A Qualitative Analysis of Self-Reported Pleasurable Experiences of Young Adults and Implications for Measures of Anhedonia

An online questionnaire was distributed to young adults aged 18–30 years in Austria via the Austrian Gallup-Institut GmbH panel in winter 2024. Participants completed a set of self-report measures online, including demographic questions, the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale DARS (Rizvi et al., 2015), and an additional open-ended question in which participants were asked to freely list up to three pleasurable experiences without being restricted to a specific category.

The DARS generated examples constituted the primary qualitative data source for Research Questions 1–3, which examined domain content, overlap, and associations with participant characteristics. The freely generated responses from the additional open-ended question were used exclusively to address Research Question 4 and to compare domain-based responses with unconstrained descriptions of pleasure. Informed consent was obtained electronically before participation.

Sociodemographic questions are summarised in Table 2. Two sources of qualitative data were analysed: (1) DARS generated examples, referring to participants’ written examples provided within the predefined DARS domains, and (2) freely generated responses, referring to answers to an additional open-ended question in which participants listed up to three pleasurable experiences without any domain constraints. The Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale DARS (Rizvi et al., 2015) is a self-report questionnaire designed to assess multiple facets of reward processing across four domains: non-social hobbies, food/drink, social interactions, and sensory experiences. For each domain, participants are first asked to generate up to three personally meaningful examples of pleasurable activities. They then rate these examples on four dimensions (interest, motivation, effort, and pleasure) using Likert-type scales, resulting in both domain-specific and total anhedonia scores, with lower scores indicating greater anhedonia. The DARS has demonstrated good internal consistency, convergent validity with established measures of anhedonia and depression, and sensitivity to differences between clinical and non-clinical samples (Rizvi et al., 2015). In the present study, we focused on the qualitative content of the self-generated examples provided for each domain rather than on the quantitative ratings.

The full data set can be found under https://osf.io/emkc9/overview?view_only=615bfe62ad31487e891aad0b18b9993b. Responses were exported and thematically categorised. Given the brevity of responses, no formal theory-driven qualitative framework (e.g., grounded theory or reflexive thematic analysis) was applied. Instead, we conducted a descriptive qualitative content analysis aimed at validating domain categories and identifying recurring patterns and associations within the data. In a first step, the first author (GM) familiarised herself with the material and conducted an initial round of open coding within each DARS domain to identify potential subthemes. These preliminary categories were discussed with the research team. Subsequently, the data were imported into MAXQDA to facilitate the coding of overlapping categories and the detection of recurring themes. An inductive approach was used to identify high-frequency codes. GM coded all responses from the DARS according to its predefined domains (non-social, social, food/drinks, sensory). A second researcher MD independently coded the open-ended responses from the additional question on pleasurable experiences.

The two researchers worked independently to avoid biasing each other’s interpretations. After both had completed their coding, results were compared and discussed to explore similarities and differences between the predefined DARS structure and the freely generated responses. Frequency counts were included in the results; with the exception of the sensory domain, responses were coded into a single category.

To explore potential associations between the qualitative codes and participant characteristics, age and anhedonia scores were categorised into four groups based on the sample distribution. Cut-off points corresponded to the 25th, 50th (median), and 75th percentiles of the data (see Table 1). Associations between participant characteristics and domain content were explored descriptively to identify qualitative trends rather than tested statistically, in line with the study’s qualitative and exploratory aims. Because the qualitative codes were derived from short, self-generated text fragments and were not independent quantitative observations, formal inferential statistical testing was not conducted.

A total of N = 300 individuals aged 18 to 30 (M = 25.45, SD = 3.66) participated, with demographics summarised in Table 2. The final sample consisted of 300 participants (57.3% female and one person of other gender).

The analysis of open-ended DARS responses revealed a wide range of pleasurable experiences across the four domains (see Table 3). Although the specific activities varied considerably, several clear themes emerged within each category, highlighting both shared and idiosyncratic sources of enjoyment.

When comparing participant characteristics (age, gender, anhedonia scale) and replies to the DARS, patterns were not immediately apparent, but closer inspection revealed several recurring trends. Note that these trends were qualitative trends, so these should be interpreted descriptively rather than as statistically significant findings.

