The Relationship Between Environments, Values, and Wellbeing: A Community-Based Survey Study

Values are defined as stable internalized beliefs about the self, world, and others that guide behaviours across situations. Adopting a bioecological lens, the present study examined youth values in relation to wellbeing. It was hypothesized that aspects of youths’ environments (support from family, friends, and teachers; neighbourhood safety and resources) would be associated with youth outcomes ( mental / physical symptoms, substance use , and subjective wellbeing ) via values about oneself, others, nature, and transcendence. Data came from a cross-sectional, community-based survey completed by N = 1842 youth aged 9 to 18 years from a community in Southern Ontario. Structural Equation Modelling revealed an indirect effect for the independent variables of family/teacher support and neighbourhood resources, and the dependent variables of wellbeing and substance use through values. Findings point to the importance of nurturing social support for young people, in addition to neighbourhood resources, while cultivating youths’ values for the purposes of wellbeing enhancement.