Diversity of group memberships predicts wellbeing: cross sectional and longitudinal evidence

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Charles, S.J., Stevenson, C. ORCID: 0000-0002-2438-6425, Wakefield, J.R.H. ORCID: 0000-0001-9155-9683 and Fino, E. ORCID: 0000-0002-5095-6014, 2023. Diversity of group memberships predicts wellbeing: cross sectional and longitudinal evidence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. ISSN 0146-1672 (Forthcoming)

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Abstract

Groups have their health and wellbeing impacts by satisfying their members’ needs and providing resources to help cope with threats. Multiple group memberships serve to accumulate these benefits and also provide resilience to the effects of group loss. However, the additional wellbeing benefits of belonging to multiple different types of group remain to be determined. In a pre-registered cross-sectional survey in Nottingham, England (Study 1, N = 328), we found that group-type diversity predicted wellbeing and that this effect was fully serially mediated by increased creative self-efficacy, then reduced loneliness. To confirm our hypothesis in a more robust sample we conducted longitudinal analyses on the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) dataset (Study 2, N = 5,838) finding that group-type diversity at time one (T1) predicted wellbeing at T2 (4 years later), even when accounting for wellbeing and loneliness at T1. We discuss the implications for enhancing group-based health interventions.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Creators:

Charles, S.J., Stevenson, C., Wakefield, J.R.H. and Fino, E.

Publisher:

SAGE Publications

Date:

24 August 2023

ISSN:

0146-1672