When participants were asked to freely describe pleasurable experiences without being constrained by predefined domains, several themes emerged that were not captured by the DARS structure. Although many freely generated responses overlapped with the DARS domains (e.g., social activities, food, or sensory experiences), these overlapping themes are reported in full in the Supplementary Materials S1 and are not discussed further here.

Instead, the freely generated responses highlighted additional categories that were largely absent from the DARS domain-based examples. A prominent category concerned regeneration and rest, including sleep, relaxation, taking breaks, and “doing nothing.” Closely related were reflective and cognitive rewards, such as feeling calm, content, or mentally clear. In addition, media use emerged as a recurring source of pleasure in the freely generated responses.

Across the four domains, participants provided rich and diverse examples that nevertheless followed recognisable patterns. Within the non-social hobbies domain, responses clustered around activities that were physically or mentally engaging, creative, and often immersive, such as sports, cooking, and reading. These findings suggest that solitary pleasure is most often derived from activities that foster focus, self-expression, or a sense of mastery, consistent with theories of intrinsic motivation and flow (Csikszentmihalyi & Csikzentmihaly, 1990). The food and drink domain contained the most concrete and specific responses, with participants listing favourite foods and beverages such as pizza, pasta, and coffee. The recurrent mention of everyday comfort foods and daily rituals points to the embodied and routine nature of hedonic experiences related to eating and drinking, rather than to indulgent or exceptional events. Within the social domain, participants most frequently referred to shared everyday activities: meeting friends, eating together, or participating in group leisure pursuits. This highlights the central role of interpersonal connectedness in daily pleasure and align with established research linking positive affect and well-being to social interaction and belonging (Begen & Turner-Cobb, 2015; Holt-Lunstad, 2024). The sensory domain, by contrast, revealed the broadest and most conceptually fluid set of experiences. Participants included auditory pleasures (especially music), natural environments, tactile comfort, smells, or warmth. Many responses could have plausibly belonged to other domains, such as enjoying food, physical activity, or social touch. This pattern suggests that sensory enjoyment may not represent a distinct behavioral category, but rather a cross-cutting experiential quality that permeates multiple domains of pleasure (Kringelbach & Berridge, 2010; Treadway & Zald, 2011).

Taken together, these findings show that although the DARS domains effectively capture key areas of everyday reward, the boundaries between them are somewhat porous, particularly for the sensory domain, which overlaps conceptually and experientially with social and non-social pleasures. The content patterns also suggest that pleasure in young adults is embedded in ordinary, embodied, and relational contexts, rather than in extraordinary or materialistic experiences. This observation reinforces contemporary views of anhedonia as a disruption not only of pleasure capacity but also of engagement with daily, meaningful activities (Rizvi et al., 2015; Treadway & Zald, 2011).

Exploratory comparisons between participant characteristics and DARS responses revealed several qualitative trends. Gender differences were most apparent in the non-social domain, with female participants more frequently reporting creative and culinary activities and male participants more often describing technically oriented or digitally mediated pursuits. These patterns mirror broader gendered differences in leisure engagement among young adults (Bittman & Wajcman, 2000; Leversen et al., 2012).

Age-related differences were minimal, although younger participants more often mentioned spending time with friends, consistent with evidence that social connectedness is particularly salient in early adulthood (Arnett, 2000; Carmichael et al., 2015).

More pronounced patterns emerged in relation to anhedonia scores. Higher anhedonia was associated with narrower and less socially embedded descriptions of pleasure, including fewer mentions of reading, gaming, or social interaction and more neutral references to “experiences” lacking affective detail. This pattern aligns with conceptualisations of anhedonia as reduced engagement in rewarding daily activities (Treadway & Zald, 2011; Rizvi et al., 2016) and with prior evidence that the DARS is sensitive to subtle variations in hedonic tone (Mittmann & Thomas, 2025). Although exploratory, these findings suggest that qualitative features of self-reported pleasure may vary systematically with motivational and affective profiles.

