Cohort update: waves 2 and 3 of the global flourishing study.

Abstract

The global flourishing study is a longitudinal panel study designed to advance research on human flourishing across culturally and geographically diverse contexts. wave 1 included more than 200,000 adults from 21 countries and one territory, recruited to be approximately nationally representative of adult (18 +) populations. The initial cohort profile detailed the wave 1 sampling design and implementation. In this cohort profile update, we describe major developments since the original profile was published, including a mid-year retention survey, completion of wave 2 data collection, and inclusion of mainland China data. We summarize attrition patterns across countries, methodological refinements, and potential research applications. These include high variation in retention rates across countries, ranging from 90% in mainland China to 23.5% in Hong Kong, with an overall retention rate of 62%. The overall retention rate at wave 3 overall retention rate of 53.6%. Retention rates for Wave 3 range from 85.3% in mainland China to 12.9% in Hong Kong. The follow-up strategy of recontacting all Wave 1 participants led to the inclusion of ~ 14,000 who did not respond in Wave 2 but did respond in Wave 3. Key strengths of the global flourishing study include its multinational scope, longitudinal design, representative sampling, and open data access, while limitations include reliance on self-reports and variability in some aspects of the methodology across samples (e.g., differences in timing of data collection and weighting approaches). Key limitations of the global flourishing study include the variation and sometimes high attrition rates across some countries, heterogeneity in the length of time between waves, and potential survey mode effects. Beyond a continued commitment to open science, future directions of the global flourishing study include expanding to subsequent waves and the potential addition of new countries and item modules.