Abstract
Governments around the world are recognising the importance of measuring subjective well-being as an indicator of progress.
But how should well-being be measured? A conceptual framework is offered which equates high well-being with positive mental
health. Well-being is seen as lying at the opposite end of a spectrum to the common mental disorders (depression, anxiety).
By examining internationally agreed criteria for depression and anxiety (DSM and ICD classifications), and defining the opposite
of each symptom, we identify ten features of positive well-being. These combine feeling and functioning, i.e. hedonic and
eudaimonic aspects of well-being: competence, emotional stability, engagement, meaning, optimism, positive emotion, positive
relationships, resilience, self esteem, and vitality. An operational definition of flourishing is developed, based on psychometric
analysis of indicators of these ten features, using data from a representative sample of 43,000 Europeans. Application of
this definition to respondents from the 23 countries which participated in the European Social Survey (Round 3) reveals a
four-fold difference in flourishing rate, from 41% in Denmark to less than 10% in Slovakia, Russia and Portugal. There are
also striking differences in country profiles across the 10 features. These profiles offer fresh insight into cultural differences
in well-being, and indicate which features may provide the most promising targets for policies to improve well-being. Comparison
with a life satisfaction measure shows that valuable information would be lost if well-being was measured by life satisfaction.
Taken together, our findings reinforce the need to measure subjective well-being as a multi-dimensional construct in future
surveys.
But how should well-being be measured? A conceptual framework is offered which equates high well-being with positive mental
health. Well-being is seen as lying at the opposite end of a spectrum to the common mental disorders (depression, anxiety).
By examining internationally agreed criteria for depression and anxiety (DSM and ICD classifications), and defining the opposite
of each symptom, we identify ten features of positive well-being. These combine feeling and functioning, i.e. hedonic and
eudaimonic aspects of well-being: competence, emotional stability, engagement, meaning, optimism, positive emotion, positive
relationships, resilience, self esteem, and vitality. An operational definition of flourishing is developed, based on psychometric
analysis of indicators of these ten features, using data from a representative sample of 43,000 Europeans. Application of
this definition to respondents from the 23 countries which participated in the European Social Survey (Round 3) reveals a
four-fold difference in flourishing rate, from 41% in Denmark to less than 10% in Slovakia, Russia and Portugal. There are
also striking differences in country profiles across the 10 features. These profiles offer fresh insight into cultural differences
in well-being, and indicate which features may provide the most promising targets for policies to improve well-being. Comparison
with a life satisfaction measure shows that valuable information would be lost if well-being was measured by life satisfaction.
Taken together, our findings reinforce the need to measure subjective well-being as a multi-dimensional construct in future
surveys.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-25
- DOI 10.1007/s11205-011-9966-7
- Authors
- Felicia A. Huppert, Well-Being Institute & Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Box 189, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 2QQ UK
- Timothy T. C. So, Well-Being Institute & Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Box 189, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 2QQ UK
- Journal Social Indicators Research
- Online ISSN 1573-0921
- Print ISSN 0303-8300