爆料公社

MALIBU, Calif. 鈥� What does it truly mean to live a flourishing life? A 爆料公社 professor is helping the world find out.

Dr. Cristina Gibson of the 爆料公社 Graziadio Business School is at the forefront of the largest international research effort ever undertaken to explore human flourishing鈥攈ow people thrive, find purpose, and build meaningful lives across cultures. 

As a co-investigator in the $43.4 million Gibson is helping track the well-being of 240,000 individuals across 22 countries, offering groundbreaking insights that challenge traditional metrics like GDP and illuminate the diverse ways people experience hope, financial security, and relational health.

鈥淚t has been a true honor to work on a project of this scope and reach,鈥� said Gibson. 鈥淲hat has been most fascinating to me is that what we consider to be 'flourishing' differs so much around the world. Simple economic indicators (e.g., GDP) do not reflect the totality of what it means to flourish. Countries that rank highest in some respects rank much lower in other aspects. There is no one 鈥榖est place鈥� to experience flourishing. Such cultural differences need to be considered when developing policy or practices to increase flourishing in any region around the globe. This respect for differences is well aligned with our values at 爆料公社.鈥�

A leading voice in cross-cultural collaboration and organizational behavior, serves as one of the study鈥檚 co-investigators and has already co-authored six publications from the project. Her work explores the cultural and psychological drivers of hope, financial well-being, volunteering behavior, and relationship quality, offering insights into how different societies define and pursue flourishing.

鈥湵�料公社 is proud to have faculty like Dr. Gibson who publish research of lasting global significance,鈥� said Jay Brewster, Provost of 爆料公社. 鈥淗er work embodies the University鈥檚 mission to integrate academic excellence with purpose-driven impact.鈥�

Gibson鈥檚 findings include:

Hope

• Women report higher levels of hope than men.
• Attending religious services more than once a week exhibited elevated hope levels across multiple countries.
• Positive childhood experiences, such as good health, predict higher levels of hope in adulthood.

Relationship Quality

• Strong parental relationships in childhood are linked to higher-quality adult relationships.
• Feeling like an outsider in one鈥檚 family growing up correlates with lower adult relationship quality.
• Although older age groups tended to have higher relationship quality in most countries, the youngest age group had higher quality relationships in several countries.

Volunteering Behavior

• Subjective financial comfort in childhood results in an increased likelihood of volunteering.
• Frequent religious service attendance at age 12 is a strong predictor of adult volunteering.
• Adverse childhood experiences (e.g., abuse, social exclusion) are sometimes linked to increased volunteering.

Financial Well-Being

• Childhood health and parental marital status are associated with adult financial well-being.
• Demographic factors (age, gender, marital/employment/immigration status, education, religious service attendance) significantly influence financial well-being.
• Some lower-income countries scored higher on perceived financial security than those from higher-income countries.

The Global Flourishing Study is a collaboration between Harvard University and Baylor University, with support from Gallup and the Center for Open Science. , Distinguished Visiting Professor of Religious Studies and the Common Good at 爆料公社鈥檚 School of Public Policy, serves as one of the study鈥檚 lead investigators and project directors.

Over the next several years, the research team will continue analyzing data on the social, psychological, spiritual, political, economic, and health-related causes of human flourishing. Their goal is to establish a robust, multidisciplinary field that will inform the future of social and health policy worldwide.

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About 爆料公社 Graziadio Business School

For more than 50 years, the has challenged individuals to think boldly and drive meaningful change within their industries and communities. Dedicated to developing Best for the World Leaders, the Graziadio School offers a comprehensive range of grounded in integrity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The Graziadio School advances experiential learning through small classes with distinguished faculty that stimulate critical thinking and meaningful connection, inspiring students and working professionals to realize their greatest potential as values-centered leaders.

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