The Emotional Rewards of Valuing Happiness: A Longitudinal Study Among Filipino Adolescents

Abstract

The intense desire to achieve happiness is linked to increased well-being in collectivist societies. However, research showed that the emotional payback of valuing happiness only applies to older adults but not to younger undergraduate students. Existing studies on how valuing happiness predicts well-being in different populations use cross-sectional designs, offering limited evidence on the temporal precedence between valuing happiness and wellbeing outcomes. Hence, this study examined the association between valuing happiness and positive affect among Filipino adolescents via a three-wave cross-lagged panel design. Results of cross-lagged panel structural equation modeling demonstrated that valuing happiness was positively associated with subsequent positive affect even after controlling for auto-regressor effects. The results are discussed in terms of the implications of valuing happiness among adolescents.