What the study found
Life satisfaction was the best performing of the three evaluative subjective wellbeing measures when compared with overall flourishing. The study also found that all 15 childhood and demographic factors were significantly associated with Cantril’s ladder, life satisfaction, and happiness.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors say the findings help address debates about which concepts best represent subjective wellbeing, improve understanding of relevant factors, and show that cross-national variation matters. They conclude that the study advances methodological, socio-demographic, and cross-national understanding of evaluative subjective wellbeing.
What the researchers tested
The researchers used data from the Global Flourishing Study, analyzing 202,898 participants across 22 countries. They examined associations between three evaluative subjective wellbeing constructs — Cantril’s ladder, life satisfaction, and happiness — and 15 childhood and demographic factors.
What worked and what didn't
Life satisfaction had the strongest correlations with overall flourishing. All factors were significantly associated with all three constructs, with the largest variation among demographic factors seen for employment status and among childhood factors for self-reported health. The patterns also varied substantially across countries.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not describe specific limitations beyond noting that the cross-national patterns were not universal. It also says happiness is perhaps more ambiguously an evaluative subjective wellbeing measure.
Key points
- Life satisfaction performed best among the three evaluative subjective wellbeing measures.
- Cantril’s ladder, life satisfaction, and happiness were each associated with all 15 childhood and demographic factors.
- The largest variation among demographic factors was for employment status.
- The largest variation among childhood factors was for self-reported health.
- Patterns differed substantially across the 22 countries.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Life satisfaction best matched flourishing across 22 countries
- Authors:
- Tim Lomas, Hayami K. Koga, R. Noah Padgett, James O. Pawelski, Eric S. Kim, Christos Makridis, Craig Gundersen, Matt Bradshaw, Noémie Le Pertel, Koichiro Shiba, Chris Felton, John F. Helliwell, Byron R. Johnson, Tyler J. VanderWeele
- Institutions:
- Harvard University, Harvard University Press, University of Pennsylvania, University of British Columbia, University of Nicosia, Arizona State University, Baylor University, Boston University
- Publication date:
- 2026-02-10
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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