An Examination of the Relationship between Passion and Subjective Well-Being in Older Adults
Abstract
Activity engagement has long been linked to improved subjective well-being (SWB) in old age. However, recent studies testing Vallerand et al.'s (2003) Dualistic Model of Passion suggest that the type of passionate activity that underlies activity engagement might influence the extent to which individuals benefit from an active lifestyle. In the present article we examined the relationship between harmonious and obsessive passionate activities and subjective well-being in older adults. Results showed that harmonious passion, through its influence on positive affect experienced during activity engagement, is associated with increases in SWB, whereas obsessive passion is associated with decreases in SWB. Engagement in passionate activities might be beneficial for older adults when a passionate activity is harmonious, but detrimental when a passionate activity is obsessive.
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Neither situational positive nor situational negative affect mediated the obsessive passion-psychological well-being relationship.
“the above research also showed that although obsessive passion was negatively related to psychological well-being, neither situational positive nor situational negative affect mediated the obsessive passion-psychological well-being relationship.”
From The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being (2012) · cites this paper as Rousseau and Vallerand (2008)
In senior individuals with a passion for physical activity, harmonious passion positively predicted positive affect that led to increases in psychological well-being from Time 1 to Time 3.
“Results from a path analysis using structural equation modeling revealed that harmonious passion positively predicted positive affect that led to increases in psychological well-being from Time 1 to Time 3.”
From The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being (2012) · cites this paper as Rousseau and Vallerand (2008)
The negative relation between obsessive passion and well-being was direct and was not mediated by positive affect.
“As in the Rousseau and Vallerand (2008) study, the negative relation between obsessive passion and well-being was direct and was not mediated by positive affect.”
From The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being (2012) · cites this paper as Rousseau and Vallerand (2008)
In senior individuals with a passion for physical activity, obsessive passion directly and negatively predicted decreases in psychological well-being.
“While obsessive passion directly and negatively predicted decreases in psychological well-being, negative affect was unrelated to psychological well-being.”
From The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being (2012) · cites this paper as Rousseau and Vallerand (2008)
In senior individuals with a passion for physical activity, obsessive passion positively predicted negative affect.
“On the other hand, obsessive passion was unrelated to positive affect but positively predicted negative affect.”
From The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being (2012) · cites this paper as Rousseau and Vallerand (2008)
In senior individuals with a passion for physical activity, negative affect was unrelated to psychological well-being.
“While obsessive passion directly and negatively predicted decreases in psychological well-being, negative affect was unrelated to psychological well-being.”
From The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being (2012) · cites this paper as Rousseau and Vallerand (2008)
In senior individuals with a passion for physical activity, obsessive passion was unrelated to positive affect.
“On the other hand, obsessive passion was unrelated to positive affect but positively predicted negative affect.”
From The role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being (2012) · cites this paper as Rousseau and Vallerand (2008)
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“…been reported in several other studies (e.g., Mageau et al., 2005; Ratelle et al., 2004; Rousseau, Vallerand, Ratelle, Mageau, & Provencher, 2002; Vallerand et al., 2003; Vallerand et al., 2006), and can be explained by the common elements shared between the two types of passion, including the…”
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Menec, V. H. (2003) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences · doi:10.1093/geronb/58.2.s74 · Cited by 825 · see citing works
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“Physical activity has also been associated with greater SWB in older adults (Craft & Landers, 1998; Elavsky et al., 2005; Fukukawa et al., 2004; Lampinen, Heikkinen, & Ruoppila, 2000; Li et al., 2001; Netz, Wu, Becker, & Tenenbaum, 2005).”
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Self-citationOn the Role of Passion for Work in Burnout: A Process Model
Vallerand, R. J., Paquet, Y., Philippe, F. L., & Charest, J. (2010) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00616.x · Cited by 432 · see citing works
Self-citationThe role of passion in sustainable psychological well-being
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“As in the Rousseau and Vallerand (2008) study, the negative relation between obsessive passion and well-being was direct and was not mediated by positive affect.”
BackgroundSelf-citationObsessive Passion: A Compensatory Response to Unsatisfied Needs
Lalande, D., Vallerand, R. J., Lafrenière, M. K., Verner‐Filion, J., Laurent, F., Forest, J., & Paquet, Y. (2017) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/jopy.12229 · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Self-citationPassion for Work and Emotional Exhaustion: The Mediating Role of Rumination and Recovery
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Self-citationExploring passion in hobby-related entrepreneurship. Evidence from Italian cases
Milanesi, M. (2018) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.04.020 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
- Authors
- Rousseau, F. L., & Vallerand, R. J.
- Affiliations
- Concordia University (CA)
- Université du Québec à Montréal (CA)
- ORCID
- Vallerand, Robert J.
- Venue
- The International Journal of Aging and Human Development
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2008-03-11
- Volume
- 66
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 195-211
- ISSN
- 0091-4150 (ISSN-L)
- 1541-3535
- OpenAlex
- W2029497140
- Cited by
- 197
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 10.64
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The International Journal of Aging and Human Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology › Aging and Gerontology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
- Keywords
- passion, subjective well-being, older adults, harmonious passion, obsessive passion, dualistic model of passion, activity engagement, positive affect, active lifestyle, aging
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Humans, Leisure Activities, Male, Middle Aged, Motivation, Quality of Life, Surveys and Questionnaires
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