Comparing participants’ examples within the DARS domains with freely generated responses revealed both convergence and divergence in how pleasure was described when category boundaries were removed. Across both formats, social relationships and food-related pleasures were frequently reported, indicating that these experiences were salient sources of enjoyment regardless of whether responses were structured by predefined domains.

At the same time, the freely generated responses included several categories that were less prominent in the DARS-based examples. These included references to regeneration and rest (e.g., sleep, relaxation, “me-time”), media use, and broader experiential states such as feeling calm or content. In contrast, the DARS responses more often consisted of concrete, activity-based descriptions that were embedded within specific behavioural or sensory contexts.

Overall, the comparison suggests that while both response formats captured overlapping sources of pleasure, they differed in emphasis: the DARS elicited more structured, activity-focused descriptions, whereas the freely generated question yielded a wider range of experiential and state-oriented responses.

The patterns observed within the four DARS domains provide useful insights into how participants understand and apply these categories, and what this implies for the assessment of anhedonia. The very low rate of misclassified responses (17 out of more than 3000 coded instances) indicates that participants generally understood the task and were able to reliably distinguish between the provided domains. This supports the practical usability of the DARS’s self-generated example format, in which individuals define personally meaningful sources of reward prior to rating them along motivational and hedonic dimensions.

At the same time, content overlap across domains, particularly between the sensory, social, and food/drink categories, highlights the fluidity with which pleasurable experiences are lived and described. Many activities could plausibly fit into multiple domains, suggesting that the DARS domains may represent different contextual expressions of a shared underlying reward process rather than sharply distinct categories. From a measurement perspective, this implies that intercorrelations between DARS subscales may reflect the interconnected nature of everyday pleasure rather than simple redundancy.

The comparison with freely generated responses adds an important nuance. While the DARS prompted more concrete, activity-based and sensory-rich examples, the open question elicited broader descriptions involving rest, relaxation, and feelings of appreciation or self-worth – dimensions that are only indirectly represented in the DARS. This pattern suggests that the DARS effectively captures behavioural engagement with rewarding activities but may be less sensitive to reflective, restorative, or existential forms of enjoyment. Future adaptations could therefore consider expanding or clarifying domains to better capture these aspects, particularly in populations characterised by reduced vitality or self-related pleasure (e.g., depression, burnout, chronic stress).

Beyond implications for the DARS, the findings also point to potential refinements of other widely used anhedonia measures such as the Snaith–Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS). The SHAPS relies on fixed items that reflect traditional or outdated leisure activities (e.g., “I would enjoy my favourite television or radio programme”), which may no longer represent common sources of enjoyment for younger cohorts. In contrast, our results indicate that contemporary pleasurable experiences frequently involve digital media use, streaming, and online interaction. Updating such measures to reflect current and culturally relevant activities could improve ecological validity and ensure that anhedonia scores reflect genuine deficits in reward responsiveness rather than generational or contextual mismatches between scale content and lived experience.

Although data were collected online, participants were recruited via a professional population-based survey panel rather than a convenience sample; nevertheless, the findings may be limited in their generalisability to populations without regular internet access or to cultural contexts beyond young adults living in Austria. The content of pleasurable experiences likely reflects both cultural and developmental context. Activities such as socialising in cafés, engaging in nature, and shared meals are typical of Central European leisure culture and may not generalise to all other sociocultural settings. Moreover, the age range studied (18–30 years) represents a life stage characterised by exploration, social expansion, and the pursuit of autonomy, which may shape how pleasure is experienced and described. Older adults, for instance, may derive more pleasure from family relationships, stability, or achievement-related activities. Future research should therefore examine whether similar content patterns appear across different age groups, cultural contexts, and clinical populations, and whether anhedonia manifests as domain-specific or generalised reductions in pleasure across these areas.

The present findings demonstrate how qualitative analysis can complement quantitative assessment tools by revealing how participants interpret and engage with structured measures. Even though the DARS provides clear domains, the open-ended format uncovered subtle variations and overlaps in how pleasure is conceptualised. This highlights the value of integrating brief qualitative components into self-report questionnaires: such data offer direct insight into how respondents make sense of items and categories, thereby informing both construct validity and scale refinement.