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Well-Being and Romantic Relationships: A Systematic Review in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Adolescence and emerging adulthood are both stages in which romantic relationships play a key role in development and can be a source of both well-being and negative outcomes. However, the limited number of studies prior to adulthood, along with the multiplicity of variables involved in the romantic context and the considerable ambiguity surrounding the construct of well-being, make it difficult to reach conclusions about the relationship between the two phenomena. This systematic review synthesizes the results produced into this topic over the last three decades. A total of 112 studies were included, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) guidelines. On the one hand, these works revealed the terminological heterogeneity in research on well-being and the way the absence of symptoms of illness are commonly used to measure it, while on the other hand, they also showed that romantic relationships can be an important source of well-being for both adolescents and emerging adults. The findings underline the importance of providing a better definition of well-being, as well as to attribute greater value to the significance of romantic relationships. Devoting greater empirical, educational, and community efforts to romantic development in the stages leading up to adulthood are considered necessary actions in promoting the well-being of young people.

1. Introduction

Since World War II, most conceptualizations of health have been focused on the absence of illness and disability [ 1 ]. Psychology was concentrated on repairing damage within a disease model of human functioning [ 2 ], paying almost exclusive attention to pathology and neglecting the study of the positive features that make life worth living [ 2 ]. It is currently known that the absence of pathology does not necessarily correlate with positive dimensions of health and well-being [ 3 , 4 ], and psychologists have begun to admit well-being as a relevant aim of study, as well as the factors that contribute to its encouragement [ 5 ]. Positive psychology was recently established as a new perspective specifically addressing the study of well-being, quality of life, strengths, and resources [ 2 , 6 ]. Within this framework, diverse approaches have emerged. In a general sense, well-being can be understood as optimal psychological functioning and experience [ 7 ]. More specifically, some theorists have defined it as a state characterized by a high degree of satisfaction with life and the experience of high levels of positive affect [ 8 ], while others have focused on the notion of a process of fulfilling human potentials, capacities, and virtues [ 7 ]. Despite this systematization of the theory, the diversity of terminology found in the different studies has led to a certain degree of controversy. Although, admittedly, this situation has contributed to a productive scientific debate, it has also led to considerable ambiguity and theoretical and methodological confusion. On the other hand, these approaches represent mainly personal evaluations of what well-being means, and they deal only fleetingly with the social dimension of the individuals involved. In this sense, it has been previously established that the desire for interpersonal attachment (the need to belong) is a fundamental human motivation [ 9 ], especially when it refers to romantic relationships. So important is relatedness that some theorists have defined it as a basic human need, essential for well-being [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ]. For example, in their 2002 study, Diener and Seligman examined extremely happy people to determine necessary conditions for entering this group [ 13 ]. They found that good and strong personal relationships were ubiquitous in these people. Nevertheless, the topic of relationships is complex and close relationships are multifaceted, justifying with this a study of specificity, in terms of the aspects of relationships that can promote well-being [ 7 ].

1.1. Romantic Relationships and Well-Being in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

From an evolutionary point of view, adolescence and emerging adulthood (the periods which span the second and third decades of life [ 14 , 15 ]) have been described as being vitally important in terms of the development of romantic relationships [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Defined as “mutually acknowledged ongoing voluntary interactions” [ 18 , 19 ], these relationships, unlike others such as friendships, are characterized by a particular intensity, specific expressions of affection, and initiation in erotic sexual encounters [ 19 ]. Previous studies have shown that these experiences are frequent during adolescence and tend to consolidate over time [ 20 , 21 ], representing an important context for learning and training for future intimate relationships [ 14 ]. By middle adolescence, most boys and girls have been involved in at least one romantic relationship [ 21 ], providing them with a scenario characterized by greater intimacy, support, and importance as their age advances [ 22 , 23 ]. As adolescents approach emerging adulthood, the time they devote to their romantic partners increases [ 24 , 25 ], and they use these relationships to look for company, emotional security, intimacy, and the feeling of love they provide, until they reach a stage when they are ready to take decisions over questions of long-term commitment, such as cohabitation and marriage [ 26 , 27 ]. According to the developmental task theory, during adolescence, romantic involvement is an emerging developmental task, which will eventually become a salient developmental task in adulthood [ 28 ].

Romantic relationships and experiences are important sources of emotional bonding and contribute to the development of a positive self-concept and greater social integration [ 29 , 30 ]. The successful establishment and maintenance of romantic relationships can have important repercussions in later stages of life [ 15 ], and has been described to contribute to people’s mental and physical health and, therefore, to their well-being [ 31 ]. From this perspective, romantic relationships, when sustained over time, constitute a transformation of the attachment bond. The quality of the relationship, the history of the shared experiences, the sense of attachment, and the beliefs which arise from the whole experience have all been recognized as modulating the well-being of the partners [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. Despite the fact that the wide range of aspects mentioned in the research makes it difficult to establish how direct an effect these relationships have on well-being, there is a broad consensus in the literature that love is one of the strengths most closely linked to personal happiness [ 41 , 42 ], and is associated with higher rates of self-esteem, safety, satisfaction with life, positive affect, and achievement of personal and relational goals [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. However, romantic relationships have also been associated with negative outcomes, especially during adolescence. Thus, studies have suggested that romantic involvement may be related to the presence of different forms of violence [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ], experiencing internalizing symptoms such as depression or anxiety (e.g., [ 37 , 51 , 52 ]), poorer psychosocial functioning [ 53 ], or delinquency [ 54 ].

1.2. The Present Study

Following these considerations, the empirical evidence suggests the important role that romantic relationships can play in people’s well-being, however, the number of studies focusing on stages prior to adulthood remain relatively limited, consequently not providing clarifying results. Moreover, the wide range of intervening variables in the romantic context and the relative ambiguity of the concept of well-being make it difficult to draw conclusions. Therefore, a work of synthesis is required to gather together the accumulated empirical knowledge and facilitate an understanding of the findings made so far in relation to the association between well-being and romantic relationships in adolescence and emerging adulthood. To do this, the general aim of this study was to carry out an exhaustive review of the existing literature in order to delve deeper into this topic. In particular, a specific aim was established: To identify the variables of romantic relationships that studies have associated with the well-being of young people.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. literature search and quality assurance.

A structured search was carried out between July and September 2017 in the following databases of high-quality standards, which include peer-reviewed studies: Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Scielo. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) Declaration was applied [ 55 ], following its protocol for the planning, preparation, and publication of systematic reviews and meta-analyses [ 56 ]. The search terms used included keywords in Spanish and English which were considered to be indicators of well-being (bienestar*, well-being*, wellbeing*, “wellbeing”, felicidad*, happiness*, “fortalezas psicológicas”, “psychological strengths”, florecimiento*, flourishing*, “desarrollo positivo”, “positive development”) and keywords linked to romantic relationships (dating*, “relaciones sentimentales”, “sentimental relationships”, “relaciones románticas”, “romantic relationships”, cortejo*, courtship*, “relaciones íntimas”, “intimate relationships”). In order to achieve a comprehensive overview of the state of research in this field, the search did not include any specific terms (e.g., psychological well-being, subjective well-being, hedonia, eudaimonia, hooking up, friends with benefits, etc.).

2.2. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

The inclusion criteria were established following the PICOS (acronym for Participants, Interventions, Comparisons, Outcomes and Study design) format [ 57 ]:

• Type of participants: Adolescents and emerging adults of both sexes, ranging in age from 13 to 29 years old, or those whose average age is included in that range, with no known mental disorders, and those of any origin or nationality.
• Type of studies: Empirical studies written in English or Spanish and published in peer-reviewed journals.
• Type of outcome measurements: In a first stage, studies were included which made explicit reference to the search descriptors in the title, summary, and/or keywords. In a second stage, studies were included with specific analyses of the link between romantic relationships and any of the previous indicators.
• Type of designs: Quantitative and qualitative.

Additional exclusion criteria included theoretical studies, doctoral theses, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, book chapters, reports from conferences or symposia, letters to the editor, minutes of meetings or informative notes, and studies in which the authors did not provide information about the participants’ age.

2.3. Data Coding and Extraction

Three matrices of documentary records were created specifically for this work. In the first, quantitative data on the search results were collected for each database consulted and each of the descriptors used. In the second, information was gathered from each selected or unselected study (e.g., title, author/s, year of publication, sample size, age of participants, study objectives, methodology, or reason for exclusion, where appropriate). The third recorded the well-being measures and the specific variables of the romantic context analyzed by the studies. The selection of studies was performed in different stages [ 58 ] ( Figure 1 ). The identification stage was limited to articles published in English and Spanish between 1990 and 2017 (inclusive). This first phase yielded a total of 3229 studies. In the screening stage, the duplicates were discarded, which left a total of 2866 studies. Next, two reviewers selected the studies whose title, summary, or keywords contained any of the search descriptors used, which produced a total of 461 eligible studies and a total of 2405 rejected studies. In the eligibility stage, all the reviewers independently assessed the full text of the potential studies to be included, initially reaching a level of agreement of over 90% and resolving any discrepancies through a process of discussion and consensus. In the included stage, the three reviewers jointly agreed on the full sample of studies, resulting in a total of 112 studies. The software packages Mendeley version 1.17.12 (Elsevier Inc., New York, NY, USA) and SPSS version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA) were used to carry out the process of coding and obtaining the results.

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) flow diagram.

3.1. Characteristics of the Included Studies

This work has reviewed nearly three decades of research (1990–2017) on well-being and romantic relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood. Of the 112 studies included (see Table 1 ), 9% were published in the 1990s, 27% in the first decade of this century, and 64% were published since 2010. The total number of participants was 278,871, with the amount of participants ranging from 30 in some studies [ 59 , 60 ] to 81,247 participants in another [ 47 ]. The general age range was from 12 to 70 years, with the average age never surpassing 29 years in any of the studies. Overall, 83% of the studies (n = 93) were directed at emerging adulthood, while 17% (n = 19) focused on adolescence. Regarding the well-being measures observed, the studies analyzed used as many as 142 different variables, of which the most commonly employed were life satisfaction (35.3%), depression (25%), affect (positive and negative, 22.8%), self-esteem (17.6%), relationship satisfaction (15.4%), anxiety (11%), happiness (8.1%) and stress (5.9%).

Characteristics and main findings of the included studies.

Note: NR = information not reported.

3.2. Variables of Romantic Relationships Related to Well-Being in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood

Achieving the specific aim of this study involved reviewing the variables of romantic relationships which have been associated with well-being during adolescence and emerging adulthood. These variables were sorted into two categories: First, the label “relational variables”, where studies analyzing characteristics of romantic relationships and the processes that take place within them were grouped. Secondly, the label “personal variables”, which gathered the studies that examined individual variables involved in establishing, forming, and/or developing romantic relationships (see Table 2 ).

Categories, specific romantic variables, and measurement constructs of the included studies.

A total of 87 studies analyzed the association between romantic relationships and well-being based on relational variables. Relationship status, relationship quality, and relationship history and experiences were the variables most commonly focused on in the studies. In general, particularly during emerging adulthood, participants involved in a romantic relationship showed higher levels of well-being than those who were single. More specifically, it was suggested that staying single, either voluntarily or involuntarily, and remaining so in order to avoid the negative consequences of relationships (avoidance goals) was not associated with well-being, with the best predictor being satisfaction with that status. Particular aspects of relationship status, such as the stability of the relationship or the experience of splitting up, have been widely studied. Studies that equated commitment to romantic status suggested that a higher level of commitment or stability in the relationship (marriage vs. cohabitants, non-marital relationships, casual relationships, etc.) leads to a greater well-being. In this regard, a specific case analyzed was hook-up experiences. These expressions of sexuality, outside the context of a committed relationship, were only negatively associated with well-being in one study. Similarly, the experiences of separation or divorce have been identified with increased well-being if these events were evaluated positively, if the quality of the relationship was poor, or if a new relationship started shortly after the separation.

Along similar lines, the studies also evaluated the role of well-being in relationship quality, with relationship satisfaction, commitment and intimacy being the most common indicators. Throughout the periods of adolescence and emerging adulthood, high levels of quality in the relationship were positively associated with well-being, while, similarly, low levels of quality were linked to negative effects. In cases of transgression, the quality of the relationship was also identified as a mediator between forgiveness and the well-being of the transgressor. Close to the findings regarding relationship quality are those associated with relationship history and experiences. The studies in this line showed that reporting and remembering a large number of positive experiences, such as shared laughter, being at a formal or positive relational turning point, or expressing gratitude towards the partner, were all positively associated with well-being, while negative experiences, such as arguments, transgressions, power imbalance, or violence, were associated with a decrease in well-being levels.

When considered independently and not as indicators of the relationship quality, rates of commitment and intimacy between partners have also been identified as variables which can influence well-being: High levels of commitment to the relationship and intimacy between romantic partners were positively associated, where low levels of commitment showed an inverse relationship. Likewise, romantic attachment can also have important implications. The studies indicate that a secure romantic attachment would be most beneficial, while avoidant and anxious attachment have been suggested as reliable predictors of low levels of well-being.

