Low Income Amplifies the Negative Relationship Between Nostalgia Proneness and Well-Being

David Benjamin Newman ()
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David Benjamin Newman: University of California

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2022, vol. 17, issue 6, No 4, 3326 pages

Abstract: Abstract Nostalgia is a sentimental longing for the past that can influence people’s well-being. How this mixed emotion influences well-being may depend on current life circumstances. Nostalgia elicited in negative contexts could be particularly harmful to people’s well-being, whereas nostalgia elicited in positive contexts may not be as detrimental. This hypothesis was tested at the level of individual differences with a nationally representative sample of Americans (N = 6,732) who completed measures of nostalgia proneness and several indicators of well-being. Income was measured as an objective indicator of current life circumstances. Results showed that nostalgia proneness was negatively related to well-being, and income was positively related to well-being. Importantly, these relationships were moderated such that the negative relationships between nostalgia and well-being were stronger among members of low income households than among members of high income households. Consistent with the hypothesis, nostalgia proneness was particularly detrimental to well-being under objectively less desirable circumstances. These findings support an emerging body of research that contends that the effect of nostalgia on well-being depends on the context in which nostalgia is elicited.

Keywords: Nostalgia; Well-being; Income; Affect; Individual differences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s11482-022-10066-8

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