Association of Personal Values in Adolescence with Subjective Health Status, Meaning in Life, and Life Satisfaction in Adulthood: A Cross-sectional Study with Retrospective Recall1

Abstract

This study aimed to replicate a previous finding of the association between personal values in adolescence and health/mental well-being in adulthood among workers, in a large community sample, with an additional focus on eudemonic well-being. A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban and suburban cities of Japan. Subjective health status, eudemonic well-being (meaning in life), and life satisfaction in adulthood were measured in 2010; 11 types of personal values and commitment to values in adolescence were assessed with the retrospective recall in 2017. A total of 2,413 adults were included in the multiple linear regression analyses. None of the personal values were related to life satisfaction unlike the previous study. Consistent results were that commitment to values was positively associated with life satisfaction, and the value of graduating from school was positively associated with subjective health status. Personal values related to openness to change and self-enhancement were positively associated with meaning in life in adulthood. This study did not fully replicate previous findings, but added the eudemonic perspective of mental well-being to the previous study.