Relationships between 11 major life events and changes in psychological well-being were
examined in a three-generation sample: grandparents, their adult children, and their young adult
grandchildren. Psychological well-being was measured using the Bradburn Affect Balance
Scale. Life events included marriages; divorces; births of children; deaths of spouses, children,
and parents; health declines; hospitalizations; improved standard of living; retirement; and
retirement of one's spouse. Both positive and negative affect demonstrated similar stability over
14 years and were equally predictable from the life events. However, consistent with a two-factor
conceptualization of psychological well-being, for all generations, desirable life events predicted
change in positive affect whereas undesirable events predicted change in negative affect;
cross-domain prediction was minimal. Results further indicated that whether life events are
expected may be more important in predicting subsequent psychological well-being than whether
they are desirable or undesirable.
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