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Flow states represent a form of optimal experience and contribute to higher levels of psychological well-being and enhanced performance. Research has documented certain personality factors that influence people's likelihood of experiencing flow. However, the association between demographic variables and flow proneness in various activities has been less thoroughly explored and existing findings are often inconsistent across studies. This research sought to explore the demographic correlates of flow proneness across different types of activities. We examined flow proneness' relationship with age, gender, socioeconomic status, and educational attainment. Using a largely representative sample of 4000 adults in the UK, participants completed three different measures of flow proneness and reported the activities where they most often experienced flow. Results demonstrated that, despite trends such as higher levels of education being linked to greater flow proneness, especially in work/study activities, the demographic factors had a minimal role in explaining either flow proneness or the activity sites of flow. Regression models containing all four demographic variables explained up to a maximum of 8 % of variation in flow scores. Promisingly, the study implies that the rewards of flow are not reserved only for certain demographic groups but rather should be available across society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research has repeatedly identified relations between optimal experience-or flow-and well-being across the lifespan. In the attempt to identify the conditions favoring this experience, some studies took into account personality traits. While most of them operationalized flow in terms of intensity, we presently focused on perceived occurrence versus absence of flow. Specifically, we investigated the relations between flow occurrence, hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, activities associated with flow, and personality in adolescence. A group of 408 Italian teenagers (mean age = 17.31; SD = 1.13) were administered Flow Questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Psychological Well-being Scales, and the Big Five Questionnaire. Participants reporting optimal experience in their lives were compared with those not reporting it. Results showed that adolescents experiencing flow reported higher satisfaction with life, hedonic balance, and psychological well-being than their counterparts. Findings from logistic regression analyses further showed that openness to experience was the sole personality factor predicting flow occurrence, and that no personality factors were predictive of type of activities adolescents associated with flow. Findings point to the promotion of optimal experience among adolescents through the support of curiosity and openness to new experiences in engaging opportunities for action. They further call for the development of an integrated model taking into account both individual predispositions and social and cultural factors in well-being promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]