Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
Using long-term data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study, the authors show that physical health, thinking skills, and well-being in midlife can change in different directions for different people. They describe these changes as multidirectional (some things get better, some worse), variable between people, and plastic (open…
This paper examines how people report their well-being at different ages in 145 countries. Using many surveys and controlling for factors like education, marital and job status, and gender, the author finds a clear U-shaped pattern: self-reported well-being falls into midlife and then rises again. Across 477 country-level estimates the…
This study surveyed 426 Filipino adults online during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic to see if perceived stress helps explain links between social support and mental health. Using standard questionnaires, the researchers found that lower perceived stress was linked to more positive feelings and less anxiety and depression when…
This chapter explains three ways people think about health. It says the best view — the "complete state" — includes both the lack of disease and the presence of positive mental capacities and functioning. The author reviews studies that support using this complete-state view for mental health and suggests that…
Researchers studied adults aged 36–84 from the MIDUS study and found that people who reported a stronger sense of purpose in life (measured about two years earlier) showed better emotional recovery after seeing negative pictures. Recovery was measured by the eyeblink startle reflex (EBR); smaller eyeblinks after the picture ended…
This article proposes a clear, provisional definition of “emotional well-being” (EWB) to bring order to a crowded field. The authors reviewed prior definitions, consulted experts, and used concept mapping to create an umbrella concept that includes things like life satisfaction, sense of purpose, and positive emotions. They say the literature…
This paper reviewed studies that tested how and when physical activity (PA) relates to mental health. The authors searched four databases up to July 2024 and kept 247 studies. They found strong evidence that 12 specific factors help explain the PA–mental health link (for example, mood, self-esteem, and social support).…
This review of research up to October 2023 explains many ways exercise may help people with depression. The authors describe biological changes (for example, more endorphins, less inflammation, and higher levels of brain-supporting molecules like BDNF), plus psychological and behavioral benefits (better sleep, less rumination, more self‑esteem and social contact).…
This study surveyed 393 Italian adults aged 18–62 (219 in stable close relationships and 174 singles) to see how adult attachment styles relate to psychological well-being. People in stable relationships reported higher well-being than singles. Singles were more likely to show attachment traits such as discomfort with closeness, treating relationships…
Researchers followed 173 people for 3 weeks and had them record their most intense daily anger episode (2,342 episodes total). They grouped the open-ended anger triggers into five categories and found that anger caused by other people or by an unknown source tended to be stronger and felt less controlled.…
This commentary argues that “emotional well-being” is only one part of broader mental well-being, and that the definition proposed by Park et al. (2022) — focusing on how positive someone feels about life — is too narrow. The authors suggest emotional well-being should also cover emotion regulation and whether emotions…
This study followed people from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth 1979 to see how self-esteem in young adulthood links to depression later on. The authors found that, for men, alcohol and drug use in young adulthood partly explained how low self-esteem led to more depression. They also found that…
