Science Quickly Are You Flourishing? This Global Study Has Surprising Takeaways
May 30, 2025
Victor Counted, an associate professor of psychology at Regent University and part of Harvard's Human Flourishing Program, dives into the Global Flourishing Study's surprising insights. He discusses how cultural contexts shape our understanding of flourishing and highlights alarming declines in youth well-being during the pandemic. The conversation also reveals that job stability and meaningful relationships significantly impact personal well-being, while the U.S. struggles compared to countries like Indonesia in achieving true flourishing.
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Flourishing: A Multidimensional Concept
- Flourishing is a multidimensional concept involving happiness, meaning, character, health, relationships, and financial stability.
- It varies by cultural context yet includes universally desired aspects and key life pathways like work, family, education, and religion.
Youth Struggles and Religion's Role
- Young people are struggling to flourish compared to expectations, partly due to COVID-19 impacts and loss of meaning.
- Frequent religious attendance strongly correlates with higher flourishing, despite some reports of pain and suffering among attendees.
Childhood Shapes Adult Flourishing
- Early life factors like good health, positive parental relationships, and religious service attendance predict better adult flourishing.
- Childhood experiences of parental divorce, abuse, or financial hardship hinder flourishing in adulthood.