subjective well-being
Definition
Subjective well-being refers to the perception that one's life is going well, typically assessed through self-reports of life satisfaction and happiness. It is shaped by political context, including partisan affiliation and the degree to which individuals support or oppose government actions. In a longitudinal study conducted across five weeks during the early months of President Trump's second term, Republicans consistently reported higher life satisfaction and happiness than Democrats, with group differences producing effect sizes of d >= 0.50 for life satisfaction and d >= 0.59 for happiness. Support for the administration's actions correlated positively with well-being, while support for oppositional actions correlated negatively, and these associations held after controlling for political affiliation and demographic variables.
Sources: Wu et al. (2026)
Related Terms
- democratic backsliding (1 shared article)
- partisanship (1 shared article)
- politics (1 shared article)
- polarization (1 shared article)
Applications
Subjective Well-being and Partisan Affiliation
Partisan affiliation is a consistent predictor of subjective well-being, with Republicans reporting higher life satisfaction and happiness than Democrats across all five weekly measurement waves. Democrats showed a quadratic pattern of change over time, with an initial decline followed by a partial rebound, while Republicans showed steady linear increases. Political affiliation and subjective socioeconomic status emerged as robust predictors of well-being even after accounting for support for specific government actions.
Sources: Wu et al. (2026)
Subjective Well-being and Support for Government Actions
Support for the Trump administration's actions was positively correlated with subjective well-being, whereas support for actions taken against the administration was negatively correlated with well-being. Eight of twelve action-to-well-being associations remained significant after controlling for party membership and demographics, indicating that approval or disapproval of government actions carries psychological consequences that extend beyond partisan identity alone.
Sources: Wu et al. (2026)
Subjective Well-being and Democratic Backsliding
Periods of democratic backsliding produced asymmetric well-being consequences depending on an individual's alignment with the governing administration. Those whose values and political preferences matched the prevailing policy environment reported higher well-being, while those in opposition reported greater psychological strain.
Sources: Wu et al. (2026)
