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Pathways, predictors and paradoxes of illbeing and wellbeing in older adults: Insights from a UK Biobank study

Tom Gordon, Andrew Kemp Orcid Logo, Darren Edwards Orcid Logo

PLOS Mental Health, Volume: 2, Issue: 9, Start page: e0000336

Swansea University Authors: Tom Gordon, Andrew Kemp Orcid Logo, Darren Edwards Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000336

Abstract

This study presents the first UK Biobank analysis to concurrently model subjective wellbeing and illbeing within a unified biopsychosocial framework, offering a novel, data-rich perspective on psychological functioning in later life. While wellbeing and illbeing are often studied in isolation, there...

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Published in: PLOS Mental Health
ISSN: 2837-8156
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa70258
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MOB emerged as the strongest direct predictor of both increased wellbeing and reduced illbeing. HRV influenced wellbeing indirectly via psychosocial mediators. Adversity had the largest total effect on illbeing but no direct effect on wellbeing. Together, predictors accounted for ~52% of variance in both outcomes. Bayesian models revealed exponential, cubic, and logarithmic forms, indicating that conditions optimising wellbeing are not merely the inverse of those reducing illbeing. These findings offer a detailed mapping of non-linear biopsychosocial pathways in older adults and challenge the assumption that wellbeing and illbeing lie on a single continuum. The study provides a robust empirical foundation for developing process-based, context-sensitive mental health interventions. 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spelling 2025-10-06T16:01:28.7733634 v2 70258 2025-09-03 Pathways, predictors and paradoxes of illbeing and wellbeing in older adults: Insights from a UK Biobank study ae20243974b9ce347dd0c34f653dc288 Tom Gordon Tom Gordon true false dfd05900f0e2409d3f67dca227c59a93 0000-0003-1146-3791 Andrew Kemp Andrew Kemp true false bee507022c083d875238b7802b96cbeb 0000-0002-2143-1198 Darren Edwards Darren Edwards true false 2025-09-03 PSYS This study presents the first UK Biobank analysis to concurrently model subjective wellbeing and illbeing within a unified biopsychosocial framework, offering a novel, data-rich perspective on psychological functioning in later life. While wellbeing and illbeing are often studied in isolation, there is growing recognition that their determinants may differ in kind and form. We address this gap by examining how biological, psychological, and social factors dynamically shape both outcomes in a large community-dwelling sample. Drawing on data from 8,047 participants (mean age = 64.8 years; 46.7% male; 90.7% White British), we constructed a theory-informed partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) linking heart rate variability (HRV), meaning-oriented behaviour (MOB), resilience, social connectedness, and lifetime adversity to wellbeing and illbeing. Model robustness was supported through 10,000-sample bootstrapping and split-half replication. Network centrality analysis (NCA) was used to identify key drivers, and Bayesian regression was applied to test non-linear functional forms for each path, validated using a held-out test dataset. MOB emerged as the strongest direct predictor of both increased wellbeing and reduced illbeing. HRV influenced wellbeing indirectly via psychosocial mediators. Adversity had the largest total effect on illbeing but no direct effect on wellbeing. Together, predictors accounted for ~52% of variance in both outcomes. Bayesian models revealed exponential, cubic, and logarithmic forms, indicating that conditions optimising wellbeing are not merely the inverse of those reducing illbeing. These findings offer a detailed mapping of non-linear biopsychosocial pathways in older adults and challenge the assumption that wellbeing and illbeing lie on a single continuum. The study provides a robust empirical foundation for developing process-based, context-sensitive mental health interventions. Longitudinal and more demographically diverse studies are now needed to test causal directions and broader generalisability. Journal Article PLOS Mental Health 2 9 e0000336 Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2837-8156 3 9 2025 2025-09-03 10.1371/journal.pmen.0000336 COLLEGE NANME Psychology School COLLEGE CODE PSYS Swansea University Other The authors received no specific funding for this work. 2025-10-06T16:01:28.7733634 2025-09-03T19:13:22.4169333 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences School of Health and Social Care - Public Health Tom Gordon 1 Andrew Kemp 0000-0003-1146-3791 2 Darren Edwards 0000-0002-2143-1198 3 70258__35023__0e4ecba738a242eeac5c1a220e9e5941.pdf journal.pmen.0000336.pdf 2025-09-03T19:18:15.9971311 Output 1338416 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 Gordon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Pathways, predictors and paradoxes of illbeing and wellbeing in older adults: Insights from a UK Biobank study
spellingShingle Pathways, predictors and paradoxes of illbeing and wellbeing in older adults: Insights from a UK Biobank study
Tom Gordon
Andrew Kemp
Darren Edwards
title_short Pathways, predictors and paradoxes of illbeing and wellbeing in older adults: Insights from a UK Biobank study
title_full Pathways, predictors and paradoxes of illbeing and wellbeing in older adults: Insights from a UK Biobank study
title_fullStr Pathways, predictors and paradoxes of illbeing and wellbeing in older adults: Insights from a UK Biobank study
title_full_unstemmed Pathways, predictors and paradoxes of illbeing and wellbeing in older adults: Insights from a UK Biobank study
title_sort Pathways, predictors and paradoxes of illbeing and wellbeing in older adults: Insights from a UK Biobank study
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author_id_fullname_str_mv ae20243974b9ce347dd0c34f653dc288_***_Tom Gordon
dfd05900f0e2409d3f67dca227c59a93_***_Andrew Kemp
bee507022c083d875238b7802b96cbeb_***_Darren Edwards
author Tom Gordon
Andrew Kemp
Darren Edwards
author2 Tom Gordon
Andrew Kemp
Darren Edwards
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hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
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department_str School of Health and Social Care - Public Health{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Health and Social Care - Public Health
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description This study presents the first UK Biobank analysis to concurrently model subjective wellbeing and illbeing within a unified biopsychosocial framework, offering a novel, data-rich perspective on psychological functioning in later life. While wellbeing and illbeing are often studied in isolation, there is growing recognition that their determinants may differ in kind and form. We address this gap by examining how biological, psychological, and social factors dynamically shape both outcomes in a large community-dwelling sample. Drawing on data from 8,047 participants (mean age = 64.8 years; 46.7% male; 90.7% White British), we constructed a theory-informed partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) linking heart rate variability (HRV), meaning-oriented behaviour (MOB), resilience, social connectedness, and lifetime adversity to wellbeing and illbeing. Model robustness was supported through 10,000-sample bootstrapping and split-half replication. Network centrality analysis (NCA) was used to identify key drivers, and Bayesian regression was applied to test non-linear functional forms for each path, validated using a held-out test dataset. MOB emerged as the strongest direct predictor of both increased wellbeing and reduced illbeing. HRV influenced wellbeing indirectly via psychosocial mediators. Adversity had the largest total effect on illbeing but no direct effect on wellbeing. Together, predictors accounted for ~52% of variance in both outcomes. Bayesian models revealed exponential, cubic, and logarithmic forms, indicating that conditions optimising wellbeing are not merely the inverse of those reducing illbeing. These findings offer a detailed mapping of non-linear biopsychosocial pathways in older adults and challenge the assumption that wellbeing and illbeing lie on a single continuum. The study provides a robust empirical foundation for developing process-based, context-sensitive mental health interventions. Longitudinal and more demographically diverse studies are now needed to test causal directions and broader generalisability.
published_date 2025-09-03T05:32:26Z
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