Communication and conflict resolution between partners have both been identified as variables with a significant effect on well-being. On one hand, the disclosure of sexual problems and receiving positive body feedback from the partner were both positively associated with well-being, while on the other hand, showing high levels of positive affect in conflict situations was found to be a good predictor of relationship stability and satisfaction. Likewise, self-compassion and dyadic empathy (empathy specifically expressed towards the romantic partner) were variables found to have a positive effect, where more self-compassionate individuals were more likely to resolve interpersonal conflicts by balancing their needs to their partner’s needs, feeling more authentic and less emotionally turmoiled. Similarly, high levels of empathy in couples in the transition to parenthood led to improved levels of well-being in the partners.

Variables concerning need fulfillment and achieving relational and personal goals have also been identified as related to well-being. A partner’s support to personal needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Self-Determination Theory [ 8 ]), or the maintenance of relational behaviors driven by self-determined motives, were positively associated with well-being. Similar results were found in relation to the effects of the achievement of the ideal self and the congruence of the goals between partners. According to the studies, romantic partners can significantly influence what we become, having important implications for well-being, as well as the pursuit and involvement in activities aimed to achieve shared goals.

In the studies conducted during adolescence, violence occurring within the relationship (dating violence) in either form, both as a victim and as a perpetrator, has emerged as a highly significant negative variable for well-being, being associated to symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and low levels of self-esteem and life satisfaction, among other symptoms. Other relational variables associated with well-being during adolescence were the maintenance of same-sex relationships and interracial relationships, as well as sexuality. The negative impact caused by expected rejection due to sexual orientation was buffered by involvement in same-sex relationships, as well as improved self-esteem and decreased levels of internalized homophobia. Conversely, interracial daters were found to be more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety, as well as to perceive less support from parents and family, compared to same-race daters and non-daters. In relation to sexuality, results showed that the influence of sexual activity in depression was differentially associated with romantic status, where sexual relations associated with greater depressive symptoms corresponded to those that occurred outside the context of a romantic relationship. On the other hand, longitudinal data associated high sexual health with higher levels of well-being in adolescent girls, using indicators such as physical, mental/emotional, and social health.

To a lesser extent, the studies reviewed addressed aspects related to relationship dynamics and their association with well-being. Research into emotional interdependence (i.e., partners’ emotions being linked to each other across time), shared relationship efficacy (i.e., partners’ shared expectations about the joint ability to maintain satisfactorily the relationship), partner-specific perfectionism concerns, or the effect of relationships at the neurological level has rarely been contrasted with other studies. Despite this, the first two aspects were established as characteristics of healthy relationships with a positive influence on well-being, however, concerns about perfectionistic demands of the partner (perceived partner’s expectations about one’s own mistakes, self-criticism, and socially prescribed perfection) generated and evoked socially negative behaviors, which in turn had a deleterious effect on negative affect and life satisfaction.

Regarding the personal variables, a total of 25 works studied their relationship with well-being. Here, the variable which received the most attention was the belief system. It has been shown that, during adolescence, the imbalance between romantic expectations and reality (romantic relationship inauthenticity) is associated with a greater risk of depression and suicidal behavior, while the Sense of Coherence (SOC), a dispositional orientation or a coping resource which reflects a person’s capacity to respond to stressful situations and life events, is linked with greater life satisfaction. In emerging adulthood, relationship expectations and beliefs were also suggested as factors influencing well-being. The congruence between previous expectations and reality, or between the ideal and the real romantic relationship, has been identified as a good indicator of well-being. There is no general consensus over the results for other kinds of beliefs, such as positive illusions (idealizing the partner), marriage myths, or benevolent sexism, although a number of studies have addressed them. The tendency is that the first two seem to be beneficial for well-being, while the latter showed a negative association.

In addition, certain types of behaviors, which may be induced by beliefs, also seem to impact well-being. On the one hand, behaviors which diminished satisfaction with the relationship, such as sexual compliance (voluntary maintenance of unwanted sex with a partner), have been negatively associated with well-being. On the other hand, behaviors linked to self-knowledge or positive management of the relationship, such as making attributions and reasoning about the mental state of others (i.e., theory of mind), self-control, authenticity (acting in a way which is congruent with one’s own values, beliefs, and needs), or the use of effective coping strategies in stressful events, were positively associated with well-being. In this sense, focusing on the problem or perceiving the situation as controllable had positive effects on well-being in cases of abuse or violence within the relationship. In less serious cases, maintaining an implicitly positive attitude towards the partner and mindfulness obtained similar results.

Regarding cognitive, emotional, and behavioral motivation, self-forgiveness or approach and avoidance motives were revealed as indicators of well-being. According to the analyzed studies, forgiving the partner or forgiving oneself, regarding harmful relationships events, was positively related to well-being. Moreover, engaging sexually with the partner increased well-being, but only when these motives were based on approximation towards positive consequences (e.g., happiness of the partner or promoting the intimacy of the relationship) and not on the avoidance of negative consequences. Similar results were found in relation to sacrifice. Self-sacrificing aimed at achieving beneficial goals, that is, pro-social behavior which gives priority to benefits to the relationship over personal benefit, has also been positively related to well-being. Conversely, emotional suppression, limiting one’s partner’s attention towards attractive alternatives, or the pursuit of traditionally masculine roles (e.g., success, competition, or power) negatively affected the partner. Finally, the level of romantic competence and other skills that promote the establishment and successful maintenance of relationships, such as perceived self-efficacy, or the ability to control relational anxiety, have been strongly linked to positive results, as well as a greater ability to make better decisions and feel more confident and satisfied with the relationship.

4. Discussion

The main aim of this study has been to carry out a systematic review of the scientific literature on the association between romantic relationships and well-being during adolescence and emerging adulthood, focusing on identifying the specific variables associated with well-being in the romantic context.

In the first place, it is important to stress that well-being has been historically been measured in many different ways. The great number of variables observed have produced a potential problem of construct validity. It seems clear that the multiple conceptual and operational definitions used in the empirical studies on well-being hinder rather than help when it comes to defining this construct [ 151 , 152 ]. It is therefore important to continue trying to bring clarity to a field which is still in evolution, with previous works and new approaches still trying to be integrated [ 6 ]. Although this has its positive side, it also highlights a greater need for improving the theoretical approaches, making them more global in terms of personality and also more precise in terms of the relationship between personality traits and relational styles in romantic processes. Another aspect which may contribute to the lack of clarity in the concept of well-being is the continued use of symptoms of mental illness as an indicator. While it is true that not all of the studies reviewed used this clinical approach, but rather adopted models from positive psychology (e.g., [ 22 , 33 , 44 , 85 , 97 , 98 ]), there is still a prevalent tendency to conceptualize well-being in terms of the absence of disease or clinical symptoms, rather than providing a positive approximation to the concept. This is quite surprising, especially considering that it has previously been established that health and mental illness work in a relatively independent manner [ 153 ], and that the factors which make either reduce do not necessarily cause the other to increase [ 154 ]. The concept of mental health proposed by positive psychology is therefore of particular relevance here, although the definition used (the existence of a high level of well-being and the absence of mental illness) [ 153 , 155 ] suggests the need to develop a methodologically diverse theory which would include the full spectrum of well-being [ 151 ] and to adopt a theoretical approach according to the concepts measured, which, as of yet, none is present in the reviewed works.

In the second place, it is clear that the scientific literature stresses the importance of romantic relationships during adolescence and emerging adulthood [ 18 , 156 , 157 ], however, the small number of studies which have focused specifically on these stages show that there is a need to provide a specific psycho-evolutionary focus. Based on the works reviewed, it can be stated that romantic relationships are significantly associated with well-being in adolescents, although a number of different personal and relational variables can be understood as risk factors. A low SOC, a lack of authenticity, or the presence of violence in relationships [ 37 , 48 , 49 , 59 , 78 , 83 , 108 , 122 , 142 ], are harmful to adolescents, all of which can be explained from different perspectives. On the one hand, according to the normative trajectory model [ 158 ], early romantic experiences can compromise the well-being of adolescents when dealing with non-normative development events. On the other hand, the stress and coping model [ 159 ] postulates that romantic relationships are intrinsically challenging, requiring skills and resources that adolescents may not have. Following studies like those of [ 160 ] and [ 161 ], it is also plausible to pose the counter-argument that high levels of well-being could act as a protective factor, promoting healthy behaviors. Research with adult populations has already established this association and suggests that people with high levels of life satisfaction are more involved in intimate activities and relationships and have better relationships [ 13 , 85 , 162 ]. The association between well-being and romantic experiences during adolescence seems, therefore, to operate under a bidirectional pattern of influence, revealing with this the existence of a more complex relationship between both processes. Besides this, it is also especially important to remember that the romantic development of adolescents does not take place in a social vacuum, so it is vitally important for the well-being of adolescents to have social contexts which provide support and emotional understanding as they face the demands and challenges that this new evolutionary task lays on them [ 163 ].

Just like in adolescence, involvement in romantic relationships can be a significant source of well-being in emerging adulthood. The research reviewed suggests that young adults who have romantic relationships are happier, feel more satisfied with their lives, have fewer problems with mental and physical illness, show greater positive affect, and have better levels of self-esteem than single people. However, as noted above, the phenomenon of romantic relationships is complex and multifaceted and is associated with both relational and personal factors, and not only with their presence or absence. The relationship quality, the satisfaction of the needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness and a secure attachment with the partner have been indicated as strong indicators of well-being [ 7 , 164 ]. In addition, variables such as high levels of commitment, intimacy, communication, providing support to achieve personal and relational goals, good conflict management, approach motives (in contrast to avoidance), authenticity, or having strategies for coping with stressful situations, are also associated with good results, as confirmed by other studies [ 165 , 166 ]. Finally, personal skills and having the competence to maintain healthy and satisfying relationships are important factors which, according to some studies, can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, increase satisfaction with the relationship, the development of a secure attachment, and foster better decision-making. For this reason, romantic relationships based on principles of mental and emotional health and romantic competence [ 23 , 167 ] are considered to be among the prime sources of well-being during emerging adulthood.

5. Conclusions

Based on these results, one of the main conclusions from this study is the invaluable role which romantic relationships play in well-being during adolescence and emerging adulthood. As a result, this work supports their consideration as developmental assets [ 14 ]. However, the numerous benefits which are associated with them call for certain parameters to be agreed on. A relationship which is beneficial for well-being would, in general terms, have high-quality levels, through which the partners can develop their potential, achieve personal and shared goals, and maintain a secure attachment. To achieve this, people must achieve certain cognitive, emotional, and behavioral skills. It is proposed that these principles be integrated into a more parsimonious analysis, which could aid our understanding of positive romantic relationships. From this viewpoint, this study proposes romantic well-being as a new term of analysis and suggests that in future research it can be understood and evaluated as a specific category. One of the main strengths of this work, therefore, is the initial approach of a new theoretical model, termed the multidimensional model of romantic well-being, whose dimensions correspond to the particular factors which, according to the research, play an especially important role in achieving positive results, namely relationship quality, need fulfillment, the achievement of personal and relational goals, romantic attachment, and the development of individual skills.

Regarding the empirical approach to well-being, the main conclusion here is that it is necessary to understand the concept of well-being in of itself, without continually referring to a disease or symptom. This distorts the construct and prevents from relating it to dimensions which are also complex and rather diverse, such as those involved in the psycho-evolutionary task of adolescents maintaining a romantic relationship. Therefore, further research is required to establish a common, shared, and reliable theoretical and methodological framework for well-being, also allowing the ability to address the scientific study of romantic relationships in stages prior to adulthood, especially during adolescence. It is essential to adopt educational, clinical, and community models which focus on the need to promote positive, healthy, and satisfactory relationships, as well as raising awareness of this need among all professionals responsible for people’s health.

Author Contributions

This study has been developed with the contribution of all its authors. Conceptualization, C.V. and R.O.-R.; Methodology, M.G.-L. and C.V.; Formal analysis, M.G.-L; Writing—original draft preparation, M.G.-L.; Writing—review and editing, M.G.-L., C.V. and R.O.-R; Supervision, C.V. and R.O.-R.

This research was funded by Plan Nacional, España, into the frame of the national project “Competencia Socio-Moral y Ecología del Grupo de Iguales en la Violencia entre Escolares: un Estudio Longitudinal y Transaccional” [PSI2016-74871-R].

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

What the Longest Study on Human Happiness Found Is the Key to a Good Life

The Harvard Study of Adult Development has established a strong correlation between deep relationships and well-being. The question is, how does a person nurture those deep relationships?

This article was featured in One Story to Read Today, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a single must-read from The Atlantic , Monday through Friday. Sign up for it here.       

