Cited by 1,410Psychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionAging and Gerontology ResearchResilience and Mental Health

Subjective well-being and adaptation to life events: A meta-analysis.

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Luhmann, Maike, Hofmann, Wilhelm, Eid, Michael, Lucas, Richard E.·2012·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

Abstract

Previous research has shown that major life events can have short- and long-term effects on subjective well-being (SWB). The present meta-analysis examines (a) whether life events have different effects on affective and cognitive well-being and (b) how the rate of adaptation varies across different life events. Longitudinal data from 188 publications (313 samples, N = 65,911) were integrated to describe the reaction and adaptation to 4 family events (marriage, divorce, bereavement, childbirth) and 4 work events (unemployment, reemployment, retirement, relocation/migration). The findings show that life events have very different effects on affective and cognitive well-being and that for most events the effects of life events on cognitive well-being are stronger and more consistent across samples. Different life events differ in their effects on SWB, but these effects are not a function of the alleged desirability of events. The results are discussed with respect to their theoretical implications, and recommendations for future studies on adaptation are given.

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  • Unemployment has been consistently shown to have a strong and relatively persistent negative effect on well-being.

    “Unemployment has been consistently shown to have a strong and relatively persistent negative effect on well-being (e.g., Lucas, 2007; Luhmann et al., 2012).”

    From Life Events and Personality Trait Change. (2018) · cites this paper as Luhmann et al., 2012

    The Results > Unemployment summary reports a strong initial negative effect on cognitive well-being that persisted, with pre-event levels reached only after approximately three years. It also says affective well-being outcomes varied widely across studies, including positive effects, so the claim's implication of a consistently strong negative effect across well-being measures is overstated. Page numbers are not provided in the supplied passages. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Change in response to life events is often non-linear or discontinuous.

    “research on change in other personality-relevant characteristics such as subjective well-being (e.g., Lucas, 2007; Luhmann et al., 2012) or self-esteem (Bleidorn et al., 2016; Chung, Robins, Trzesniewski, Noftle, Roberts, & Widaman, 2013) has shown that change in response to life events is often non-linear or discontinuous.”

    From Life Events and Personality Trait Change. (2018) · cites this paper as Luhmann et al., 2012

  • Widowhood is usually understood as an extremely stressful life event with both sudden and gradual negative effects on subjective well-being.

    “Widowhood is usually understood as an extremely stressful life event with both sudden and gradual negative effects on subjective well-being (e.g., Luhmann et al., 2012).”

    From Life Events and Personality Trait Change. (2018) · cites this paper as Luhmann et al., 2012

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Authors
Luhmann, M., Hofmann, W., Eid, M., & Lucas, R. E.
Affiliations
  • Freie Universität Berlin (DE)
  • University of Chicago (US)
  • Michigan State University (US)
Venue
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Published
2012-03
Volume
102
Issue
3
Pages
592-615
ISSN
  • 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1315
OpenAlex
W2148329871
Cited by
1,410
References
264
Citations by year
2026: 89 · 2025: 111 · 2024: 94 · 2023: 131 · 2022: 146 · 2021: 143 · 2020: 117 · 2019: 127 · 2018: 74 · 2017: 109 · 2016: 85 · 2015: 63 · 2014: 56 · 2013: 30 · 2012: 29
FWCI
51.07
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (AG032001)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
Keywords
subjective well-being, life events, psychological adjustment, emotional well-being, cognitive well-being, family events, work events, marriage, divorce, bereavement, childbirth, unemployment, retirement, relocation, migration
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Bereavement, Divorce, Female, Humans, Life Change Events, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Marriage, Middle Aged, Personal Satisfaction, Retirement, Unemployment, Parturition

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