Sociodemographic Disparities in Positive Life Experiences

Individuals’ daily positive life experiences, from having a good conversation to taking a relaxing bath, may be thought of as mundane, but when added together they may be key contributors to making life meaningful and enjoyable. Some individuals, however, may have more frequent access to positive life experiences or may be able to enjoy them more. We used data from the Midlife Development in the US Study to examine disparities in overall frequency and enjoyment of positive life experiences across socioeconomic status (SES), race, and sexual orientation (with consideration of gender and age), as well as whether positive experiences may mediate associations between sociodemographic characteristics and psychological health and well-being (life satisfaction, positive affect, depressive and anxiety symptomatology), as measured concurrently with positive experiences (Study 1; N = 2,118). We then extended these analyses to 3 indicators of well-being (positive and negative affect, life satisfaction) measured 7 years later (Study 2; N = 1,182). We found that people of lower SES, Black people, other people of color, and gay/bisexual people had a lower frequency of positive experiences. Similar patterns were seen for enjoyment, but with smaller effect sizes. Racial associations with positive experiences were attenuated after adjustment for SES. In mediation analyses, positive experiences mediated associations between greater SES and better psychological health and well-being. Positive experiences also appeared to play a role in the lower life satisfaction observed in gay/bisexual participants. Potential disparities in accessing and engaging in positive life experiences, and the role of such disparities in well-being, warrant further study.