive affect skills intervention reduces depression in adults with type 2 diabetes (2014) · cites this paper as [24]
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- Authors
- Grant, N., Wardle, J., & Steptoe, A.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Steptoe, Andrew
- Venue
- International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
- Published
- 2009-03-25
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 259-268
- ISSN
- 1070-5503 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7558
- OpenAlex
- W2072934623
- Cited by
- 486
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 28 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 32 · 2022: 48 · 2021: 49 · 2020: 45 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 31 · 2017: 28 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 24 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 17
- FWCI
- 16.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Cancer Research UK
- British Heart Foundation
- Medical Research Council
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Wellbeing Research
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Lifestyle Studies
- Keywords
- life satisfaction, health behavior, young adults, cross-cultural comparison, positive well-being, smoking, physical activity, sun protection, fruit consumption, dietary fat intake, alcohol consumption, dietary fiber, health beliefs
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Alcohol Drinking, Cross-Sectional Studies, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Culture, Dietary Fiber, Feeding Behavior, Female, Health Promotion, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Life Style, Male, Personal Satisfaction, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires, Smoking, Students, Health Behavior, Exercise, Young Adult
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