The impact of self-affirmation interventions on well-being: A meta-analysis.

Authors

Yunian Zhang, Boyin Chen, Xinyang Hu, Minhong Wang

Published in

The American psychologist. Oct 27, 2025. Epub Oct 27, 2025.

Abstract

Previous research on self-affirmation has mainly focused on outcomes related to academic achievement and health-related behavior changes, suggesting that self-affirmation could facilitate adaptive responses to psychological threats. This has attracted increasing attention in the field of well-being research. However, the findings on the relationship between self-affirmation and well-being have not been synthesized. This meta-analysis aimed to fill this gap by summarizing the impact of self-affirmation interventions on well-being in nonclinical, general populations. It identified and coded 129 independent tests derived from 67 published articles. Effect sizes (ESs) were calculated for four types of well-being outcomes and synthesized using a random-effects model. The analysis revealed different ways of implementing self-affirmation interventions. The synthesized results showed that self-affirmation had small but significant positive effects on self-perception (ES = .32), general well-being (ES = 0.29), social well-being (ES = 0.26), and reduction of psychological barriers (ES = -.22). Notably, the benefits associated with all outcomes were not only immediate but also long-lasting, with delayed effect being significantly larger than immediate effect in reducing psychological barriers. Additionally, mature participants benefited more than adolescents in terms of increased self-perception. The continent where the study was conducted also influenced the effects on self-perception and general well-being. Overall results suggest that self-affirmation can significantly improve various aspects of well-being, with both immediate and lasting effects. Findings highlight the potential of self-affirmation as a valuable component that can be incorporated into well-being programs. Findings also suggest the need for a theoretical reconceptualization of self-affirmation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:
41143765
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 27 Oct 2025.

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