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This study examined the contributions of orientations to happiness (pleasure, engagement and meaning) to subjective well-being. A sample of 12,622 adults from the United States completed on-line surveys measuring orientations to happiness, positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction. A sample of 332 adults from Australia also completed these surveys as well as a measure of the big five factor personality traits. Hierarchical regressions generally supported the hypothesis that the three orientations to happiness predict subjective well-being (satisfaction with life, positive affect and negative affect) beyond sociodemographic variables and personality. Meaning and engagement explained the greatest variance in all three components of subjective well-being. Overall, these findings support the importance of a eudaimonic approach in addition to the hedonic approach to achieving happiness. Moreover, findings were relatively consistent in both the Australian and US samples.

Character is vital force for positive development and societal well-being. Character strengths play important roles in positive youth development, not only as broad-protective factors, preventing or mitigating psychopathology and problems, but also as enabling conditions that promote thriving and flourishing. Recent research findings show that character strengths are related to academic success, life satisfaction, and well-being for children and youth. These findings have four significant implications for educators, parents, mental health professionals, and policy makers who concern themselves with promoting positive youth development. First, schools and youth programs should start to measure children's assets, such as character strengths, as much as deficits. Second, educators and policy makers concerned with educating happy, healthy, and successful children and youth will want to pay explicit attention to character strengths. Third, the Values in Action (VIA) classification of strengths provides a vocabulary for people to talk about character strengths in an appropriately sophisticated way. Fourth, given the importance of character to the psychological good life, questions arise about how good character might be cultivated. (Contains 1 table.)

The basic premise of positive psychology is that the happiness and fulfillment of children and youth entail more than the identification and treatment of their problems. This article provides an overview of positive psychology and the Values in Action (VIA) project that classifies and measures 24 widely recognized character strengths. Good character is multidimensional, made up of a family of positive traits manifest in an individual's thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Recent research findings are presented concerning the correlates and the consequences of the VIA character strengths for positive youth development. Character strengths are related to achievement, life satisfaction, and well-being of children and youth. Further, the implications and specific techniques informed by positive psychology are discussed for school counselors in the context of a strengths-based approach. (Contains 1 table.)

Although numerous cross-national studies have assessed life satisfaction among adults, similar studies using adolescent samples have been rare. To address this shortage of research, a total of 1338 youth adolescents from two individualistic nations (Ireland, USA) and two collectivistic nations (China, South Korea) were administered the "Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale" (MSLSS: Huebner, 1994) to assesses general life satisfaction and satisfaction with family, friends, school, self, and living environment. Responses were analyzed to assess potential cross-national differences in (a) mean levels of life satisfaction, and (b) response styles, specifically acquiescence and extreme responding. Mean scores revealed positive ratings by adolescents from all four nations across all domains, with the exceptions of satisfaction with school experiences (Ireland, South Korean, USA), living environment (China, South Korea), self (South Korea), and general life satisfaction (South Korea). Results also revealed significant response style differences across all MSLSS domains. Significant gender and gender-by-nation effects were observed for both mean score and response style differences, although the effect sizes were small. The implications of these findings were discussed, particularly with respect to "individualistic" vs. "collectivistic" cultural differences.

A cross-sectional study of developmental differences and similarities in the levels and correlates of life satisfaction was conducted with 716 South Korean students in elementary, middle and high school. With age, global and domain-specific life satisfaction (with family, school, living environment and self) decreased; satisfaction with friends did not change with age. The family domain was an important predictor of global life satisfaction of Korean students of all ages. The importance of the self domain to global life satisfaction increased substantially with age to emerge as the most important contributor for global life satisfaction among high school students. School satisfaction was consistently important for Korean students global life satisfaction across all ages, although its relative importance decreased with age. These findings were discussed with respect to the development of concerns and interests among children and adolescents and in terms of Korean cultural values based on Confucianism.

The factorial invariance of the Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS: Huebner, 1994) across two divergent cultures (collectivistic vs.individualistic) was investigated with 835 Korean and 822 US students in elementary, middle, and high schools. Psychometric properties of the Korean version of the MSLSS were acceptable. A series of multisample-confirmatory factor analyses (MCFA) demonstrated the cross-cultural similarity of the five-factor model for students' life satisfaction. The similar structure of MSLSS across cultural groups provides the basis for meaningful international comparisons of life satisfaction among children and adolescents. Further cross-cultural research including various culturally sensitive life satisfaction domains may enhance understanding of cultural differences in the structure, correlates, and consequences related to students' life satisfaction.

