Book of Abstracts [Unofficial – Accepted Presentation, Abstract Submission Ongoing]

Flourishing, defined as optimal psychological functioning and well-being, has been primarily conceptualised through Western frameworks such as Seligman’s PERMA model, which includes positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (Seligman, 2011). However, such models may not fully capture the lived experiences and psychosocial dynamics of well-being across diverse cultural and generational contexts, particularly in collectivist societies like India. This mixed-methods study aims to explore how different generational cohorts in India (18–30, 31–55, 56+) define and experience flourishing, and whether their experiences align with, or challenge standardised psychological constructs. In Phase 1, 100 participants will complete the PERMA Profiler (Butler & Kern, 2016) and the Flourishing Scale (Diener et al., 2010). Descriptive statistics and ANOVA will be used to examine age-based differences in well-being dimensions and to identify meaningful subgroup patterns. Informed by these results, Phase 2 will involve semi-structured interviews with 25 purposefully selected participants. Thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) will be employed to interpret generational narratives related to flourishing, including perspectives on meaning, role satisfaction, and psychological fulfilment. The findings are expected to reveal both common and divergent patterns of flourishing across age groups, offering a cultural understanding of well-being in India. This study contributes by integrating indigenous narratives of flourishing to the existing psychological models.