T urn your mind for a moment to a friend or family member you cherish but don’t spend as much time with as you would like. This needn’t be your most significant relationship, just someone who makes you feel energized when you’re with them, and whom you’d like to see more regularly.

How often do you see that person? Every day? Once a month? Once a year? Do the math and project how many hours annually you spend with them. Write this number down and hang on to it.

For us, Bob and Marc, though we work closely together and meet every week by phone or video call, we see each other in person for only a total of about two days (48 hours) every year.

How does this add up for the coming years? Bob is 71 years old. Marc is 60. Let’s be (very) generous and say we will both be around to celebrate Bob’s 100th birthday. At two days a year for 29 years, that’s 58 days that we have left to spend together in our lifetimes.

Fifty-eight out of 10,585 days.

Of course, this is assuming a lot of good fortune, and the real number is almost certainly going to be lower.

Since 1938, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has been investigating what makes people flourish. After starting with 724 participants—boys from disadvantaged and troubled families in Boston, and Harvard undergraduates—the study incorporated the spouses of the original men and, more recently, more than 1,300 descendants of the initial group. Researchers periodically interview participants, ask them to fill out questionnaires, and collect information about their physical health. As the study’s director (Bob) and associate director (Marc), we’ve been able to watch participants fall in and out of relationships, find success and failure at their jobs, become mothers and fathers. It’s the longest in-depth longitudinal study on human life ever done, and it’s brought us to a simple and profound conclusion: Good relationships lead to health and happiness. The trick is that those relationships must be nurtured.

From the June 2009 issue: What makes us happy?

We don’t always put our relationships first. Consider the fact that the average American in 2018 spent 11 hours every day on solitary activities such as watching television and listening to the radio. Spending 58 days over 29 years with a friend is infinitesimal compared with the 4,851 days that Americans will spend interacting with media during that same time period. Distractions are hard to avoid.

Thinking about these numbers can help us put our own relationships in perspective. Try figuring out how much time you spend with a good friend or family member. We don’t have to spend every hour with our friends, and some relationships work because they’re exercised sparingly. But nearly all of us have people in our lives whom we’d like to see more. Are you spending time with the people you most care about? Is there a relationship in your life that would benefit both of you if you could spend more time together? Many of these are untapped resources, waiting for us to put them to use. And, enriching these relationships can in turn nourish our minds and bodies.

Y ou don’t have to examine scientific findings to recognize that relationships affect you physically. All you have to do is notice the invigoration you feel when you believe that someone has really understood you during a good conversation, or the tension and distress you feel after an argument, or how little sleep you get during a period of romantic strife.

In this sense, having healthy, fulfilling relationships is its own kind of fitness—social fitness—and like physical fitness, it takes work to maintain. Unlike stepping on the scale, taking a quick look in the mirror, or getting readouts for blood pressure and cholesterol, assessing our social fitness requires a bit more sustained self-reflection. It requires stepping back from the crush of modern life, taking stock of our relationships, and being honest with ourselves about where we’re devoting our time and whether we are tending to the connections that help us thrive. Finding the time for this type of reflection can be hard, and sometimes it’s uncomfortable. But it can yield enormous benefits.

Many of our Harvard Study participants have told us that filling out questionnaires every two years and being interviewed regularly have given them a welcome perspective on their life and relationships. We ask them to really think about themselves and the people they love, and that process of self-reflection helps some of them.

Read: 10 practical ways to improve happiness

This is a practice that could help anyone. Looking in the mirror and thinking honestly about where your life stands is a first step in trying to live a good life. Noticing where you are can help put into relief where you would like to be. Having some reservations about this kind of self-reflection is understandable. Our study participants were not always keen on filling out our questionnaires, or eager to consider the larger picture of their life. Some would skip difficult questions or leave entire pages blank, and some would just not return certain surveys. Some even wrote comments in the margins of their questionnaires about what they thought of our requests. “What kinds of questions are these!?” is a response we received occasionally, often from participants who preferred not to think about difficulties in their life. The experiences of the people who skipped questions or entire questionnaires were also important, though—they were just as crucial in understanding adult development as the experiences of people eager to share. A lot of useful data and gems of experience were buried in the shadowed corners of their lives. We just had to go through a little extra effort to excavate them.

One of these people was a man we’ll call Sterling Ainsley. (We are using a pseudonym to protect his confidentiality as a study participant.)

S terling Ainsley was a hopeful guy. He graduated from Harvard in the 1940s and then served in World War II. After he left the service, he got a job as a scientist and retired in his 60s. When asked to describe his philosophy for getting through hard times, he said, “You try not to let life get to you. You remember your victories and take a positive attitude.”

The year was 1986. George Vaillant, the then-director of the study, was on a long interview trek, driving through the Rocky Mountains to visit the study’s participants who lived in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Montana. Sterling had not returned the most recent survey, and there was some catching up to do. He met Vaillant at a hotel to give him a ride to the diner where Sterling wanted to do his scheduled interview. When Vaillant buckled himself into the passenger seat of Sterling’s car, the seat belt left a stripe of dust across his chest. “I was left to wonder,” he wrote, “the last time somebody had used it.”

Sterling was technically married, but his wife lived far away, and they hadn’t slept in the same room in years. They spoke only every few months.

Read: The six forces that fuel friendship

When asked why they had not gotten a divorce, he said, “I wouldn’t want to do that to the children,” even though his kids were grown and had children of their own. Sterling was proud of his kids and beamed when he spoke of them, saying they were the most important thing in his life. But he rarely saw them and seemed to prefer to keep his relationships with them thriving mostly in his imagination. Vaillant noted that Sterling seemed to be using optimism to push away some of his fears and avoid challenges in his life. Putting a positive spin on every matter and then pushing it out of his mind made it possible for him to believe that nothing was wrong, he was fine, he was happy, his kids didn’t need him.

He didn’t travel to see his son’s new home abroad, because he didn’t “want to be a burden”—even though he’d been learning a new language to prepare for the trip. He had another child who lived closer, but he hadn’t visited in more than a year. He didn’t have a relationship with his grandchildren, and he wasn’t in contact with any friends.

When asked about his older sister, Sterling seemed startled. “My sister?” he said.

Yes, the sister he had told the study so much about when he was younger.

Sterling thought about it for a long time, and then told Vaillant that it must have been decades since he last spoke with her. A frightened expression came over his face. “Would she still be living?” he said.

Sterling tried not to think about his relationships, and he was even less inclined to talk about them. This is a common experience. We don’t always know why we do things or why we don’t do things, and we may not understand what is holding us at a distance from the people in our life. Taking some time to look in the mirror can help. Sometimes there are needs inside of us that are looking for a voice, a way to get out. They might be things that we have never seen or articulated to ourselves.

This seemed to be the case with Sterling. Asked how he spent his evenings, he said he spent time with an elderly woman who lived in a nearby trailer. Each night he would walk over, and they’d watch TV and talk. Eventually she would fall asleep, and he would help her into bed and wash her dishes and close the shades before walking home. She was the closest thing he had to a confidant.

“I don’t know what I’ll do if she dies,” he said.

Listen to Robert Waldinger in conversation with Arthur Brooks and Rebecca Rashid on "How to Build a Happy Life":

L oneliness has a physical effect on the body. It can render people more sensitive to pain, suppress their immune system, diminish brain function, and disrupt sleep, which in turn can make an already lonely person even more tired and irritable. Research has found that, for older adults, loneliness is far more dangerous than obesity. Ongoing loneliness raises a person’s odds of death by 26 percent in any given year. A study in the U.K., the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, recently reported on the connections between loneliness and poorer health and self-care in young adults. This ongoing study includes more than 2,200 people born in England and Wales in 1994 and 1995. When they were 18, the researchers asked them how lonely they were. Those who reported being lonelier had a greater chance of facing mental-health issues, partaking in unsafe physical-health behaviors, and coping with stress in negative ways. Add to this the fact that a tide of loneliness is flooding through modern societies, and we have a serious problem. Recent stats should make us take notice.

In a study conducted online that sampled 55,000 respondents from across the world, one out of every three people of all ages reported that they often feel lonely. Among these, the loneliest group were 16-to-24-year-olds, 40 percent of whom reported feeling lonely “often or very often.” In the U.K., the economic cost of this loneliness—because lonely people are less productive and more prone to employment turnover—is estimated at more than £2.5 billion (about $3.1 billion) annually and helped lead to the establishment of a U.K. Ministry of Loneliness.

Read: Why do we look down on lonely people?

In Japan, 32 percent of adults expected to feel lonely most of the time during 2020. In the United States, a 2019 study suggested that three out of four adults felt moderate to high levels of loneliness. As of this writing, the long-term effects of the coronavirus pandemic, which separated us from one another on a massive scale and left many feeling more isolated than ever, are still being studied.

Alleviating this epidemic of loneliness is difficult because what makes one person feel lonely might have no effect on someone else. We can’t rely entirely on easily observed indicators such as whether or not one lives alone, because loneliness is a subjective experience. One person might have a significant other and too many friends to count and yet feel lonely, while another person might live alone and have a few close contacts and yet feel very connected. The objective facts of a person’s life are not enough to explain why someone is lonely. Regardless of your race or class or gender, the feeling resides in the difference between the kind of social contact you want and the social contact you actually have.

I t never hurts —especially if you’ve been feeling low—to take a minute to reflect on how your relationships are faring and what you wish could be different about them. If you’re the scheduling type, you could make it a regular thing; perhaps every year on New Year’s Day or the morning of your birthday, take a few moments to draw up your current social universe, and consider what you’re receiving, what you’re giving, and where you would like to be in another year. You could keep your chart or relationships assessment in a special place, so you know where to look the next time you want to peek at it to see how things have changed.

If nothing else, doing this reminds us of what’s most important. Repeatedly, when the participants in our study reached old age, they would make a point to say that what they treasured most were their relationships. Sterling Ainsley himself made that point. He loved his older sister deeply—but he lost touch with her. Some of his fondest memories were of his friends—whom he never contacted. There was nothing he cared more about than his children—whom he rarely saw. From the outside it might look like he didn’t care. That was not the case. Sterling was quite emotional in his recounting of his most cherished relationships, and his reluctance to answer certain study questions was clearly connected to the pain that keeping his distance had caused him over the years. Sterling never sat down to really think about how he might conduct his relationships or what he might do to properly care for the people he loved most.

Sterling’s life reminds us of the fragility of our connections, and it echoes the lessons of science: Relationships keep us happier and healthier throughout our life spans. We neglect our connections with others at our peril. Investing in our social fitness is possible each day, each week of our lives. Even small investments today in our relationships with others can create long-term ripples of well-being.

This article is adapted from Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz’s new book, The Good Life: Lessons From the World’s Longest Scientific Study of Happiness .

When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

​When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic.

Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

How Relationship Satisfaction Changes Across Your Lifetime

Are you happy with your romantic relationship?

On Valentine’s Day, around anniversaries, and in the dark lull before sleep, maybe you’ve pondered this question. You might have thought about how you met your partner, what you’ve been through, and how they’ve changed—or just how they got on your nerves that day.

It turns out there are a few other important factors that may influence how you feel about your relationship: how old you are and how long you’ve been together. In fact, in a new paper , researchers mapped out the relationship satisfaction of more than 165,000 people around the world—and they saw distinct up-and-down patterns as couples moved through life.

The results may offer conflicting clues about the patterns in your own relationships. According to this study, both age and the length of the relationship matter to how satisfied we are—although age seems to matter more. In other words, you might indeed find yourself happier with your mate at certain points in your life than others—and this might have less to do with them than with your circumstances.

How satisfaction waxes and wanes

Because previous findings on relationship satisfaction across the lifespan have been mixed, researchers at the University of Bern decided to do a “meta-analysis,” looking at findings from 95 papers to see if they could paint a clearer picture. Most participants were from the United States, although some were from other countries like Canada, Germany, and China. They were mostly white and mostly involved in heterosexual relationships.

The researchers found that relationship satisfaction tends to decrease from age 20 to age 40. From that low point, it typically increases until age 65, and stays relatively stable for another 10 years or so (the oldest participants were 76 years old).

The trajectory of love

Why are we least happy with our relationships around age 40, but get happier toward retirement? The researchers didn’t have enough data to explain these patterns, but they did offer some ideas.

The midlife crisis is a real phenomenon, with happiness levels dipping around this time, and this study suggests it might apply to our romantic lives, too. In middle age, we may be juggling busy work hours, while trying to raise kids and care for aging parents. The current findings did suggest that parents tend to be less satisfied with their relationships compared to partners without kids.

At the same time, the sense of possibility and open horizons that comes with being young may be lost for adults. If we haven’t achieved what we hoped by a certain age—in our lives or in our relationships—we may feel disappointed and disillusioned, the researchers suggest. After 40, a few different things might happen. We may get divorced and start a new, happier relationship—or we might make peace with the partner we have, realizing there aren’t infinite options out there. When kids leave for college, couples might reconnect in their empty nest. And the older we get, the more emotionally stable we tend to be. It might become easier to appreciate the loved ones we still have in our life, and to make our time with them more pleasant.

