Pepperdine Professor Contributes to Landmark $43M Global Study on Human Flourishing

MALIBU, Calif. – What does it truly mean to live a flourishing life? A Pepperdine professor is helping the world find out.

Dr. Cristina Gibson of the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School is at the forefront of the largest international research effort ever undertaken to explore human flourishing—how people thrive, find purpose, and build meaningful lives across cultures. 

As a co-investigator in the $43.4 million Global Flourishing Study, Gibson is helping track the well-being of 240,000 individuals across 22 countries, offering groundbreaking insights that challenge traditional metrics like GDP and illuminate the diverse ways people experience hope, financial security, and relational health.

“It has been a true honor to work on a project of this scope and reach,” said Gibson. “What has been most fascinating to me is that what we consider to be 'flourishing' differs so much around the world. Simple economic indicators (e.g., GDP) do not reflect the totality of what it means to flourish. Countries that rank highest in some respects rank much lower in other aspects. There is no one ‘best place’ to experience flourishing. Such cultural differences need to be considered when developing policy or practices to increase flourishing in any region around the globe. This respect for differences is well aligned with our values at Pepperdine.”

A leading voice in cross-cultural collaboration and organizational behavior, Gibson serves as one of the study’s co-investigators and has already co-authored six publications from the project. Her work explores the cultural and psychological drivers of hope, financial well-being, volunteering behavior, and relationship quality, offering insights into how different societies define and pursue flourishing.

“Pepperdine is proud to have faculty like Dr. Gibson who publish research of lasting global significance,” said Jay Brewster, Provost of Pepperdine University. “Her work embodies the University’s mission to integrate academic excellence with purpose-driven impact.”

Gibson’s findings include:

Hope

• Women report higher levels of hope than men.
• Attending religious services more than once a week exhibited elevated hope levels across multiple countries.
• Positive childhood experiences, such as good health, predict higher levels of hope in adulthood.

Relationship Quality

• Strong parental relationships in childhood are linked to higher-quality adult relationships.
• Feeling like an outsider in one’s family growing up correlates with lower adult relationship quality.
• Although older age groups tended to have higher relationship quality in most countries, the youngest age group had higher quality relationships in several countries.

Volunteering Behavior

• Subjective financial comfort in childhood results in an increased likelihood of volunteering.
• Frequent religious service attendance at age 12 is a strong predictor of adult volunteering.
• Adverse childhood experiences (e.g., abuse, social exclusion) are sometimes linked to increased volunteering.

Financial Well-Being

• Childhood health and parental marital status are associated with adult financial well-being.
• Demographic factors (age, gender, marital/employment/immigration status, education, religious service attendance) significantly influence financial well-being.
• Some lower-income countries scored higher on perceived financial security than those from higher-income countries.

The Global Flourishing Study is a collaboration between Harvard University and Baylor University, with support from Gallup and the Center for Open Science. Byron Johnson, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Religious Studies and the Common Good at Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy, serves as one of the study’s lead investigators and project directors.

Over the next several years, the research team will continue analyzing data on the social, psychological, spiritual, political, economic, and health-related causes of human flourishing. Their goal is to establish a robust, multidisciplinary field that will inform the future of social and health policy worldwide.

###

About Pepperdine University Graziadio Business School

For more than 50 years, the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School has challenged individuals to think boldly and drive meaningful change within their industries and communities. Dedicated to developing Best for the World Leaders, the Graziadio School offers a comprehensive range of BS, MBA, MS, executive, and doctoral degree programs grounded in integrity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The Graziadio School advances experiential learning through small classes with distinguished faculty that stimulate critical thinking and meaningful connection, inspiring students and working professionals to realize their greatest potential as values-centered leaders.

Media Contact

Public Relations Office
pr@pepperdine.edu
818.702.1401