Eudaimonic Orientation Enhances the Well-Being Experienced by Fathers

Courtney A. Gosselin, Veronika Huta () and Arthur Braaten
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Courtney A. Gosselin: University of Ottawa
Veronika Huta: University of Ottawa
Arthur Braaten: University of Ottawa

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2022, vol. 17, issue 4, No 10, 2117-2138

Abstract: Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the potential moderating roles of eudaimonic orientation (prioritizing authenticity, meaning, excellence, growth) and hedonic orientation (prioritizing pleasure, comfort) on the link between parental status and well-being. A sample of 473 parents and 138 nonparents from Canada and the United States completed a questionnaire assessing eudaimonic and hedonic motives for activities and well-being experiences in their private life. The sample was balanced by gender, country, and age group (ages ranged from 18 to 93). Multivariate regression analyses revealed a significant positive interaction between being a parent and eudaimonic orientation in predicting positive well-being experiences as a set. Follow-up analyses comparing results by gender revealed that eudaimonic orientation had an enhancing moderating effect on fathers’, but not mothers’, well-being. Univariate regression analyses showed that, for males, the interaction between eudaimonic orientation and parental status related specifically to life satisfaction, and experiences of meaning, elevation, self-connectedness, vitality, and relatedness. No significant interaction effect was found between parental status and hedonic orientation in predicting overall well-being. The results of our study suggest that the ways people construe and pursue the ‘good life’ have important implications for the well-being derived from parenthood—at least for fathers. Our findings also support evidence suggesting that eudaimonic and hedonic orientations constitute an important lens through which individuals interpret the well-being experienced in relation to different life contexts.

Keywords: Eudaimonia; hedonia; parenthood; orientations to well-being; well-being motives (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s11482-021-10020-0

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