Within‐Individual Variability in Well‐Being Among Emerging Adults

Bibliographic Data

ID21444526
AuthorsA S T Anker (0000-0002-2457-4493, The ROCKWOOL Foundation Research Unit The ROCKWOOL Foundation Copenhagen Denmark, corresponding author), Signe H Andersen (0000-0002-0717-8878, Rockwool Foundation), Line Hjorth Andersen (The ROCKWOOL Foundation Research Unit The ROCKWOOL Foundation Copenhagen Denmark)
Year2025
Volume97
Issue7
Pages2001-2018
Publication date2025-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Adolescence (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0140-1971 • E-ISSN: 1095-9254
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/jad.70019
PMID40629673
OpenAlexW4412132598
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited66

INTRODUCTION: The growing rates of youth who report poor well-being is a cause of great public concern. But we still do not have a good grasp of the degree of volatility of poor well-being among emerging adults. The current study examines within-individual variability in well-being. METHODS: We collected repeated measures of five well-being indicators (life satisfaction, general mental health, stress, loneliness, and self-rated health) every other week among a sample of 133 Danish students in upper secondary education (mean age = 18.6). We calculated three different measures (standard deviations, absolute fluctuations, and range) to capture within-individual variability in well-being across 3 months. We furthermore examined correlates of well-being variability. RESULTS: We found that all five well-being indicators varied considerably over the period. On average the within-individual range (maximum value - minimum value) spanned roughly 30% of the scale of the well-being indicators. The average within-individual standard deviation corresponded to roughly two thirds of the between-individual standard deviation in the baseline measures. We found well-being to vary more among females and those with the lowest baseline well-being to vary more than those with better baseline well-being. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that individual well-being in emerging adulthood fluctuates considerably-also for individuals who report relatively low well-being at baseline. This suggests that the large share of emerging adults reporting low well-being is likely to partly represent individuals drifting in and out of poor well-being. However, we should not lose sight of a small group (approximately 7% of our sample) that consistently report low well-being.

Baseline (sea) · Geography · Happiness · Life satisfaction · Loneliness · Mental health · Psychiatry · Scale (ratio) · Standard deviation · Statistics · Subjective well-being · Well-being · Demography · Health disparities and outcomes · Health, psychology, and well-being · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology

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