Exciting Activities for Couples

Spice up your relationship by trying something new

The researchers also speculated about why satisfaction follows a predictable trajectory within relationships. Over the first 10 years of a relationship, the researchers explain, couples may invest less and less time and energy in communicating, having sex, and spending time together. The desire for an ideal partner who meets all our needs may come face to face with the reality of a fallible person who can’t be everything to us. So it may not be surprising that the high of falling in love can’t be sustained forever.

Interestingly, their findings coincide almost perfectly with the notion of the “seven-year itch,” based on research that people are most likely to split up around seven years of marriage (since most couples get married a few years after they meet).

But couples who make it past this point might end up with a sense of strength and resilience, a feeling that we’re in this together—which could explain why satisfaction rebounds after 10 years, says the study’s first author, Janina Larissa Bühler, an assistant professor at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.

Insights for (un)happy couples

If this research has put a damper on your romantic mood, not to fret, the researchers urge. Even when people’s satisfaction declined to its lowest levels, it was still relatively high—a 77 on a scale of 100. And satisfaction isn’t the only aspect of a relationship that keeps people together; even though you’re less satisfied at times, you can still be committed.

“I think we have to accept that relationship satisfaction changes and it’s absolutely OK that it changes,” says Bühler. “It’s OK to be less satisfied at a point in the relationship, and this doesn’t mean to resign or to do nothing anymore for the relationship—but to not constantly compare ourselves to how happy we assume other people are.”

These are averages, too; your relationship journey may look completely different. In the future, Bühler hopes to study what aspects of people’s personalities might make for smoother or rockier relationships—things like our emotional stability, self-esteem, attachment style, or openness to growth and change. This kind of research could help therapists and other practitioners offer the best advice and resources to couples at different ages and different relationship stages.

But if you do find yourself feeling less happy about your relationship after a decade or during midlife, it might be comforting to know that that’s completely normal—and that it might be better to wait out the hard stuff together.

About the Author

Kira M. Newman

Kira M. Newman is the managing editor of Greater Good . Her work has been published in outlets including the Washington Post , Mindful magazine, Social Media Monthly , and Tech.co, and she is the co-editor of The Gratitude Project . Follow her on Twitter!

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School climate: Using a person–environment fit perspective to inform school improvement

• Original Paper
• Open access
• Published: 19 May 2024

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• Jill M. Aldridge   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0742-0473 1 ,
• Meghan J. Blackstock 2 &
• Felicity I. McLure   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-3664-9146 3  

Strong and consistent findings suggest that a positive school climate is related to improved student outcomes. However, assessment of the school climate rarely considers the environmental fit (or misfit) between individuals' actual or lived experiences and their preferred environment. This study drew on a person-environment fit perspective to examine whether: students’ experiences of the school climate (actual environment) differed from their views of their ideal school climate (preferred environment); the views of the actual and preferred environment differed between schools; and the actual–preferred discrepancy (as a measure of the environmental fit) was related to student wellbeing, resilience and reports of bullying. The results from the analysis of data collected from 993 upper primary school students suggest that outcomes were enhanced when the perceived environment more closely matched the preferred environment. Our study’s findings support using a person-environment fit perspective alongside a socio-ecological approach to inform strategic decisions for school improvement efforts.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

The psychosocial school climate refers to the overall atmosphere of a school, including social, emotional and interpersonal aspects. The school climate quantifies the lived experiences of school members, which are shaped by the unspoken ethos, norms, values and beliefs that pervade a school (Cohen et al., 2009 ). The school climate is reflected in the relationships and daily interactions between school members, the rituals and traditions of school life, feelings of safety and inclusion and contextual factors that might impact student learning (Cohen, 2013 ).

The critical role the school climate plays in student wellbeing, academic success and personal development is gaining growing recognition. Research findings suggest that the school climate provides the protective factors needed to guard against adverse student experiences (Doumas et al., 2017 ; Keane & Evans, 2022 ) and promote a range of outcomes, including life satisfaction (Aldridge et al., 2020 ), mental health (e.g., a review of literature by Aldridge & McChesney, 2018 ) and overall wellbeing (Varela et al., 2019 ). Further, positive school climates have been found to have an inverse relationship with adverse outcomes, such as school violence (Booren et al., 2011 ; Espelage & Hong, 2019 ; Steffgen et al., 2013 ), bullying (Acosta et al., 2019 ; Marchante et al., 2022 ; Varela et al., 2021 ) and antisocial (Manzano-Sánchez et al., 2021 ; O’Brennan et al., 2014 ), delinquent (Akman, 2021 ; Aldridge et al., 2018 ; Klein et al., 2012 ; Kohl et al., 2013 ) and aggressive behaviours (e.g., Low et al., 2014 ). School climate factors have also been found to influence the development of social skills, such as prosocial behaviours (González Moreno & Molero Jurado, 2022 ; Luengo et al., 2017 ; Patalay & Fitzsimons, 2016 ; Thapa et al., 2013 ), personality (Roberts & Robins, 2004 ) and resilience (Aldridge et al., 2016 ; Cohen, 2013 ; Kutsyuruba et al., 2015 ); all of which are essential precursors to bullying prevention (Acosta et al., 2019 ; Cohen, 2013 ; Cohen & Freiberg, 2013 ; Wang et al., 2013a , 2013b ).

Of relevance to this study, is that a school’s climate plays an essential role in school improvement efforts (Thapa et al., 2013 ). This makes sense given that students in schools with positive school climates are not only more motivated to actively participate in their learning (e.g., Eccles et al., 1991 ), but are also more likely to attend regularly (Daily et al., 2020 ) and less likely to be suspended (Lee et al., 2011 ). Further, positive school climates have the potential to improve learning outcomes and academic achievement (Shindler et al., 2016 ), reduce achievement gaps and increase career prospects for students from less advantaged backgrounds (Berkowtz, 2022 ; Hopson & Lee, 2011 ).

Growing recognition of the importance of a positive school climate has led to increasing interest in its measurement at both the school and education system levels (Cohen et al., 2009 ). However, traditionally, measures of school climate have relied on assessing students’ experiences of the actual environment, without consideration of their needs. Whilst assessment of the actual environment is meaningful, given the strong and consistent relationship between school climate factors and student outcomes (Aldridge & McChesney, 2018 ; Thapa et al., 2013 ), we contend that consideration of the match (or misfit) between the person and the environment is integral to effective strategic decision-making and school improvement efforts. Therefore, in our study, we drew on a person-environment fit perspective to examine whether a focus on reducing a lack of congruence between students' perceived and desired experiences could improve their outcomes. To examine this overarching aim, three research objectives were addressed:

To examine differences in the perceived (actual) and preferred school climate.

To investigate whether students’ views of the perceived and preferred school climate were similar for students in the same school but different from those in other schools.

To examine the relationships between students' reports of resilience, wellbeing and bullying, and:

Their perceived (actual) school climate.

The actual–preferred discrepancy (size of the environmental misfit).

Assessing school climate

Within the field of learning environments, surveys have been developed to assess classroom-level and school-level environments. The pioneering work of Walberg and Anderson ( 1968 ) and Moos and Trickett ( 1974 ) saw the development of the first learning environment surveys. These instruments were designed to assess students’ perceptions of classroom-level factors, such as the relationships between students and their peers and their teachers (Fraser, 2013 ). Initially, measurement of the school-level environment was associated with the field of educational administration (Anderson, 1982 ; Stewart 1979 ) and focused on aspects related to an organisational climate. However, during the 1960s, a shift in education in the United States that sought to address equity and inclusion issues, saw the emergence of the first school climate surveys. Since this time, numerous instruments have been developed to assess the school climate from the perspectives of different school members (González et al., 2022 ), including teachers (e.g., Aldridge & Fraser, 2016 ; Bear et al., 2014 ), parents (e.g., Aldridge & McChesney  2018 ) and students (e.g., Aldridge and Ala'i, 2013 ; Bear et al., 2011 ).

It is widely agreed that school climate is a multidimensional construct (Thapa et al., 2013 ; Wang & Degol, 2016 ). Despite a lack of consensus regarding which aspects of the school climate should be included in a measure (Cohen et al., 2009 ; Wang & Degol, 2016 ), there is a growing recognition that coverage of four broad categories is important (e.g., Thapa et al., 2013 ; Wang & Degol, 2016 ), these being: safety (assessing the physical and emotional safety provided by the school), community (assessing the quality of the relationships within the school), academic atmosphere (assessing the quality of the instruction and learning support) and institutional environment (assessing how the shared beliefs contribute to overall sense of belonging or inclusion). Although the institutional environment can also assess the quality of the physical environment, our survey did not include this aspect.

As well as being multidimensional, factors that contribute to school climate are considered to be malleable, unlike those outside schools (such as family). That is, measures of school climate should provide information about school-related factors that educators can, to some extent, change or control (García-Carrión et al., 2019 ; Long et al., 2020 ). The malleable nature of the school climate is an important consideration in school improvement efforts as it allows school leaders and education systems to target the improvement of environmental factors that are highly correlated with desired student outcomes (Wang & Degol, 2016 ).

• Person–environment fit

The notion of person-environment fit originates from the work of French et al. ( 1974 ), which was heavily influenced by Lewin’s ( 1935 ) field theory. Lewin’s ( 1936 ) equation B =  f (P, E) proposes that a person’s behaviour (B) is a function of (rather than distinct from) their personal characteristics (P) and the environment (E), highlighting the importance of the environment in understanding behaviour.

A person-environment fit perspective focuses on the interactions between individuals and their environment, with the knowledge that one constantly influences the other (Edwards et al., 1998 ). Underpinning a person-environment fit perspective is the innate desire for individuals to fit in their environment, which includes a need to belong (Deci & Ryan, 2000 ; van Vianen, 2018 ), have autonomy over their life (Hutchings & Chaplin, 2017 ; Yu & Davis, 2016 ), reduce uncertainty and increase consistency (Yu, 2013 ). The fit (or misfit) between the person and the environment causes satisfaction or dissatisfaction and affects an individual’s behaviours, and mental and physical health (Caplan & Harrison, 1993 ; Greguras et al., 2014 ). Further, a misfit between what a person desires and the actual environment has been highly correlated to psychological (e.g.,anxiety or stress) and physiological (e.g., physical wellbeing (Dahm et al., 2015 ) and elevated blood pressure (Edwards & Cooper, 1998 ; Edwards et al., 1998 ; Nagai & Dasari, 2023 )) outcomes.

The two components of person-environment fit, the individual and the environment, can be described objectively or subjectively (Bohndick et al., 2018 ; Caplan, 1987 ). In our study, we used a subjective perspective in which self-ratings (subjectively perceived) of personal qualities (as opposed to the consensual judgement of peers or educators) and (subjective) perceptions of the environment (as opposed to consensual judgments or the concrete environment) were used. The latter (perceptions of the environment) involved students’ views of their actual school climate (the subjective resources provided by the school) and their preferred school climate (subjective needs).

The work of Moos ( 1987 ), which examined the social environments in a range of milieu, examined how the degree of fit between the perceived and desired environment might influence outcomes. Moos ( 1979 ) pioneered the use of both actual and preferred versions of social climate surveys, in which the actual version assessed a person’s perceptions of the environment and the preferred version assessed the environment a person would like (ideal environment). Using both an actual and preferred version allowed the examination of the congruence between what a person needs and what the environment provides. The magnitude of the actual–preferred difference provides information about the environmental fit or misfit. Historically, the two versions (actual and preferred) were administered separately about one week apart. The different versions had corresponding items and although the content was similar for each, the preferred version used a conditional tense (e.g., would). For example, a statement in the actual version would read “Students in this class like me”; in the preferred version, the same item would read “Students in this class would like me”. More recent research has used a more economical side-by-side format to capture the two responses simultaneously (Aldridge et al., 1999 ). Students are instructed to respond to each item twice to report how often the statement takes place and how often they would like it to occur (a wish list if you will). Our study used a side-by-side format.

In keeping with a person-environment perspective, this research drew on the premise that outcomes would improve when a person’s perceptions of the environment were more aligned with their preferences. Past research at the classroom level has suggested that more positive outcomes result when the learning environment is better matched to the student’s needs (see Fraser & Fisher, 1983a , 1983b ). Of the limited number of studies examining whether person-environment fit influenced student outcomes, the majority of these were carried out at the college or university levels. These studies found that a greater person-environment fit improved relationship building with instructors (Deng & Yaim, 2020 ) and students’ performance (Pawlowska et al., 2014 ), satisfaction (Rocconi et al., 2020 ) and wellbeing (Gilbreath et al., 2011 ). Past research examining person-environment fit in schools is limited. Only a handful of studies have been reported, all of which were carried out at the classroom level (see Fraser & Fisher, 1983a , 1983b ). These early classroom-level studies provide evidence to suggest that the actual–preferred differences reported by students could influence their outcomes at the school level.

