The association between recall of historical events and well-being ( La asociación del recuerdo de eventos históricos con el bienestar )

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between remembered sociohistorical events and well-being. Its objective is to ascertain the content of historical memory and the way it is associated with this construct. The PHI remembered well-being scale and the CEVI instrument, which asks respondents to describe four relevant historical events during their lifetime, were applied to a convenience sample from the Basque Country (N = 434, range 20–88 years, M = 48.11, SD = 21.47, 59.2% women). Negative and local events predominated. Positive appraisal of historical events was positively associated with personal, hedonic and social well-being, and negative appraisal was positively associated with lower well-being, confirming the greater importance of positive recall in well-being. A stronger relationship between the recall of historical events, particularly positive ones, and the hedonic and social facets of well-being was observed than with personal well-being.