Testing Set-Point Theory in a Swiss National Sample: Reaction and Adaptation to Major Life Events

Set-point theory posits that individuals react to the experience of major life events, but quickly adapt back to pre-event baseline levels of subjective well-being in the years following the event. A large, nationally representative panel study of Swiss households was used to examine set-point theory by investigating the extent of adaptation following the experience of marriage, childbirth, widowhood, unemployment, and disability. Our results demonstrate that major life events are associated with marked changes in life satisfaction and, for some events (e.g., marriage, disability), these changes are relatively long lasting even when accounting for normative, age related changes.