Despite the limited research available to support the efficacy of using actual–preferred differences at the school level, we hypothesised that improvement efforts to reduce these differences could promote improved outcomes. To our knowledge, past research has not examined relationships between the actual–preferred differences and student resilience, wellbeing and bullying; therefore, our research helps to fill this gap.

The sample was drawn from 12 primary schools across three Australian states. To increase generalisation, the schools were co-educational and located in metropolitan ( n  = 9) and regional ( n  = 3) areas.

In each school, the surveys were administered to all students who volunteered to participate and were present on the day of administration. This provided a total of 1002 cases. During data cleaning, nine cases (approximately 1.01%) were removed as the responses indicated these students were disengaged (standard deviation of 0) or provided the incorrect year level.

Of the remaining 993 cases, 493 (49.6%) respondents identified as male and 500 (50.4%) respondents identified as female. The students, aged between 11 to 12 years of age, were enrolled in years five 5 ( n  = 478, 48.1%) and six 6 ( n  = 515, 51.9%). The distribution of students across metropolitan ( n  = 742) and regional ( n  = 251) schools generally reflected the differences in school sizes in these areas.

Instruments

The collection of data for the study involved the administration of two surveys, one to assess students’ perception of the school climate and the other to assess students’ self-reports of wellbeing, resilience and bullying.

Perceptions of the school climate

The What’s Happening In This School—Primary (WHITS-P; Aldridge & Blackstock, 2024 ) was used to assess students’ perceptions of the school climate. The WHITS-P was based largely on the secondary school version of the What’s Happening In This School (WHITS; Aldridge & Ala’i, 2013 ; Riekie & Aldridge, 2017 ). Development of the WHITS-P involved extrapolating and modifying items (which included simplifying the language and reducing the number of items) to make them suitable for use with younger students. To improve reliability and comprehensibility, items belonging to a scale were grouped together and a child-friendly header was provided at the beginning of each group as a contextual cue. To reduce confusion, all items were worded positively.

To reflect the multidimensional nature of the school climate, the WHITS-P included seven scales to provide coverage of the four broad categories identified by Wang and Degol ( 2016 ). Two scales, teacher support and peer connectedness, assessed the quality of the interpersonal relationships in the school (community). Two scales, rule clarity and reporting and seeking help, assessed the quality of the processes, procedures and other mechanisms used to support school safety (safety). Two scales, support for learning and high expectations, assessed the quality of the learning support (academic atmosphere). Finally, one scale, school connectedness, assessed the extent to which the norms, values and policies gave students a sense of belonging and being valued (institutional environment).

Apart from high expectations, which was assessed using three items, the six remaining scales were assessed using four items. Each item was responded to using a simplified five-point frequency-response format that was developed over multiple trials. The response format included three major anchor points labelled ‘almost never’, ‘sometimes’, and ‘almost always’. An emoji face accompanied these major anchor points to provide a visual cue. In addition to the three major anchor points, two additional anchor points were included, one between the response alternatives of ‘almost never’ and ‘sometimes’ and another between ‘sometimes' and ‘almost always’. A side-by-side format was used to collect the actual and preferred responses simultaneously. Using this format, students responded twice for each statement: once for how often the statement actually happened and again for how often they would like it to happen. Table 1 provides the broad category, a brief description and a sample item for each WHITS-P scale.

Student outcomes

Three scales were used to assess student self-reports of resilience, wellbeing and bullying. All were comprised of four items and used the same five-point response format to measure the school climate. The scales were modified (by reducing the number of items and simplifying the language where appropriate) from existing instruments developed for use in secondary schools. The resilience scale was adapted from a scale initially developed by Wagnild and Young ( 1993 ) and later adapted for use with secondary students (Riekie & Aldridge, 2017 ). The scale demonstrated sound psychometric properties in previous studies (e.g., Aldridge et al., 2016 ) and sought to examine concepts of perseverance and self-reliance. The wellbeing scale was modified from the WHO-Five (WHO, 1998 ) to assess students’ positive wellbeing. When used with secondary students, a modified version reported good psychometric properties (e.g., Riekie et al., 2017 ). Finally, the bullying scale was modified from a survey developed initially by Bandyopadhyay et al. ( 2009 ) to assess the extent to which students felt they were victims of bullying. When responding to outcomes scales, students were asked to consider how often each item occurred over the previous two weeks.

Analysis of the data, described below, was carried out using SPSS (version 29).

For the first research objective, descriptive statistics, including means and standard deviations, were used to compare student responses to the actual and preferred version of the WHITS-P. To examine whether the actual-preferred differences were statistically significant, paired samples t- tests were used. Finally, to examine the magnitude of the differences, the effect sizes were calculated for each scale using the following formula:

For the second research objective, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with school membership as the main effect was used to examine whether students’ responses to actual and preferred versions of the WHITS-P differed across the 12 schools. Two indices related to the ANOVA results were examined, the significance level and eta 2 statistic (the proportion of ‘between’ to ‘total’ sums of squares), to provide a measure of the degree of association between student responses and the dependent variable to examine the variance explained by school membership (Field, 2009 ),

For the third research objective, simple correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to examine the relationships between the outcome variables (resilience, wellbeing and bullying) and a) students’ perceptions of the school climate and b) the size of the actual–preferred discrepancy. Simple correlations (Pearson’s correlation coefficient) were used to summarise the strength and degree of the relationships. Multiple regression analysis was used to help to understand whether a school climate scale contributed to the student outcomes over and above the contributions made by other school climate variables. Beta coefficients were used to examine the predictive ability of each variable.

Although the analysis was the same for both parts of research objective three, the data used differed. To examine the relationships between the three outcomes and students’ perceptions of the school climate (part 1 of research objective 3), the aggregated responses to items in the actual version of each WHITS-P scale were used. To investigate the relationships between the three outcomes and the degree of fit or misfit (part 2 of research objective 3), the absolute value for the difference between a student's actual and preferred responses was calculated and then used to aggregate the scores of the items in each scale.

Research objective 1: actual–preferred comparisons

The first research objective compared students’ responses to the actual and preferred versions of the WHITS-P. The average item means, portrayed graphically in Fig.  1 and reported in Table  2 , indicate that students’ responses to the preferred version were higher than the actual version for all but one WHITS-P scale, high expectations. Except for the high expectations scale, the range of responses to the preferred version was narrower (with standard deviations ranging from 0.505 to 0.743) than for responses to the actual version (with standard deviations ranging from 0.705 to 0.908). The high expectations scale was the only one for which the preferred responses were lower than the actual responses. Whilst the difference was small and statistically non-significant, this result suggests that students would like less than they receive.

Average item means for students’ responses to actual and preferred versions of WHITS-P scales

The t -test results, reported to the right of Table  2 , suggest that the differences were statistically significant ( p  < 0.01) for all scales except high expectations. The effect sizes, calculated to estimate the magnitude of the differences, ranged from approximately one-third (effect size = 0.395) to over three-quarters (effect size = 0.834) of a standard deviation for scales with a statistically significant difference.

Research objective 2: differences across schools

One-way ANOVA was used to examine whether students’ mean responses to the actual and preferred version of the WHITS-P differed based on school membership. The results, reported in Table  3 , indicate that, for responses to both the actual and preferred versions, there was a statistically significant ( p  < 0.05) difference for all WHITS-P scales. The eta 2 statistic for different WHITS-P scales ranged from 0.023 to 0.050 for the actual version and from 0.051 to 0.113 for the preferred version. The F -values were all greater than 1, ranging from 2.108 to 4.673 for the actual version and from 4.771 to 11.338 for the preferred version. These results (the F -value and p -value) suggest that students in the same school viewed the school climate similarly but differed from those in other schools.

Research objective 3: relationships

Simple correlation and multiple regression analysis were used to investigate relationships between the three student outcomes and (a) the school climate and (b) the actual–preferred discrepancy.

School climate–outcome relationships

First, the results of simple correlation analysis involving students’ responses to the actual version, reported in Table  4 , suggest that the relationships between all seven WHITS-P scales and student reports of resilience and wellbeing were positive and statistically significant ( p  <  0.0 1). These results imply that when school climate factors (as assessed using the WHITS-P) are experienced more positively, students report increased resilience and better wellbeing. Conversely, the correlations between the WHITS-P scales and reports of bullying were all negative and statistically significant ( p  <  0.0 5), suggesting that, when students experienced the school climate more positively, they reported fewer experiences of bullying.

Multiple regression analysis was used to determine which school climate factors predicted student outcomes. The overall regression, reported in Table  4 , was statistically significant for all three outcomes: resilience (multiple R  = 0.595, R 2  = 0.353 , p  < 0.01), wellbeing (multiple R  = 0.769, R 2  = 0.591, p  < 0.01), and bullying (multiple R  = 0.460, R 2  = 0.212, p  < 0.01). The results of multiple regression analyses revealed that all WHITS-P scales except teacher support positively and statistically significantly ( p  < 0.01) predicted student resilience; five scales (peer connectedness, reporting and seeking help, rule clarity, support for learning and school connectedness) statistically significantly (p < 0.01) and positively predicted student wellbeing; four scales (peer connectedness, reporting and seeking help, support for learning and school connectedness) statistically significantly ( p  < 0.05) and negatively predicted reports of bullying and one scale, high expectations, statistically significantly ( p  < 0.01) and positively predicted reports of bullying.

Relationships between preferred–actual congruence and outcomes

Whereas the previous analyses examined relationships between students’ lived experiences of school climate and their outcomes, this section reports relationships between the actual–preferred discrepancy for each WHITS-P scale and the student outcomes.

The results of simple correlation analyses, used to examine the bivariate relationship between the actual–preferred discrepancy and each outcome, reported in Table  4 , indicate that, without exception, the correlations were statistically significant ( p  <  0.0 1). All relationships were negative for resilience and wellbeing and positive for bullying, suggesting that, when the actual–preferred gap is smaller, students report greater resilience and wellbeing and less bullying.

Multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationships between the actual–preferred discrepancy for a school climate scale and a student outcome while controlling for the effect of the other scales. The results, reported in Table  4 , suggest that the overall regression was statistically significant for all three outcomes: resilience (multiple R  = 0.431, R 2  = 0.186, p  < 0.01), wellbeing (multiple R  = 0.572, R 2  = 0.327, p  < 0.01) and reports of bullying (multiple R  = 0.406, R 2  = 0.165, p  < 0.01). Examination of the p -values and beta values suggest that, for resilience, the actual–preferred discrepancy for all WHITS-P scales, except the support for learning scale, were negative and statistically significantly ( p  < 0.05). For wellbeing, the actual–preferred discrepancy for five WHITS-P scales were negative and statistically significant ( p  < 0.01), the exceptions being reporting and seeking help and support for learning (which were nonsignificant). Finally, for reports of bullying, the actual–preferred discrepancy for five WHITS-P scales was statistically significant ( p  < 0.01) and positive; the exceptions, support for learning and high expectations, were nonsignificant.

A person-environment fit perspective is focused on the interactions between an individual and the environment and assumes that a good match between the two promotes positive outcomes. Using this premise, the study reported in this article examined whether smaller actual–preferred discrepancies promoted student resilience and wellbeing and reduced bullying.

First, we examined whether students’ views of the actual and preferred environment differed. The statistically significant t- test results and effect sizes for all but one WHITS-P scale (high expectations) suggest that students would prefer the school climate features to occur more often. These findings are consistent with research at the classroom level, which suggests that students desire a more positive environment than the one they experience (e.g., Fraser, 1982 ; Magen-Nagar & Steinberger, 2017 ).

For the exception, high expectations, there was only a slight (statistically non-significant) actual–preferred discrepancy. It is noteworthy, however, that students’ responses indicates their actual experiences exceeded their preferences. To our knowledge, few, if any, studies in the field of learning environment report discrepancies in this direction. Moos ( 1987 ) warns, however, that when the environment exceeds a person's preference, dysfunction can occur because personal characteristics (such as self-esteem) influence the interplay between personal and environmental factors. It is recommended, therefore, that future studies examine the extent to which dysfunction occurs when the environment exceeds a person’s preference and that educators seek causal explanations.

Second, the ANOVA results were interpreted to determine whether the mean responses for students in the same school were similar but different from those of students in other schools. The statistically significant results for responses to the actual version for all WHITS-P scales, suggesting the perceptions of students can be differentiated between schools, corroborate those of past studies (e.g., Johnson et al., 2007 ; Riekie & Aldridge, 2017 ). This finding makes sense given that a school's climate is influenced by a range of factors, such as interpersonal relationships, making each one unique (Tomaszewski et al., 2023 ).

