LongEstWell

LongEstWell is the first scientific longitudinal study of well-being and behaviour in Estonia that is representative of the entire Estonian adult population. The data collection serves the researchers of the Centre of Excellence for Welfare Sciences and the wider research community in Estonia and fosters international cooperation. The study's design facilitates in-depth analyses from an individual perspective, leveraging a comprehensive and diverse longitudinal dataset that includes registers, surveys, and experimental data. The first round of data collection took place in 2025–2026, with about 6,000 respondents taking part.

LongEstWell operates within the framework of the Estonian Centre of Excellence for Health Sciences (HTTK), which unites leading Estonian researchers across multiple disciplines. Its mission is to advance a cross-disciplinary understanding of the complex systems influencing well-being, encompassing both objective and, notably, subjective dimensions of quality of life across various domains.

The first LongEstWell survey wave

High-quality scientific research increasingly relies on longitudinal studies. Although the 2025–2026 survey wave is not yet longitudinal in nature, it serves as an important preparatory step. In the long term, the aim is to develop this study into a longitudinal well-being monitoring survey, in which similar characteristics are measured at regular intervals over time. To support this goal, participants in the current survey are asked to provide their consent for future follow-up.

The main topics covered in the 2025–2026 questionnaire are:

• well-being and the relationships among its various indicators across different population groups;
• people’s use of digital technologies and their impact on well-being;
• personality, mental health, and well-being.

These topics were developed through collaboration between the study’s Scientific Advisory Board and other researchers in Estonia. As this is a well-being study, it is important to cover a broad range of well-being dimensions and to measure them as accurately as possible. Considerable systematic effort was therefore devoted to designing the questionnaire, resulting in an optimal set of survey items.

The digital society and its relationship with well-being is a relatively underexplored topic in Estonia and was selected through a nationwide competition for research themes. According to current hypotheses, the digital society has a substantial impact on people’s well-being in the modern world.

Personality, mental health, and well-being constitute the special theme of this survey wave. Participants receive personalized feedback about their personality traits and their potential implications for well-being. This serves both as a practical benefit and incentive for participation and as a valuable source of scientific data, since personality characteristics are important predictors of well-being.

An aim of LongEstWell is to collaborate with other international studies.

Some other panel studies:

• Finland – INVEST / Seurantatutkimus
• Australia – Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey
• Germany – GESIS Panel
• United Kingdom – Understanding Society
• International ESS-affiliated CRONOS