Early Adolescent Affect Predicts Later Life Outcomes.

The field of subjective well-being has grown rapidly in recent years (Diener, 2013). The major emphasis has been on the causes of subjective well-being, such as income and temperament (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). There has also been a focus on the cultural factors that affect subjective well-being (Tov & Diener, 2007; Oishi, 2002). However, more recently an important question has been how subjective well-being affects later behavior and health (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005). Numerous studies now suggest that subjective well-being is beneficial to health and longevity (e.g., Diener & Chan, 2011; Steptoe & Wardle, 2011), as well as work performance (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, & Patton, 2001) and citizenship (Dunn, Aknin, & Norton, 2008). One of the strongest beneficial outcomes of subjective well-being appears to be supportive social relationships (Frisch, 2005; Moore & Diener, 2015; Oishi, Diener, & Lucas, 2007). People high in life satisfaction and positive affect seem to have better social lives in that when they marry they are more likely to stay married and be happy with their marriages (Luhmann, Lucas, Eid, & Diener, 2013). They are also more likely to report having more friends, closer friends, engage in more social activities, spend time talking with others, and experience better romantic relationships (Diener & Seligman, 2002; Demir, 2008; Mehl, Vazire, Holleran, & Clark, 2010). One of the strongest findings from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is that the experience of caring and connectedness are critical to both well-being and academic competence (Resnick et al., 1997). Much research considering the link between negative affect and social relationships has come from assessing interventions for mental illness, suggesting that interventions decrease negative affect which then lead to better social relationships (Mohr, Classen, & Barrera, 2004; Whisman, 2001). Less research has assessed whether negative affect predicts relationship distress or dysfunction directly. The present study extends past findings in several important ways. First, subjective well-being as a predictor of later life outcomes is more commonly obtained from an adult sample, although several large-scale adolescent studies such as the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, provides relevant results regarding general well-being as mentioned above. In addition, many samples in previous studies have not been broadly representative. We seek to replicate existing findings of subjective well-being and later outcomes at an early age (14–15 years old) specifically addressing the components of positive and negative affect and with a sample that is more heterogeneous in SES, more racially/ethnically diverse, and with a wider range of educational statuses than most prior research. By using a sample containing more SES diversity, we are able to determine whether trait levels of positive affect are always predictive of better career outcomes or whether their relation is confined to higher SES samples where positivity mixed with substantial resources is most likely to be rewarded. Diener, Nickerson, Lucas, and Sandvik (2002) found that those high in cheerfulness when they entered college later earned more money, controlling for parent income. However, this effect was strongest for those from higher income families. For those from the lowest income families, a middle-level of cheerfulness in late adolescence seems to have predicted the highest later income. A plausible conjecture is that perhaps high positive affect is most helpful for individuals who are rich in resources, and that for those in more difficult circumstances some dissatisfaction and worry, for instance, might be helpful in motivating young people to achieve more and earn higher incomes. We will address whether affect in adolescence is related to income 10 years later in a lower SES sample of participants. In the present study we assessed 184 adolescents of which 40% of whom identified as members of a racial/ethnic minority group. The mean parent income during initial data collection in 1998 was around $40,000 and nearly 40% of parents of these adolescents were not married. Additionally, less than half of the sample ultimately obtained an education level beyond a high school degree. This sample is thus situated to determine whether earlier findings will generalize to a more diverse sample, including substantial numbers of individuals with more restricted resources. We also study individuals throughout a major transition in life – from early adolescence at about age 14 to adulthood at about age 25. Thus, we consider whether relations hold not just across a few years within the same developmental epoch, but across critical developmental transitions as well. Another purpose of the study is to go beyond self-reported outcome measures. The longitudinal studies evaluating subjective well-being and its components with later outcomes by and large rely exclusively upon self report data. Therefore, the possibility exists for bias to distort the relationship between well-being and later outcomes. In order to combat this potential bias, we obtain reports from close friends and romantic partners to reduce contamination by self-report positivity bias. Finally, previous research has supported a positive link between social relationships and well-being. Most of these studies have very broadly defined social relationships and functioning. We seek to extend outcome measures related to social functioning by more narrowly defining interpersonal components. Su, Tay, and Diener (2014) developed the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT), a measure that broadly captures a range of psychological well-being. The Relationships category of the CIT is further divided into belonging, community, loneliness, respect, support, and trust. A similar division of relationships into finer components will be a key addition in our outcomes related to subjective well-being. Specifically, we will consider whether adolescent affect predicts attachment with peers and conflict in romantic relationships, which are two specific opposing but also broad categories to capture distinct aspects of social functioning. In addition to social relationships, we also examine whether early subjective well-being predicts healthy adjustment into adulthood. Prior research has highlighted the relationship between higher subjective well-being predicting better health and longevity, but fewer studies have addressed the psychological health subset of functioning. It has been found that the happiest people have low levels of mental illness symptoms (Diener & Seligman, 2002), but the direction of influence is uncertain. We will address whether affect predicts adjustment into adulthood focusing on internalizing behaviors (i.e., depression, anxiety, loneliness) of psychological health. Because we do not have adult measures of affect, we cannot conclude whether it is early affect or stable affect across time that contributed to adult internalizing symptoms. While past research has found that self esteem moderates the relationship between subjective well-being and social support, coping styles, and spirituality (Smedema, Catalano, & Ebener, 2010), or is correlated with life satisfaction (Diener & Diener, 1995), few studies have assessed its relation specifically to the concept of self-worth. Emmons (1986) found that positive and negative affect related to success or failure of meeting goals, and such goal pursuit influences self esteem. We will target the link between early affect and adult self-worth to address this conceptual gap in the literature. Much research has assessed the link between subjective well-being and income (Diener, Sandvik, Seidlitz, & Diener, 1993; DeNeve, Diener, Tay, & Xuereb, 2013). Prior findings have also suggested there is overlap between job satisfaction and life satisfaction, but the direction of influence is debatable (Judge & Hulin, 1993; Judge & Watanabe, 1993). In addition to evaluating whether adolescent affect predicts adult earnings, we will also consider its impact on later job satisfaction and job competence to capture a broader sense of work-related functioning. In summary, the present study fills several important lacunae in the literature. First, we seek to reduce possible measurement biases by collecting outcomes predicted by aspects of subjective well-being through the use of peer and romantic partner reports. Second, not only does this study predict outcomes nearly a decade after affect measures are collected, but it predicts across major life transitions, that from adolescence into adulthood. Third, the sample is more representative of a diverse and underrepresented population than is typical for subjective well-being predictive research. Fourth, we will assess whether positive and negative affect, distinctly, predict adult life outcomes across the domains of social relationships, adjustment, career, and self worth. In addition, we will include gender and family income as statistical controls in our analyses, given the potential for such demographical information to bias results. Thus, our study adds substantially to earlier research both in the breadth of behavioral outcomes we examine, but also in crucial methodological ways that allow stronger conclusions to be drawn.