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Open research questions in Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction

754 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 7,557 Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • The gap between the conceptualization of gratitude as an intrinsic virtue and its promotion as a self-help exercise. The lack of understanding of how different rationales affect the effectiveness of a gratitude intervention.

    Grateful to help you or grateful to help me? An investigation of the effects of expressing gratitude to benefit oneself · 2026 · DOI

  • The study faced challenges in recruiting a homogeneous sample of Muslim participants. The research encountered difficulties in measuring religiosity and life satisfaction using existing scales. The study had to address the challenge of controlling for the 'need for structure' in the analysis.

    The Moral Refuge Model: Moral Foundations as a Mediator between Uncertainty, Religiosity, and Life Satisfaction Among Muslims in Türkiye · 2026 · DOI

  • The study population consisted of only Muslim undergraduate students studying in Türkiye - The sample size was limited to 173 participants - Alawite (Alevi) participants were retained alongside Sunni Muslims, but their small proportion may not be representative

    The Moral Refuge Model: Moral Foundations as a Mediator between Uncertainty, Religiosity, and Life Satisfaction Among Muslims in Türkiye · 2026 · DOI

  • the complexity of mental health issues in young people. the need for effective strategies to support teacher engagement and development. the importance of addressing the language used to communicate with teachers and students.

    Teacher confidence and student engagement with mental health and wellbeing lessons: Learning from an iterative curriculum intervention in schools · 2026 · DOI

  • a lack of evidence on the impact and effectiveness of school-based mental health and wellbeing interventions. a need for effective strategies to support teacher engagement and development. a gap in understanding the importance of language in promoting mental health and wellbeing.

    Teacher confidence and student engagement with mental health and wellbeing lessons: Learning from an iterative curriculum intervention in schools · 2026 · DOI

  • the study only recruited US residents, - the sample size was limited by the budget, - the manipulation of impact concerned whether the agent's actions benefited others, but the vignettes did not specify whether the agent was aware of this benefit

    The Overlooked Self-Transcendent Nature of Meaning in Life: Having a Positive Impact on Others · 2026 · DOI

  • The prevailing consensus in the psychological literature regarding the construct of meaning in life has overlooked the self-transcendent nature of meaning in life. The importance of evaluating one's life as having a positive impact has not been fully explored. The paper aims to fill this gap by providing empirical evidence to support the idea that having a positive impact on others is a key dimension of meaning in life.

    The Overlooked Self-Transcendent Nature of Meaning in Life: Having a Positive Impact on Others · 2026 · DOI

  • investigate alternative optimal levels of affects, - examine the relationship between affective alignment and life satisfaction in different populations, - explore the role of wisdom and personal growth in wellbeing

    Positively Negative: Why Negative Affect is Linked to Higher Wellbeing · 2026 · DOI

  • The literature on subjective wellbeing lacks clarity on whether maximizing positive affect and minimizing negative affect reflects a better life than a more aligned mix of the two affective categories. There is a lack of clearly identified boundaries on the benefits of hedonic experience.

    Positively Negative: Why Negative Affect is Linked to Higher Wellbeing · 2026 · DOI

  • Further research is needed to explore the reasons behind the low mean PWI score in the UK, - Research could investigate the effectiveness of the short-form version of the PWI in the UK

    National Estimates of Subjective Wellbeing in the UK Using the Personal Wellbeing Index · 2026 · DOI

  • The paper identifies a gap in the literature regarding the measurement of subjective wellbeing in the UK. The study highlights the need for normative scores for researchers using the PWI in the UK. The research gap is related to the lack of understanding of sub-group differences in mean PWI scores.

    National Estimates of Subjective Wellbeing in the UK Using the Personal Wellbeing Index · 2026 · DOI

  • Prior studies have primarily examined how different ways of happiness pursuits contribute to individuals' wellbeing, leaving their influences on academic (mal)adjustment largely unknown. There is a need to understand how happiness motives predict academic distress in adolescents. The study aims to address this gap by investigating the relationship between happiness motives and academic distress.

    Eudaimonic but not Hedonic or Extrinsic Motives Predict Less Academic Distress Among Adolescents—Indirect Effect via Flourishing · 2026 · DOI

  • No studies examined school well-being and self-concept holistically, - Most research focused on one or several perspectives of school well-being, - The review only included quantitative records, - The review only included records from WoS and ERIC databases

    School well-being and self-concept or self-esteem in secondary education students: a systematic review · 2026 · DOI

  • Examining the relationship between school well-being and self-concept or self-esteem in a comprehensive way, - Studying self-concept across its multiple dimensions, - Incorporating students' perspectives in the research

    School well-being and self-concept or self-esteem in secondary education students: a systematic review · 2026 · DOI

  • Prior work has not examined the co-developmental trajectories of SWB and PP during adolescence. The relationship between SWB and PP is not fully understood. There is a need to clarify how SWB and PP integrate across adolescence.

    Patterns of subjective well-being and psychopathology trajectories in adolescence: a population-based cohort study · 2026 · DOI

  • Examination of potential downsides of the relationship between social capital and hedonic well-being, - Investigation of the impact of sports and physical activities on social capital and hedonic well-being

    Exploring the relationship between social capital and hedonic well-being in sport and physical activity contexts: a scoping review · 2025 · DOI

  • There exists a gap in the literature examining the interplay between social capital and hedonic well-being. The review highlights the need for a more refined conceptualization and universally accepted measurement of social capital within sports research.

    Exploring the relationship between social capital and hedonic well-being in sport and physical activity contexts: a scoping review · 2025 · DOI

  • Little is known about the content and pedagogy in positive psychology courses. There is a need to develop and evaluate a positive psychology course that aims to foster posttraumatic growth, psychological flexibility, and socio-emotional competencies in higher education students.

    Embedding positive psychology into curriculum to promote posttraumatic growth, psychological flexibility, and socio-emotional competencies in higher education · 2024 · DOI

  • Refine validity theory and make its implications unavoidable for researchers who rely on scores to support substantive claims

    Measurement validity: essential in principle, subordinated in practice · 2026 · DOI

  • Examine how the mediation process unfolds over time, - Investigate the effects of happiness motives on academic distress in different contexts

    Eudaimonic but not Hedonic or Extrinsic Motives Predict Less Academic Distress Among Adolescents—Indirect Effect via Flourishing · 2026 · DOI

  • While the individual relationships between these factors have been studied, their simultaneous influence on academic performance remains underexplored.

    Psychopathology and Subjective Well‐Being as Predictors of Academic Performance in High School Students · 2026 · DOI

  • However, few studies have examined their direct impact on suicide-related outcomes in this population.

    The role of gratitude and optimism interventions in reducing suicide risk and enhancing wellbeing among university students · 2026 · DOI

  • Despite increasing attention to healthy aging, few studies have systematically examined how these factors jointly influence life satisfaction.

    What stole Chinese older adults’ life satisfaction? Integrating medical statistics and machine learning with a life-course perspective using CHARLS data · 2026 · DOI

  • While the human quest for meaning in life is widely studied across various disciplines, research examining how children discursively construct and communicate this concept remains underexplored.

    “Life is a rollercoaster”: A cognitive discourse analysis of school-agers’ understanding of meaning in life · 2025 · DOI

  • There may have been a ‘healthy’ amount of COVID-related danger/contamination fear that was lacking among sensation seekers.

    Sensation seeking, impulsivity, COVID-19 stress, and drinking among emerging adults · 2025 · DOI

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754 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 7,557 Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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