Pursuing Pleasure or Meaning: A Cross-Lagged Analysis of Happiness Motives and Well-being in Adolescents

Hedonic and eudaimonic motives have been shown to have different effects on well-being, but most prior studies concentrated on hedonic well-being. To further verify the predictive associations between happiness motives (i.e., hedonic and eudaimonic motives) and well-being, especially eudaimonic well-being, we used a two-wave cross-lagged longitudinal design in a sample of 419 teenagers (mean age = 15.17 years, SD = 0.43 years) with an interval of eight months. The results showed that eudaimonic motives significantly predicted later hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, while only eudaimonic well-being, in turn, predicted later eudaimonic motives. There were no predictive associations between hedonic motives and two dimensions of well-being. After controlling the effects of age, gender, and subjective socioeconomic status, these results remained significant. Furthermore, after adding the lagged paths between two types of well-being, only eudaimonic well-being predicted eudaimonic motives, while eudaimonic motives could not predict hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Besides, eudaimonic well-being significantly predicted hedonic well-being, while negative affect rather than positive affect of hedonic well-being could predict eudaimonic well-being. These results provide further evidence for the directionality of the links between happiness motives and well-being, especially eudaimonic well-being in adolescents.