Exploring Hedonic and Eudaimonic Items of Well-Being in Mediterranean and Non-Mediterranean Countries: Influence of Sociodemographic and Lifestyle Factors

Vanda Andrade, Stefano Quarta, Marta Tagarro, Lence Miloseva, Marika Massaro, Mihail Chervenkov, Teodora Ivanova, Rui Jorge, Viktorija Maksimova, Katarina Smilkov, Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova, Tatjana Ruskovska, Elena Philippou, Georgia Eirini Deligiannidou, Christos A. Kontogiorgis, María-Teresa García Conesa and Paula Pinto
Additional contact information
Vanda Andrade: Instituto Politécnico de Santarém, Escola Superior Agraria, 2001-904 Santarem, Portugal
Stefano Quarta: Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Marta Tagarro: Instituto Politécnico de Santarém, Escola Superior de Educação, 2001-902 Santarem, Portugal
Lence Miloseva: Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, Str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North Macedonia
Marika Massaro: National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Clinical Physiology, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Mihail Chervenkov: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Forestry, 1797 Sofia, Bulgaria
Teodora Ivanova: Slow Food in Bulgaria, 9 Pierre De Geytre St. bl. 3, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Rui Jorge: Instituto Politécnico de Santarém, Escola Superior Agraria, 2001-904 Santarem, Portugal
Viktorija Maksimova: Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, Str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North Macedonia
Katarina Smilkov: Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, Str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North Macedonia
Darinka Gjorgieva Ackova: Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, Str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North Macedonia
Tatjana Ruskovska: Faculty of Medical Sciences, University Goce Delcev, Str. Krste Misirkov, No. 10-A, POB 201, 2000 Stip, North Macedonia
Elena Philippou: Department of Life and Health Sciences, School of Sciences and Engineering, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 1700, Cyprus
Georgia Eirini Deligiannidou: Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
Christos A. Kontogiorgis: Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Dragana, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece
María-Teresa García Conesa: Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Centro de Edafología y Biología Aplicada del Segura-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CEBAS-CSIC), Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Paula Pinto: Instituto Politécnico de Santarém, Escola Superior Agraria, 2001-904 Santarem, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-18

Abstract: Increased understanding of subjective well-being (SWB), as well as factors that influence it, are essential to enhance well-being at the individual and national level. We have applied a hedonic and eudaimonic 9-item composed tool (SWB score) to measure SWB across several Mediterranean (MED) and non-Mediterranean (non-MED) countries, and to explore the association between the SWB score and a range of sociodemographic, health and Mediterranean lifestyle factors. A specifically designed web-based questionnaire was distributed to adult participants (N = 2400) from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Bulgaria and Republic of North Macedonia. Results showed that the SWB score was significantly different across the examined countries with the MED participants displaying slightly higher average scores than the non-MED ones (6.3 ± 1.5 vs. 6.1 ± 1.6, p = 0.002). Several sociodemographic, health status and lifestyle factors displayed a significant but limited association with the 9-item SWB score, with a multiple regression model explaining around 17% of the variance. Nevertheless, our results support that a closer adherence to Mediterranean lifestyle habits—the Mediterranean Diet, spending time with friends, family, and in nature, being active, and getting adequate rest at night—has a positive influence on the 9-item SWB score. Further research is needed to advance the understanding of the measuring and differentiating of SWB across different populations and to establish all the factors that influence it.

Keywords: life satisfaction; subjective well-being; hedonic well-being; eudaimonic well-being; lifestyle habits; Mediterranean (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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