The statistically significant ANOVA results for students’ responses to the preferred version for all WHITS-P scales were also notable. These findings suggest that not only is a school's climate unique, but the needs of students within a school (as reported in the preferred version) also differs between schools. From a cultural capital perspective (Davies & Rizk, 2018 ), this finding reflects the intrinsic relationship between the community in which it is situated (e.g., socio-economic demographics), the school’s organisational practices and the school culture (Tarabini et al., 2017 ). These findings support the need for school improvement efforts that are culturally responsive and consider the sociocultural context (e.g., Antrop-Gozales & De Jesus, 2006 ; McLure & Aldridge, 2022 ).

We then examined the relationships the relationships between students’ reports of resilience, wellbeing and bullying and responses to, first, the actual version of the WHITS-P and, second, the actual–preferred discrepancy. The relationships between the actual version of the WHITS-P and the three outcomes, suggest that positive school climates could promote students' resilience and wellbeing and reduce bullying. These findings corroborate those of past research that examined the influence of school climate factors on emotional wellbeing (e.g., Aldridge & McChesney, 2018 ; Aldridge et al., 2016 ; Kutsyuruba et al., 2015 ; Lester & Cross, 2015 ; Riekie & Aldridge, 2017 ), resilience (e.g., Aldridge et al., 2016 ; Cohen, 2013 ; Ebbart & Luthar, 2021 ) and reports of bullying (Aldridge et al., 2018 , 2020 ). Our findings suggest that developing a positive school climate could provide the protective factors needed to promote wellbeing and equip students to handle stressors and setbacks. Further, the negative relationships between the WHITS-P scales and students’ reports of bullying, highlight the critical role that a positive school climate plays in preventing bullying (e.g., Cohen & Frieberg, 2013 ; Low & Van Ryzin, 2014 ; Wang et al., 2013a , 2013b ).

Finally, we drew on a person-environment perspective to examine whether the degree of misfit reported by students was inversely related to their outcomes. Our findings indicate that when the actual–preferred discrepancies were smaller, student resilience and wellbeing were improved and reports of bullying reduced. These findings support Caplan’s ( 1987 ) theory of person-environment fit and earlier studies that found outcomes were improved when environmental misfits were reduced (Fraser & Fisher, 1983a , 1983b ; Moos, 1987 ). Further, it is worth noting that the correlation between students’ actual perceptions of teacher support and their outcomes was statistically non-significant, while the relationship between the actual-–preferred discrepancy in student responses to teacher support and student outcomes (resilience, wellbeing and reductions in bullying) was statistically significant. This finding suggests that including information about actual and preferred experiences could provide a more nuanced understanding of students' needs, which can be used to promote student outcomes more effectively when compared with relying on actual data alone.

Implications for schools

Given that traditional models used to guide interventions aimed at improving student outcomes often target change efforts at individual students, our findings provide important implications for schools seeking to improve outcomes across the entire school. Our findings draw attention to the interaction between students and their environment and to the interconnectedness between the context and the environment. Given the malleable nature of the school climate factors, these findings provide important implications to schools as outlined below.

Our finding, that students in different schools have different perceptions and preferences, support the premise that students are embedded within larger social systems and acknowledges that multiple levels of influence exist (Bronfenbrenner, 1979 ). These findings suggest that schools would benefit from examining the interconnections between students and larger social systems to determine how changes at different system levels can support their needs. This information could help educators to select and shape the school climate for person–environment matching (Moos, 1996 ).

Our results suggest that examining ways to reduce actual–preferred discrepancy could improve student outcomes. For example, one of our findings suggest that, when students perceived their teachers as friendly and caring as they would like them to be (e.g., the actual–preferred discrepancy was reduced), they were more resilient, had better wellbeing and experienced less bullying. Given that high-quality relationships are typically associated with positive student outcomes, it would make sense, in this case, for schools to consider ways to foster interpersonal rapport and relational trust between teachers and their students.

Our findings also support the usefulness of a socio-ecological approach to promoting student outcomes. Using a social-ecological approach recognises the social variables (e.g., teacher or peer support) and the multiple levels of influence on student development and behaviour. Although it may not be practical to influence all aspects of the environment, considering students as part of an ecosystem may help focus school improvement efforts. For example, students are influenced by the level of teacher support (beliefs about whether teachers value them) at both the microsystem and macrosystem levels. Teachers contribute to the school climate at the microsystem level (in the way they interact with individuals e.g., by being caring, friendly and dependable), at the mesosystem levels (e.g., through the way they interact, involve or engage parents in the educational process) and at the macrosystem level (e.g., through the norms and rules that guide student social behaviour and explicit messages and rules regarding interactions between peers (see, for example, Patrick et al., 2001 ). Although the benefits of using a social-ecological perspective to promote outcomes and address inequities have been widely reported in healthcare settings (see for example, Cramer & Kapusta, 2017 ; Baron et al., 2014 ; Golden et al., 2015 ; Goodwin et al., 2022 ), similar efforts appear to be limited in school improvement literature. However, our findings suggest that, given the importance of the school context, using a social-ecological approach to guide school improvement interventions could be beneficial.  

Finally, for schools using actual–preferred discrepancies to guide improvement efforts it could be worth  considering the results in light of Eccles and Midgley’s ( 1989 ) stage-environment fit perspective which suggests that, when the environment fit caters to students' developmental needs, individual functioning is maximised (Midgley et al., 2014 ). Drawing on a stage-environment fit perspective could encourage educators to examine whether misfits could be addressed by making changes to ensure that the environment is suited to the students’s developmental needs. Such changes could support a range of adaptive changes, such as personality development (Roberts & Robins, 2004 ) and increased motivation and academic performance (Eccles et al., 1991 ).

Recognition that the individual and the environment are not isolated entities but, rather, each shape and are shaped by the other supports possibilities of a schoolwide focus on improving the school climate and reducing actual–preferred differences to improve student outcomes.

However, despite the mounting research evidence supporting the critical role of school climate, as well as an increased demand for its measurement, schools are more likely to rely on achievement data or attendance rates to inform strategic decisions (Cohen et al., 2009 ). Our findings not only corroborate past research that suggests a focus on improving school climate will lead to improved outcomes, they also support the possibility of examining whether misfits occur, to guide decisions about school improvement efforts. We posit that future school improvement efforts would benefit from approaches that move away from a focus on individual-level solutions to ones that draw on a social-ecological perspective, ensuring a multi-level perspective that considers the school's context, to improve school climate and reduce actual–preferred discrepancies. 

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Exploring the Relationship Between Early Life Exposures and the Comorbidity of Obesity and Hypertension: Findings from the 1970 The British Cohort Study (BCS70)

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Background Epidemiological research commonly investigates single exposure-outcome relationships, while children’s experiences across a variety of early lifecourse domains are intersecting. To design realistic interventions, epidemiological research should incorporate information from multiple risk exposure domains to assess effect on health outcomes. In this paper we identify exposures across five pre-hypothesised childhood domains and explored their association to the odds of combined obesity and hypertension in adulthood.

Methods We used data from 17,196 participants in the 1970 British Cohort Study. The outcome was obesity (BMI of ≥30) and hypertension (blood pressure>140/90mm Hg or self-reported doctor’s diagnosis) comorbidity at age 46. Early life domains included: ‘prenatal, antenatal, neonatal and birth’, ‘developmental attributes and behaviour’, ‘child education and academic ability’, ‘socioeconomic factors’ and ‘parental and family environment’. Stepwise backward elimination selected variables for inclusion for each domain. Predicted risk scores of combined obesity and hypertension for each cohort member within each domain were calculated. Logistic regression investigated the association between domain-specific risk scores and odds of obesity-hypertension, controlling for demographic factors and other domains.

Results Adjusting for demographic confounders, all domains were associated with odds of obesity-hypertension. Including all domains in the same model, higher predicted risk values across the five domains remained associated with increased odds of obesity-hypertension comorbidity, with the strongest associations to the parental and family environment domain (OR1.11 95%CI 1.05-1.18) and the socioeconomic factors domain (OR1.11 95%CI 1.05-1.17).

Conclusions Targeted prevention interventions aimed at population groups with shared early-life characteristics could have an impact on obesity-hypertension prevalence which are known risk factors for further morbidity including cardiovascular disease.

Competing Interest Statement

R.O. is a member of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Technology Appraisal Committee, member of the NICE Decision Support Unit (DSU), and associate member of the NICE Technical Support Unit (TSU). She has served as a paid consultant to the pharmaceutical industry and international reimbursement agencies, providing unrelated methodological advice. She reports teaching fees from the Association of British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). R.H. is a member of the Scientific Board of the Smith Institute for Industrial Mathematics and System Engineering.

Funding Statement

This work is part of the multidisciplinary ecosystem to study lifecourse determinants and prevention of early-onset burdensome multimorbidity (MELD-B) project which is supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR203988). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.

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Ethics approval for this work has been obtained from the University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine Ethics committee (ERGO II Reference 66810).

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The BCS70 datasets generated and analysed in the current study are available from the UK Data Archive repository (available here: http://www.cls.ioe.ac.uk/page.aspx?&sitesectionid=795 ).

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Key findings about online dating in the U.S.

Online dating in the United States has evolved over the past several decades into a booming industry , transforming the way some people meet matches . A new report from Pew Research Center explores the upsides and downsides of online dating by highlighting Americans’ experiences and views about it. Here are 12 key takeaways.

Pew Research Center conducted this study to understand Americans’ experiences with dating sites and apps and their views of online dating generally. This analysis is based on a survey conducted among 6,034 U.S. adults from July 5-17, 2022. This included 4,996 respondents from the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. It also included an oversample of 1,038 respondents from Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel who indicated that they are lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB), with oversampled groups weighted back to reflect proportions in the population. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology .

Terminology

• Online dating users refers to the 30% of Americans who answered yes to the following question: “Have you ever used an online dating site or dating app?”
• Current or recent online dating users refers to the 9% of adults who had used a dating site or app in the past year as of the July survey.
• Partnered refers to the 69% of U.S. adults who describe themselves as married, living with a partner, or in a committed romantic relationship.
• LGB refers to those who are lesbian, gay or bisexual. These groups are combined because of small sample sizes. Additionally, since this research is focused on sexual orientation, not gender identity, and due to the fact that the transgender population in the U.S. is very small, transgender respondents are not identified separately. Read the report for more details.

A note about the Asian adult sample

This survey includes a total sample size of 234 Asian adults. The sample primarily includes English-speaking Asian adults and therefore may not be representative of the overall Asian adult population. Despite this limitation, it is important to report the views of Asian adults on the topics in this study. As always, Asian adults’ responses are incorporated into the general population figures throughout this report. Asian adults are shown as a separate group when the question was asked of the full sample. Because of the relatively small sample size and a reduction in precision due to weighting, results are not shown separately for Asian adults for questions that were only asked of online dating users or other filtered questions. We are also not able to analyze Asian adults by demographic categories, such as gender, age or education.

Three-in-ten U.S. adults say they have ever used a dating site or app, identical to the share who said this in 2019 . That includes 9% who report doing so in the past year, according to the Center’s survey of 6,034 adults conducted July 5-17, 2022.

Online dating is more common among younger adults than among older people. About half of those under 30 (53%) report having ever used a dating site or app, compared with 37% of those ages 30 to 49, 20% of those 50 to 64 and 13% of those 65 and older.

When looking at sexual orientation, lesbian, gay or bisexual (LGB) adults are more likely than their straight counterparts to say they have ever used a dating site or app (51% vs. 28%).

Men are somewhat more likely than women to have tried online dating (34% vs. 27%), as are those with at least some college education when compared with those with a high school education or less.

Adults who have never been married are much more likely than married adults to report having used online dating sites or apps (52% vs. 16%). Adults who are currently living with a partner (46%) or who are divorced, separated or widowed (36%) are also more likely to have tried online dating than married adults.

There are no statistically significant differences in the shares of adults who report ever using an online dating platform by race or ethnicity: Similar shares of White, Black, Hispanic and Asian adults report ever having done so.

Tinder tops the list of dating sites or apps the survey studied and is particularly popular among adults under 30. Some 46% of online dating users say they have ever used Tinder, followed by about three-in-ten who have used Match (31%) or Bumble (28%). OkCupid, eharmony and Hinge are each used by about a fifth of online dating users. Grindr and HER are used by very few online dating users overall (6% and 3%, respectively) but are more widely used by LGB adults than straight adults. Additionally, 31% of online dating users mention having tried some other online dating platform not asked about directly in this survey. (Read the topline  for a list of the most common other dating sites and apps users mentioned.)

Tinder use is far more common among younger adults than among older Americans: 79% of online dating users under 30 say they have used the platform, compared with 44% of users ages 30 to 49, 17% of users 50 to 64 and just 1% of those 65 and older. Tinder is the top online dating platform among users under 50. By contrast, users 50 and older are about five times more likely to use Match than Tinder (50% vs. 11%).

