Nothing going on?

Abstract

$\bf Objective$ Missed events are defined as the nonoccurrence of expected major life events within a specified time frame. We examined whether missed events should be studied in research on growth by exploring the role of missed events for changes in subjective well-being (SWB) and the Big Five personality traits. $\bf Method$ The samples were selected from two nationally representative panel studies, the German Socioeconomic Panel Innovation Sample (SOEP-IS, total $\it N$ = 6,638) and the Dutch Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences panel (LISS, Ns between 4,262 and 5,749). Rank-order stability and mean-level change were analyzed using regression and mixed models. Type I error probability was reduced by using conservative thresholds for level of significance and minimal effect size. $\bf Results$ Expected but missed events were more frequent than actually experienced events. For SWB, rank-order stability tended to be lower among those who experienced a missed event than among those who did not. For the Big Five personality traits, significant differences between those who did and those who did not experience a missed event were rare and unsystematic. $\bf Conclusion$ Missed events merit more attention in future research on growth and personality change, but the effects are probably weak