Americans Believe They Have the Power to Flourish
I am excited to share a new report from our team at the Human Flourishing Lab on the state of personal agency in America.
Personal agency is the belief in one’s capacity to influence life circumstances and determine one’s own path. Personal agency is the psychological foundation of individual and societal flourishing as well as human progress. People who believe they can shape their own lives are more motivated to pursue their goals, more resilient when facing setbacks, and more likely to succeed in education, careers, and relationships. Agentic individuals maintain hope in the face of major societal challenges, innovate solutions to problems, and work cooperatively with others to improve their communities and the broader world.
Do Americans feel they have agency over their lives? And if so, do they feel agentic across different dimensions of life? It is possible that people may feel a strong sense of control in one area of their lives but not in others. To capture this complexity, we assessed agency across seven dimensions of human flourishing: mental health, physical health, social relationships, meaning and purpose in life, moral character, spiritual well-being, and financial well-being.
Here is what we found. Americans overwhelmingly believe they have agency over their lives. Ninety percent of Americans agree they can exercise meaningful control over their life overall. This strong sense of agency extends across the dimensions of flourishing. Eighty-nine percent of Americans believe they have agency over their mental health and physical health. Ninety percent believe they have agency over their social relationships, their meaning and purpose in life, and their spiritual well-being. Ninety-two percent believe they have agency over their moral character. Even for financial well-being, the dimension with the lowest percentage, 84 percent of Americans believe they have agency over their financial situation.
The data revealed some demographic differences. The most notable is that young adults ages 18 to 29 consistently report the lowest sense of agency across all dimensions of flourishing compared to older age groups. This finding tracks with other research, including our own surveys, showing young adults feel less mentally healthy and less hopeful about their future than older generations. That said, it’s important to note that on every dimension except financial flourishing, around 80 percent or more of adults under 30 still feel agentic. On financial flourishing, this drops to 75 percent, which points to a broader pattern. Across all age groups, financial flourishing is where people feel the least agency. Though lower than other dimensions, the fact that the vast majority of Americans still believe they have agency over their financial well-being is noteworthy given widespread concerns about rising costs, housing affordability, and how artificial intelligence might impact jobs.
Despite the negative narratives that often dominate public discourse about the current state and future of our nation, these findings paint an encouraging picture. Americans believe they have the power to shape their own lives. They recognize that their decisions, goals, and actions matter. This is one reason I remain bullish about America. Yes, we have major challenges, as we have in the past and will in the future. But Americans continue to believe they have the agency to face those challenges.
Have a great weekend!
Clay