Background: A recent study reported that the highest suicide rates in the US occurred in the happiest states. This is a counter-intuitive finding. The present research investigated whether the same result occurred when the unit of analysis was city. The association between happiness (of most) and suicide (by some) might differ in cities versus states because those in a city provide a more immediate influence. Methods: Suicide rates were examined in 44 large US cities as a function of the average happiness reported by residents. Results: According to our results, happier cities had lower suicide rates (Spearman's rho = −.37, p < .014), implying that cities may be a more meaningful unit of analysis than states for studies of suicide risk. Conclusions: The appropriate geographical unit of analysis needs to be considered seriously in psychological studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research indicates that several character strengths (e.g., gratitude, optimism, persistence, and self-regulation) correlate positively with measures of subjective well-being in adolescents. We examined whether character strengths predict future well-being. Adolescent high school students (N = 149) completed the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth and measures of subjective well-being (depression, happiness, life satisfaction) at several assessments from the fall of 9th grade through the spring of their 10th grade year. In analyses controlling for the effects of other strengths, other-directed strengths (e.g., kindness, teamwork) predicted fewer symptoms of depression. Transcendence strengths (e.g., meaning, love) predicted greater life satisfaction. Social support partially mediated the relationship between strengths and depression, but did not mediate the relationship between strengths and life satisfaction. These findings indicate that strengths that build connections to people and purposes larger than the self predict future well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life meaning is important for psychological and physical health and well-being. Researchers have only recently looked at the presence of life meaning and the search for life meaning as separate constructs. In the current study, 731 adult respondents from the United States completed the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, which separately assesses the presence of meaning and the search for meaning, and measures of well-being. Presence and search for life meaning showed different relationships with well-being. Consistent with past research, the presence of meaning was positively associated with life satisfaction, happiness, and positive affect and negatively associated with depression and negative affect, whereas the search for meaning overall had the opposite pattern of correlates. However, the search for meaning was positively associated with well-being—greater life satisfaction, more happiness, and less depression— among those who already had substantial meaning in their life. The search for meaning is not only morally worthy but as it succeeds, eventually satisfying. Implications of these results for interventions to promote mental health and well-being are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adults from 27 different nations (total N = 24,836) completed on-line surveys in English measuring orientations to the seeking of happiness (through pleasure, through engagement, and through meaning) and life satisfaction. Nations differed in their orientations and clustered into three interpretable groups in terms of them. One cluster was defined by relatively high endorsement of seeking pleasure and seeking engagement; the second cluster by relatively high endorsement of seeking engagement and seeking meaning; and the third cluster by relatively low endorsement of all three ways of seeking happiness. Across all nations, each of the three orientations predicted life satisfaction, although orientations to engagement and to meaning were more robustly associated with life satisfaction than was an orientation to pleasure, replicating and extending previous findings. Limitations and implications of the research were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why are certain character strengths more associated with life satisfaction than others? A sample of US adults (N = 12,439) completed online surveys in English measuring character strengths, orientations to happiness (engagement, pleasure, and meaning), and life satisfaction, and a sample of Swiss adults (N = 445) completed paper-and-pencil versions of the same surveys in German. In both samples, the character strengths most highly linked to life satisfaction included love, hope, curiosity, and zest. Gratitude was among the most robust predictors of life satisfaction in the US sample, whereas perseverance was among the most robust predictors in the Swiss sample. In both samples, the strengths of character most associated with life satisfaction were associated with orientations to pleasure, to engagement, and to meaning, implying that the most fulfilling character strengths are those that make possible a full life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How are character strengths related to recovery? A retrospective web-based study of 2087 adults found small but reliable associations between a history of physical illness and the character strengths of appreciation of beauty, bravery, curiosity, fairness, forgiveness, gratitude, humor, kindness, love of learning, and spirituality. A history of psychological disorder and the character strengths of appreciation of beauty, creativity, curiosity, gratitude, and love of learning were also associated. A history of problems was linked to decreased life satisfaction, but only among those who had not recovered. In the case of physical illness, less of a toll on life satisfaction was found among those with the character strengths of bravery, kindness, and humor, and in the case of psychological disorder, less of a toll on life satisfaction was found among those with the character strengths of appreciation of beauty and love of learning. We suggest that recovery from illness and disorder may benefit character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-cultural differences in the perceived levels and correlates of life satisfaction were investigated with 472 Korean and 543 U.S. adolescents. Korean adolescents reported lower global life satisfaction than U.S. adolescents, as well as lower satisfaction with family, friends, school, self, and living environment. Although satisfaction with family, self, and living environment contributed significant and unique variance to the global life satisfaction of adolescents in both cultures, satisfaction with school contributed significantly to global life satisfaction only for Korean adolescents. Level of satisfaction with self was a stronger correlate of global life satisfaction for U.S. adolescents than it was for Korean adolescents. The findings are discussed in terms of individualistic versus collectivistic culture frameworks within the value as moderator model of subjective well-being. Implications for future research and culturally sensitive well-being interventions are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]