From well-being to values or from values to well-being? Three longitudinal studies in the East and West on the same life transition

Theories and research on the relationships between values and well-being have predominantly focused on how values may affect well-being, with less attention to the reverse direction—how well-being may shape values. We present three alternative theoretical perspectives on this latter direction: well-being as an activator, reinforcer, and operator of value change. Using diverse measures of well-being and personal values, we conducted three longitudinal studies centered on the same life transition—entering university—across distinct samples from Mainland China (N = 218), Hong Kong (N = 252), and the United Kingdom (N = 196). Results from parallel process latent growth models (LGMs) showed more substantial evidence for well-being predicting later value change than the reverse. Specifically, well-being predicted later value changes in three cases: Initial life satisfaction predicted increases in the openness to change value dimension in Study 1, and initial self-esteem predicted increases in both openness to change and self-enhancement value dimensions in Study 3. Values predicted later well-being changes only once: Initial self-enhancement value dimension predicted increases in positive affect in Study 2. These results illuminate the intricate nature of the relationships between well-being and values, highlighting well-being’s role as a catalyst for value development and the importance of contextual factors during life transitions.