Abstract
Having a sense of purpose in life appears valuable across life domains, though it remains unclear whether purpose also provides financial value to individuals. The current study examined sense of purpose as a predictor of concurrent and longitudinal income and net worth levels, using two waves of the MIDUS sample of adults (N = 4660 across both assessments). Participants who reported a higher sense of purpose had higher levels of household income and net worth initially, and were more likely to increase on these financial outcomes over the nine years between assessments. Interaction tests suggested some evidence of age moderation, but gender did not appear to moderate the influence of purpose on economic outcomes.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 38-42 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Journal of Research in Personality |
Volume | 65 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 1 2016 |
Funding
The preparation of this manuscript was supported by grant R01-AG018436 from the National Institutes of Health .
Keywords
- Age moderation
- In life
- Income
- Net worth
- Purpose
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- General Psychology