Adolescent flourishing is relational: Everyday connection shapes stress, compassion, and purpose.

Although prevailing approaches to well-being often emphasize individual skills and capacities, several psychological theories suggest that experiences of feeling seen, valued, and cared for by others are central to human flourishing.Here, we apply these relational perspectives to adolescence, a developmental period of heightened social development, to examine the role of everyday experiences of connection in adolescents' lives.Using daily diary data from adolescents across 4 weeks (28 days, N = 142, M age = 15.42),we examined whether day-to-day fluctuations in perceived relatedness-feeling close and cared for by others-were associated with three indicators of flourishing: stress, compassion, and purpose.Results indicated that on days when adolescents reported greater relatedness, they also reported lower stress, greater compassion, and stronger purpose.These findings advance relational theories by demonstrating that close relationships function not only as stable developmental resources but also as everyday experiences associated with adolescent flourishing.In doing so, this study highlights the importance of attending to adolescents' social worlds within human flourishing research and intervention efforts designed for this age group. Public Significance StatementThis study highlights that feeling closely connected to others in everyday life is tied to adolescent flourishing.These findings emphasize the value of creating family, school, and community environments where young people feel seen and cared for as part of efforts to promote their well-being.