One-in-ten partnered adults – meaning those who are married, living with a partner or in a committed romantic relationship – met their current significant other through a dating site or app. Partnered adults who are under 30 or who are LGB stand out from other groups when looking at this measure of online dating “success”: One-in-five partnered adults under 30 say they met their current spouse or partner on a dating site or app, as do about a quarter of partnered LGB adults (24%).

Online dating users are somewhat divided over whether their experiences on these platforms have been positive or negative. Among those who have ever used a dating site or app, slightly more say their personal experiences have been very or somewhat positive than say they have been very or somewhat negative (53% vs. 46%).

Some demographic groups are more likely to report positive experiences. For example, 57% of men who have dated online say their experiences have been positive, while women users are roughly split down the middle (48% positive, 51% negative). In addition, LGB users of these platforms are more likely than straight users to report positive experiences (61% vs. 53%).

Roughly a third of online dating users (35%) say they have ever paid to use one of these platforms – including for extra features – but this varies by income, age and gender. Some 45% of online dating users with upper incomes report having paid to use a dating site or app, compared with 36% of users with middle incomes and 28% of those with lower incomes. Similarly, 41% of users 30 and older say they have paid to use these platforms, compared with 22% of those under 30. Men who have dated online are more likely than women to report having paid for these sites and apps (41% vs. 29%).

Those who have ever paid to use dating sites or apps report more positive experiences than those who have never paid. Around six-in-ten paid users (58%) say their personal experiences with dating sites or apps have been positive; half of users who have never paid say this.

Women who have used online dating platforms in the past year are more likely to feel overwhelmed by the number of messages they get, while men are more likely to feel insecure about a lack of messages. Among current or recent online dating users, 54% of women say they have felt overwhelmed by the number of messages they received on dating sites or apps in the past year, while just a quarter of men say the same. By contrast, 64% of men say they have felt insecure because of the lack of messages they received, while four-in-ten women say the same.

Overall, 55% of adults who have used a dating app or site in the past year say they often or sometimes felt insecure about the number of messages they received, while 36% say they often or sometimes felt overwhelmed.

Among recent online daters, large majorities of men and women say they have often or sometimes felt excited by the people they have seen while using these platforms, though large majorities also say they have often or sometimes felt disappointed.

When asked why they’ve turned to dating sites or apps in the past year, 44% of users say a major reason was to meet a long-term partner and 40% say a major reason was to date casually. Smaller shares say a major reason was to have casual sex (24%) or make new friends (22%).

Men who have used a dating platform in the past year are much more likely than women to say casual sex was a major reason (31% vs. 13%). There are no statistically significant gender differences on the other three reasons asked about in the survey.

About four-in-ten U.S. adults overall (42%) say online dating has made the search for a long-term partner easier. Far fewer (22%) say it has made the search for a long-term partner or spouse harder. About a third (32%) say it has made no difference.

Adults under 30 are less convinced than their older counterparts that online dating has made the search for a partner easier. These younger adults are about evenly divided in their views, with 35% of those ages 18 to 29 saying it has made the search easier and 33% saying it has made the search harder.

When it comes to the choices people have on dating sites and apps, 43% of adults overall say people have the right amount of options for dating on these platforms, while 37% think choices are too plentiful. Fewer (13%) say there are not enough options.

Most U.S. adults are skeptical or unsure that dating algorithms can predict love. About one-in-five adults (21%) think that the types of computer programs that dating sites and apps use could determine whether two people will eventually fall in love. But greater shares of Americans either say these programs could not do this (35%) or are unsure (43%).

Americans are split on whether online dating is a safe way to meet people, and a majority support requiring background checks before someone can create a profile. The share of U.S. adults who say online dating is generally a very or somewhat safe way to meet people has dipped slightly since 2019, from 53% to 48%. Women are more likely than men to say online dating is not too or not at all safe.

There are also differences by age: 62% of Americans ages 65 and older say online dating is not safe, compared with 53% of those 50 to 64 and 42% of adults younger than 50. Those who have never used a dating site or app are particularly likely to think it is unsafe: 57% say this, compared with 32% of those who have used an online dating site or app.

At the same time, six-in-ten Americans say companies should require background checks before someone creates a dating profile, while 15% say they should not and 24% are not sure. Women are more likely than men to say these checks should be required, as are adults 50 and older compared with younger adults.

These checks do not have majority support among online dating users themselves, however: 47% of users say companies should require background checks, versus 65% of those who have never used a dating site or app.

Younger women who have used dating sites or apps stand out for experiencing unwanted behaviors on these platforms. A majority of women under 50 who have used dating sites or apps (56%) say they have been sent a sexually explicit message or image they didn’t ask for, and about four-in-ten have had someone continue to contact them after they said they were not interested (43%) or have been called an offensive name (37%). Roughly one-in-ten of this group (11%) have received threats of physical harm. Each of these experiences is less common among women online dating users ages 50 and older, as well as among men of any age.

Among all online dating users, 38% have ever received unsolicited sexually explicit messages or images while using a dating site or app; 30% have experienced continued unwanted contact; 24% have been called an offensive name; and 6% have been threatened with physical harm.

About half of those who have used dating sites and apps (52%) say they have come across someone they think was trying to scam them. Men under 50 are particularly likely to say they have had this experience: 63% of men in this age group who have used dating sites or apps think they have encountered a scammer on them. Smaller shares of men ages 50 and older (47%) and women of any age (44%) say the same.

Note: Here are the questions used for this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology .

• Online Dating
• Romance & Dating

Emily A. Vogels is a former research associate focusing on internet and technology at Pew Research Center .

Colleen McClain is a research associate focusing on internet and technology research at Pew Research Center .

For Valentine’s Day, facts about marriage and dating in the U.S.

Dating at 50 and up: older americans’ experiences with online dating, about half of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults have used online dating, about half of never-married americans have used an online dating site or app, from looking for love to swiping the field: online dating in the u.s., most popular.

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Kinder houston area survey: 2024 results, report : may. 20, 2024 education | housing | economic development, houston of tomorrow.

The 43rd annual Kinder Houston Area Survey provides an unparalleled look at current conditions in the region as well as the “Houston of Tomorrow.”

The 43rd annual Kinder Houston Area Survey provides an unparalleled look at current conditions in the region as well as the “Houston of Tomorrow.” While the same challenges that have weighed on the region over the last few years — crime and safety, affordable housing and the economy — remain at the forefront of people’s thinking, survey results show Houstonians are excited about the next 10 to 20 years and how emerging opportunities may reshape their lives, careers and communities.

Key findings

• More than 1 in 4 Houston-area residents cited crime and safety as the biggest problem facing the area, making it the most commonly reported concern for the second straight year.
• More than 1 in 5 residents identified housing affordability as the region's biggest problem. Corporations, landlords and neighborhood opposition were the most commonly cited causes of affordability challenges. 
• Houston’s economy continues to leave many residents worried and behind, as nearly half are unable to come up with $400 to cover an unexpected emergency expense. 
• Support for investments in education has continued to increase. Seventy percent of residents agreed schools needed more funding to provide a high-quality education.
• In considering the future, Houston-area residents anticipate climate change will likely affect them personally and will harm the region’s economy.
• Given the significant leadership role Houston plays in the energy economy, 73% of respondents believe the city has an advantage when it comes to leading America’s alternative energy future.
• Houstonians appear to be of two minds about AI technology — 60% say it will result in job losses in the next 5 years, but half also say their own jobs are safe over the same time period.

To learn more about the Kinder Houston Area Survey and see results from past years, click here .

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Science is making anti-aging progress. But do we want to live forever?

Nobel laureate details new book, which surveys research, touches on larger philosophical questions

Anne J. Manning

Harvard Staff Writer

Mayflies live for only a day. Galapagos tortoises can reach up to age 170. The Greenland shark holds the world record at over 400 years of life. 

Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel laureate and author of the newly released “ Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality ,” opened his packed Harvard Science Book Talk last week by noting the vast variabilities of lifespans across the natural world. Death is certain, so far as we know. But there’s no physical or chemical law that says it must happen at a fixed time, which raises other, more philosophical issues.

The “why” behind these enormous swings, and the quest to harness longevity for humans, have driven fevered attempts (and billions of dollars in research spending) to slow or stop aging. Ramakrishnan’s book is a dispassionate journey through current scientific understanding of aging and death, which basically comes down to an accumulation of chemical damage to molecules and cells.

“The question is whether we can tackle aging processes, while still keeping us who we are as humans,” said Ramakrishnan during his conversation with Antonio Regalado, a writer for the MIT Technology Review. “And whether we can do that in a safe and effective way.”

Even if immortality — or just living for a very, very long time — were theoretically possible through science, should we pursue it? Ramakrishnan likened the question to other moral ponderings.

“There’s no physical or chemical law that says we can’t colonize other galaxies, or outer space, or even Mars,” he said. “I would put it in that same category. And it would require huge breakthroughs, which we haven’t made yet.”

In fact, we’re a lot closer to big breakthroughs when it comes to chasing immortality. Ramakrishnan noted the field is moving so fast that a book like his can capture but a snippet. He then took the audience on a brief tour of some of the major directions of aging research. And much of it, he said, started in unexpected places.

Take rapamycin, a drug first isolated in the 1960s from a bacterium on Easter Island found to have antifungal, immunosuppressant, and anticancer properties. Rapamycin targets the TOR pathway, a large molecular signaling cascade within cells that regulates many functions fundamental to life. Rapamycin has garnered renewed attention for its potential to reverse the aging process by targeting cellular signaling associated with physiological changes and diseases in older adults.

Other directions include mimicking the anti-aging effects of caloric restriction shown in mice, as well as one particularly exciting area called cellular reprogramming. That means taking fully developed cells and essentially turning back the clock on their development.

The most famous foundational experiment in this area was by Kyoto University scientist and Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka, who showed that just four transcription factors could revert an adult cell all the way back to a pluripotent stem cell, creating what are now known as induced pluripotent stem cells.

Ramakrishnan , a scientist at England’s MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, won the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry for uncovering the structure of the ribosome. He said he felt qualified to write the book because he has “no skin in the game” of aging research. As a molecular biologist who has studied fundamental processes of how cells make proteins, he had connections in the field but wasn’t too close to any of it.

While researching the book, he took pains to avoid interviewing scientists with commercial ventures tied to aging.

The potential for conflicts of interest abound.

The world has seen an explosion in aging research in recent decades, with billions of dollars spent by government agencies and private companies . And the consumer market for products is forecast to hit $93 billion by 2027 .

As a result, false or exaggerated claims by companies promising longer life are currently on the rise, Ramakrishnan noted. He shared one example: Supplements designed to lengthen a person’s telomeres, or genetic segments that shrink with age, are available on Amazon.

“Of course, these are not FDA approved. There are no clinical trials, and it’s not clear what their basis is,” he said.

But still there appears to be some demand.

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• Open access
• Published: 15 May 2024

Causal relationship of interleukin-6 and its receptor on sarcopenia traits using mendelian randomization

• Baixing Chen 1 ,
• Shaoshuo Li 2 ,
• Shi Lin 3 &
• Hang Dong 3 , 4  

Nutrition Journal volume  23 , Article number:  51 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Previous research has extensively examined the role of interleukin 6 (IL-6) in sarcopenia. However, the presence of a causal relationship between IL-6, its receptor (IL-6R), and sarcopenia remains unclear.

In this study, we utilized summary-level data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) focused on appendicular lean mass (ALM), hand grip strength, and walking pace. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were employed as genetic instruments for IL-6 and IL-6R to estimate the causal effect of sarcopenia traits. We adopted the Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to investigate these associations using the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method as the primary analytical approach. Additionally, we performed sensitivity analyses to validate the reliability of the MR results.

This study revealed a significant negative association between main IL-6R and eQTL IL-6R on the left grip strength were − 0.013 (SE = 0.004, p  < 0.001) and -0.029 (SE = 0.007, p  < 0.001), respectively. While for the right grip strength, the estimates were − 0.011 (SE = 0.001, p  < 0.001) and − 0.021 (SE = 0.008, p  = 0.005). However, no evidence of an association for IL-6R with ALM and walking pace. In addition, IL-6 did not affect sarcopenia traits.

Our study findings suggest a negative association between IL-6R and hand grip strength. Additionally, targeting IL-6R may hold potential value as a therapeutic approach for the treatment of hand grip-related issues.

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Introduction

Sarcopenia is a syndrome characterized by a loss of muscle mass and strength, which often leads to functional impairment and adverse outcomes [ 1 ]. This condition involves a restructuring of the overall muscle composition, including the transformation of muscle fibers and the infiltration of lipids [ 2 ]. As a result, muscle power is diminished, and the risk of falls, mortality, disability, and hospitalization is elevated compared to individuals without sarcopenia [ 3 ].

