Subjective health in relation to hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll

Abstract

© The Author(s) 2018. This study investigated the relationships between subjective health, hedonic wellbeing (i.e. positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction), and eudaimonic wellbeing (i.e. psycho-social functioning). The sample was drawn from the Gallup World Poll and included a total of 1,567,295 individuals in 165 countries. We found that both hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing were uniquely associated with subjective health. However, the relative contributions of each dimension to subjective health varied, with negative affect demonstrating the strongest relationship with subjective health and life satisfaction demonstrating the weakest association. The moderating effects of some national-level variables were also explored.