Browsing by Author "Vasala, Maija"

The purpose of the current thesis was to examine whether the peer group acceptance in adolescence predicts eudaimonic well-being in adulthood. Eudaimonic well-being is a feeling of purposefulness of life and it was measured with Questionnaire of Eudaimonic Well-Being (QEWB). The structure validity of the QEWB was also examined in this study and based on the previous research it was hypothesized that the scale would be unidimensional. The relation between peer acceptance and eudaimonic well-being has not been studied before. However, in previous longitudinal studies peer acceptance has predicted many aspects of life that are important to well-being. Therefore it was hypothesized that peer acceptance would be associated with greater levels of eudaimonic well-being. This study was part of Pohjanmaa longitudinal study. The first phase of the study was conducted 1990–1991 and the follow up was carried out 2014. During the first phase participants were 11 to 17 and during the follow up 35 to 42 years old. Adolescence peer acceptance was measured with peer ratings. The participants were instructed to name who of their classmates they liked and who they disliked. The measurement model of the QEWB questionnaire was examined with confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. Regression models were used to test does the popularity predict well-being in adulthood. In addition, one-way ANOVA was used to test if the participants with different levels of peer acceptance differ from each other in terms of adulthood well-being. QEWB scale was found to consist of three factors instead of one. The factors were "Feeling of purposefulness", "Actions as self expression" and "Commitment to personal goals". Peer acceptance did not predict well-being in adulthood. It is likely that the effects of the peer acceptance are dependent on the role of social relations in individual's life in general. Thus, future studies should examine why similar life events impact differently to different people. The results of the study are encouraging when considering the victims of bullying because they are often rejected in their peer group. Furthermore, because well-being in adulthood is not determinated by peer relations it is possible that it could be improved with interventions.