The indirect effect of daily flow experience on affective well-being through less negative views on aging

Views on aging fluctuate daily and may be influenced by everyday encounters and routines. By fully immersing and engaging in an activity (i.e., flow experience), adults in middle and late adulthood can enjoy heighted senses of control and competence that help combat their negative views on their age...

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Main Authors: Samuel Finnigan, Jiawan Zhong, Dwight C.K. Tse
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Current Research in Behavioral Sciences
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666518225000130
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author Samuel Finnigan
Jiawan Zhong
Dwight C.K. Tse
author_facet Samuel Finnigan
Jiawan Zhong
Dwight C.K. Tse
author_sort Samuel Finnigan
collection DOAJ
description Views on aging fluctuate daily and may be influenced by everyday encounters and routines. By fully immersing and engaging in an activity (i.e., flow experience), adults in middle and late adulthood can enjoy heighted senses of control and competence that help combat their negative views on their age and aging process. This study aimed to examine whether greater daily flow experiences reduced negative views on aging and, in turn, were associated with affective well-being. In a diary study, 83 UK-residing participants aged 50 to 85 (mean = 62.16) completed daily surveys assessing their flow experiences in their main activities, negative views on aging, and positive and negative affect for 14 consecutive days. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that at both within- and between-person levels, greater flow experiences were related to lesser negative views on aging and, in turn, greater positive affect and lesser negative affect. Follow-up exploratory analyses indicated that whereas the within-person contemporaneous (i.e., on the same day) indirect effects of flow experiences on positive and negative affect remained significant regardless of chronological age, such effects did not “spill over” to the following days. These findings highlight the need to consider daily engagement in flow-conducive activities and call for a lifespan perspective to better understand its association with daily views on aging.
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spelling doaj-art-8e5b0c6ba54c47cab2cf23910f9ecc182025-08-20T03:17:32ZengElsevierCurrent Research in Behavioral Sciences2666-51822025-01-01910018010.1016/j.crbeha.2025.100180The indirect effect of daily flow experience on affective well-being through less negative views on agingSamuel Finnigan0Jiawan Zhong1Dwight C.K. Tse2Department of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1QE UKDepartment of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1QE UKCorrespondence author.; Department of Psychological Sciences and Health, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1QE UKViews on aging fluctuate daily and may be influenced by everyday encounters and routines. By fully immersing and engaging in an activity (i.e., flow experience), adults in middle and late adulthood can enjoy heighted senses of control and competence that help combat their negative views on their age and aging process. This study aimed to examine whether greater daily flow experiences reduced negative views on aging and, in turn, were associated with affective well-being. In a diary study, 83 UK-residing participants aged 50 to 85 (mean = 62.16) completed daily surveys assessing their flow experiences in their main activities, negative views on aging, and positive and negative affect for 14 consecutive days. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that at both within- and between-person levels, greater flow experiences were related to lesser negative views on aging and, in turn, greater positive affect and lesser negative affect. Follow-up exploratory analyses indicated that whereas the within-person contemporaneous (i.e., on the same day) indirect effects of flow experiences on positive and negative affect remained significant regardless of chronological age, such effects did not “spill over” to the following days. These findings highlight the need to consider daily engagement in flow-conducive activities and call for a lifespan perspective to better understand its association with daily views on aging.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666518225000130Flow stateEmotional well-beingDaily diarySubjective ageMultilevel structural equation modeling
spellingShingle Samuel Finnigan
Jiawan Zhong
Dwight C.K. Tse
The indirect effect of daily flow experience on affective well-being through less negative views on aging
Current Research in Behavioral Sciences
Flow state
Emotional well-being
Daily diary
Subjective age
Multilevel structural equation modeling
title The indirect effect of daily flow experience on affective well-being through less negative views on aging
title_full The indirect effect of daily flow experience on affective well-being through less negative views on aging
title_fullStr The indirect effect of daily flow experience on affective well-being through less negative views on aging
title_full_unstemmed The indirect effect of daily flow experience on affective well-being through less negative views on aging
title_short The indirect effect of daily flow experience on affective well-being through less negative views on aging
title_sort indirect effect of daily flow experience on affective well being through less negative views on aging
topic Flow state
Emotional well-being
Daily diary
Subjective age
Multilevel structural equation modeling
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666518225000130
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