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Demographic Predictors of Complete Well-Being
Matthew T Lee1,2, Eileen McNeely3, Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska4
1Human Flourishing Program, Harvard University, 12 Arrow St., Ste 100, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA. matthew_lee@fas.harvard.edu.
BMC Public Health
|September 6, 2022
Summary
Demographic factors significantly influence complete well-being. While well-being generally rises with age and shows some gender differences, racial and ethnic disparities in emotional, purpose, and financial domains are particularly notable.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Flourishing, defined as complete well-being, encompasses emotional, physical, purpose, character strengths, social, and financial domains.
- Understanding demographic variations in flourishing is crucial for targeted interventions and promoting population health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine demographic differences in flourishing across six key domains.
- To identify variations in well-being based on age, gender, race, and ethnicity.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional survey was administered to 2363 employees of a large, national, self-insured employer in the United States.
- Data analysis focused on identifying significant differences in flourishing scores across demographic groups.
Main Results:
- Well-being generally increased with age, with some domain-specific variations.
- Gender differences observed: women scored higher in character strengths, men in financial security.
- Racial and ethnic disparities were significant: Black and Hispanic employees showed higher scores in purpose and character strengths but lower in financial security compared to White employees. Asian employees reported higher well-being across most domains except purpose.
Conclusions:
- Demographic factors, particularly race and ethnicity, are strongly associated with different dimensions of well-being.
- Findings highlight the need for culturally sensitive approaches to enhance complete well-being and address specific disparities.
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