Extensive research has demonstrated that interleukins, particularly interleukin-6 (IL-6), play a critical role in the development of skeletal muscle wasting [ 4 ]. They achieve this by activating molecular pathways that disrupt the balance between protein synthesis and catabolism [ 5 ]. For example, IL-6 has catabolic effects on muscle proteins [ 6 ]. In clinical settings, geriatric patients with acute infection-induced inflammation who received piroxicam, a non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, showed a decreased level of IL-6 with better muscle performance. Several systematic reviews have consistently shown that elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines are inversely correlated with muscle strength and mass [ 7 , 8 , 9 ]. On the other hand, therapeutic strategies that IL-6R antagonists, such as the use of tocilizumab, have shown promise in increasing muscle mass. IL-6 promotes inflammatory responses via the membrane-bound or circulating soluble IL-6R. Two studies demonstrated that administration of anti-mouse IL-6 receptor antibodies improved muscle mass in mice [ 10 , 11 ]. In a study by Tournadre et al., the use of tocilizumab was shown to have beneficial effects on lean mass without significant changes in fat mass in patients with rheumatoid arthritis [ 12 ]. IL-6 and sIL-6R are important factors in the regulation of inflammation, but their effects on muscle mass and function suggest that the relationship for IL-6 and sIL-6R with sarcopenia is complex and may be mediated by other factors. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying the association.

Mendelian randomization (MR) is an analytical approach that utilizes germline genetic markers as instrumental variables to assess potential risk factors [ 13 ]. The random allocation of genetic variants from parents to offspring during gametogenesis provides protection against confounding factors typically encountered in observational studies and helps to mitigate issues of reverse causation [ 14 ]. The growing availability of genetic association data for various traits and diseases has significantly enhanced the utility of MR methods for establishing reliable causal inferences. In particular, the inclusion of genome-wide association study (GWAS) data from large-scale consortia has the potential to enhance the statistical power of MR analyses for detecting causal effects [ 15 ]. MR provide a causal inference approach to establish whether the association between IL-6 or sIL6 and sarcopenia is causal or merely a correlation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to comprehensively investigate the causal relation for IL-6 or sIL6 with sarcopenia using a two-sample Mendelian randomization approach, and to determine whether targeting these factors may be a viable approach to preventing or treating muscle loss.

Study design

This two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study design utilized summary-level data and relied on three key assumptions. In our analysis, we ensured that the instrumental variables (genetic variants) used in the study satisfied three key assumptions. Firstly, these genetic variants showed a strong association with the exposure of interest, as demonstrated by their genome-wide association study p -value being less than 5 × 10 − 8 , thus fulfilling the relevance assumption. Secondly, we confirmed that these genetic variants were independent of potential confounders that could influence the relationship between the exposure and outcome, fulfilling the independence assumption. Lastly, we assumed that these genetic variants only affected the outcome through the exposure of interest and not through any other causal pathways, adhering to the exclusion restriction assumption. These assumptions are crucial for valid MR analysis and help ensure the reliability of our results. In short, the MR analysis required that the genetic variants meet these assumptions in order to provide valid causal inferences [ 16 ].

Data sources of exposure

Table S1 presented an overview of the data sources used in this study, including sample sizes and characteristics of the GWAS data sources. The interleukin GWAS data was obtained from Folkersen et al. [ 17 ], and adjusted for covariates by accounting for population structure and study-specific parameters. To fulfill the first assumption of MR, we included all single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that strongly and independently (R 2  < 0.001) predicted the exposures of interest at genome-wide significance ( P  < 5 × 10 –8 ). We also took steps to remove SNPs that showed potential pleiotropic effects, which could introduce confounding in the analysis [ 18 ]. To confirm our hypothesis and enhance the integrity of our findings, specific genetic instruments for IL-6 and IL-6R were crafted. Genetic variants were selected within a 150 kb region around the genes encoding IL-6 (ENSG00000136244) and IL-6R (ENSG00000160712), establishing distinct genetic tools aimed at directly influencing these target genes [ 19 ]. To assess the strength of the selected genetic predictors for interleukins, we excluded SNPs with an F-statistic below 10. The mean value of the remaining SNPs was then calculated to obtain the estimated F-statistic for each exposure factor. This approach helps evaluate the robustness and reliability of the genetic predictors in our analysis [ 20 ].

Outcomes in GWAS: sarcopenia traits

Summary statistics for sarcopenia traits were extracted from the Pie et al. GWAS [ 21 ] and UK Biobank (Neale Lab) [ 22 ]. Sarcopenia traits included appendicular lean mass (ALM), hand grip strength and walking pace, as followed: ALM ( n  = 450,243), left grip strength left( n  = 335,821), right grip strength right ( n  = 335, 842) and walking pace ( n  = 335,349). The ALM data utilized in this study were obtained from the UK Biobank, employing bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) to assess the combined muscle mass of the arms and legs [ 23 ]. Grip strength, which demonstrated a moderate correlation with overall body strength, was selected as a dependable surrogate for measuring whole-body strength [ 24 ]. Walking pace, known for its speed, safety, and high reliability, was widely adopted as a practical test for sarcopenia in clinical settings [ 24 ].

MR analysis

In this study, the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method was utilized to assess the causal effects and to evaluate the bi-directional relation between interleukin and sarcopenia traits. To obtain a pooled causal estimate, this method utilizes the Wald ratio of each SNPs on the outcome. In our analysis, we applied a Bonferroni correction by setting a threshold of P  < 0.0125 (α = 0.05/4 outcomes) to account for multiple comparisons and maintain a stringent level of statistical significance. Nevertheless, if the instrumental variables (IVs) violate the assumption of “no horizontal pleiotropy,” the estimated results obtained through the IVW method may be biased. To account for this potential bias, we performed sensitivity analyses using two additional MR methods. Firstly, we applied the weighted median (WM) method developed by Bowden et al. [ 25 ]. This method is robust and produces consistent causal estimates even when more than 50% of the IVs are valid. In addition, we employed MR-Egger regression to assess the presence of unbalanced pleiotropy and significant heterogeneity. It is worth noting that this method typically requires a larger sample size to achieve the same level of precision in estimating the underexposure variatio [ 26 ].

Sensitivity analysis

Horizontal pleiotropy can be a potential issue in MR studies, as it can lead to biased estimates of causal effects. To ensure the robustness of our findings, we conducted additional analyses to detect the presence of pleiotropy and heterogeneity. To evaluate heterogeneity, we employed Cochran’s Q statistic, where a significant result is indicated by a p -value less than 0.05. This statistical test allows us to determine if there is substantial heterogeneity among the studies included in our analysis [ 27 ]. Additionally, we employed the MR-Egger regression to appraise horizontal pleiotropy, and considered a P value less than 0.05 to be significant [ 28 ]. If the IVW method result was significant ( P  < 0.05), even if other methods did not show significant results and no pleiotropy or heterogeneity was identified, we considered it as a positive result, as long as the beta values of other methods were in the same direction. All analyses were conducted using R (version 4.1.1) and the R packages “TwosampleMR” [ 29 ].

The effect of interleukin on sarcopenia traits

In this study, two and three SNPs were available for main IL-6 instrument and eQTL IL-6 instrument, respectively. Seven and eight SNPs were available for main IL-6R instrument and eQTL IL-6R instrument, respectively, all with a genome-wide significance ( p  < 5 × 10 –8 ) (Table S2 ). No causal relationship between IL-6 and sarcopenia traits was observed. Given that there are only two and three SNPs for IL6, a p -value of 5 × 10 –5 was set as the threshold to include more SNPs. However, the same SNPs were identified using this threshold. In IVW analysis, a significant negative associations between IL-6R levels and grip strength was observed. The effect estimates for main IL-6R and eQTL IL-6R on the left grip strength were − 0.013 (SE = 0.004, p  < 0.001) and -0.029 (SE = 0.007, p  < 0.001), while forn the right grip strength, the estimates were − 0.011 (SE = 0.001, p  < 0.001) and − 0.021 (SE = 0.008, p  = 0.005), as presented in Table  1 . However, no causal association for IL-6R with ASM or walking pace was observed. To assess the robustness of our findings, we performed several sensitivity analyses, including the Cochran’s Q test and the MR-Egger intercept test (Table  2 ). However, these methods were not applicable for main IL-6 due to the limited number of instrumental variables (IVs) available for this analysis.

As IL6 is also a myokine secreted by muscle cells, a reverse MR analysis was performed to identify the effect of sarcopenia traits on interleukin. The results of this analysis, as presented in Table S3 , indicated that there were no statistically significant causal effects of these sarcopenia traits on IL-6 or IL-6R. Furthermore, Cochran’s Q tests, detailed in Table S4 , revealed P -values greater than 0.05, suggesting an absence of heterogeneity among the instrumental variables used in our analysis. These findings suggest that, within the limits of our study design and the genetic instruments employed, sarcopenia traits do not exert a detectable causal influence on IL-6 or IL-6R levels.

This MR study demonstrated a significant and negative association between IL-6R and hand grip strength. However, no evidence of an association between IL-6 and sarcopenia traits was found. These findings offer new insights into the impact of interleukins on hand grip strength.

Immune aging is closely associated with the development of sarcopenia, leading to the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function [ 30 ]. Inflammatory parameters have been shown to be inversely related to hand grip strength [ 31 ], suggesting a potential role of the immune system in skeletal muscle protein metabolism during aging [ 32 ]. IL-6, as one of the inflammatory factors, plays a crucial role in modulating muscle anabolism or catabolism in response to tissue damage or infection. Previous meta-analyses have consistently demonstrated a negative association between IL-6 and muscle strength and mass. However, it is important to consider the potential influence of reverse causation bias or confounding factors in these associations [ 9 ]. Prolonged exposure to IL-6 has been associated with the promotion of muscle atrophy through the suppression of muscle anabolism and energy homeostasis, as well as the direct induction of muscle catabolism [ 33 ]. During the development of sarcopenia, there is an increase in the secretion of inflammatory factors, contributing to a low-grade inflammatory state. Moreover, skeletal muscle mass and function decline with age, accompanied by a decrease in the synthesis and secretion of myogenic inflammatory factors, which disrupts skeletal muscle energy metabolism [ 34 ]. However, no relationship between IL-6 and sarcopenia traits was observed in this study. This inconsistency may be due to previous studies that found the associations through observational studies, which are prone to confounding and reverse causation. In contrast, MR analysis can help to overcome these limitations by using genetic variants that are less likely to be influenced by confounding factors [ 35 ]. It is also possible that IL-6R has a different biological function and effect on muscle strength compared to IL-6. This may explain why our MR analysis did not find a significant association with sarcopenia traits for IL-6 but for IL-6R. Overall, our findings suggest that the previously reported association between IL-6 and muscle mass may not be causal and that IL-6R may have a direct effect on hand grip strength. However, further studies are needed to confirm these findings and to investigate the underlying biological mechanisms.

Furthermore, the methods used to measure muscle mass can vary between studies, and this can contribute to differences in findings. ALM is a commonly used measure of muscle mass in the context of sarcopenia, but it is not the only measure available [ 36 ]. Other measures, such as whole-body muscle mass or muscle cross-sectional area, may be more appropriate in certain contexts. Additionally, the way in which ALM is calculated (i.e., whether it is divided by height, weight, or BMI) can also impact the results.

Our study has several limitations that should be considered when interpreting our findings. First, our analysis was conducted using large-scale GWAS data, which may not represent the entire population. Additionally, the sample size for the IL-6 was relatively small, which may limit the generalizability of your findings. Second, While MR can help to address issues of confounding, there may be additional confounders that were not accounted for in our study. For example, factors such as diet, physical activity, or medication use may influence both interleukin levels and muscle mass. Third, we only focused on IL-6R and IL-6 and did not examine the full range of interleukins that may be relevant to muscle mass. Other interleukins may have different effects on muscle mass, and examining a broader range of interleukins may provide a more complete picture of their relationship with muscle mass.

This is the first study of which we are aware that investigates potential causal associations for IL-6 and IL-6R with sarcopenia traits using Mendelian Randomization. Our findings indicate that IL-6R is negatively associated with hand grip strength. Further research should aim to identify mechanisms of action and targeting IL-6R may be valuable for treatment.

Availability of supporting data

The datasets analyzed in this study are publicly available summary statistics.

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This work was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (82004390), National Studio Construction projects for the famous experts in Traditional Chinese Medicine (Huang Feng studio N75, 2022) and China Scholarship Council.

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Shaoshuo Li

Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China

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Baixing Chen study conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, writing manuscript; Shaoshuo Li, critical revision of manuscript, analysis and interpretation of data; Shi Lin acquisition of data, critical revision of manuscript; Hang Dong study conception and design, drafting of manuscript, critical revision of manuscript.

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Chen, B., Li, S., Lin, S. et al. Causal relationship of interleukin-6 and its receptor on sarcopenia traits using mendelian randomization. Nutr J 23 , 51 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12937-024-00958-w

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