Exposure to negative life events, change in their perceived impact, and subsequent well-being among U.S. adults: A longitudinal outcome-wide analysis.

OBJECTIVE

Negative life events have the potential to undermine an individual's ability to function and thrive, but less is known about the implications of changes in subjective appraisals of those events for long-term well-being. This research examines how exposure to negative life events and subsequent changes in the perceived impact of those events are related to longer-term well-being in adulthood.

METHOD

Drawing on three waves of data from the Midlife in the United States study (M1: 1995-1996, M2: 2004-2006, M3: 2013-2014), we applied the analytic template for outcome-wide longitudinal designs to investigate associations of (a) negative life event exposure between M1 and M2 and (b) change in the perceived impact of negative life event exposure assessed at M2 with 25 outcomes across several domains of well-being assessed approximately 9 years later at M3: psychological distress, psychological well-being, social well-being, prosociality, physical health, and health behavior.

RESULTS

Whereas negative life event exposure was associated with worse subsequent well-being on selected outcomes (5/25 in total) in some domains, positive change in the perceived impact of negative life event exposure was associated with better well-being on one or more outcomes in most domains (11/25 in total). Effect sizes in both sets of analyses were generally small, with more consistent associations found for psychological and social outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Subjective appraisals of negative life events (particularly positive changes in those appraisals over time) may be more closely related to individual well-being in the long run than mere exposure to negative life events themselves. The findings bring attention to the possibility that positive changes in a person's subjective appraisal of negative life events could have beneficial consequences for long-term well-being.