Abstract
To investigate the relationship between control variables and measures of subjective well-being. The primary question asked was "who is happy and well, and why?" A questionnaire survey and the data was analyzed by examining bivariate relationships between variables of interest. Two hundred and fifty six (256) adults within the age range of 18-88 years. They were mainly undergraduate psychology students from South-Eastern part of the United States and solicited in a manner consistent with the Institutional Review Board of the Florida State University. Elderly persons from community groups (e.g. churches, social organizations) were solicited through their appropriate leaders and announcements. The mean age of the participants was 32 years. Findings indicated significant relationship between control measures, indices of wellbeing, and individual's satisfaction with the quality of their lives. Significant correlations were between 0.177 and 0.469 at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). Having control in the areas of social support, self-acceptance, positive relationships, purpose in life, and personal growth were judged important. The findings of this study suggest that essential 'ingredients' for psychological and subjective well-being include enjoyment of good health, some financial stability, meaningful ties with others, a sense of purpose and direction in life, ability to manage complex life demands, a healthy self-acceptance and commitment to personal development. Implications for clinical utility and future research are discussed.
Highlights
The perceived control literature consistently shows that being in control over events plays a critical role in people’s psychological and physical well being.[1,2] A high perception of control has been associated with positive effects on different areas of life such as academic achievement[3], positive self-concept[4], attenuation of job related stress[5] and healthy psychological functioning. 2,6,7,8 Perceived control has positive effects on adjustment and coping with varied physical health problems such as AIDS6, cancer, and Parkinson disease.[8]The importance of perceived control lies in its effects on subjective well-being.[4]
This study investigated the relationship of perceived control and control appraisal to Ryff”s indices and general satisfaction with life
The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS)[14] showed good convergence with Ryff”s measures of well-being suggesting similarity in what both scales measure. The utility of this information lies in the observation that increases in individual’s assessment of the quality of their lives as generally happy were accompanied by similar positive evaluations in other life domains such as physical health, relationships, social support, selfacceptance, purpose in life, personal growth and a feeling of mastery or competence. The use of both Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and Ryff”s measures serve to augment the assessment and our understanding of subjective well-being, the findings suggest that subjective wellbeing is an evaluative judgment with varied components that go beyond hedonism.[25]
Summary
2,6,7,8 Perceived control has positive effects on adjustment and coping with varied physical health problems such as AIDS6, cancer, and Parkinson disease.[8]. The importance of perceived control lies in its effects on subjective well-being.[4] Perceived control enhances an individual’s assessment of the controllability of a situation to elicit the necessary coping strategy.[1,2,9,10] A situation can be appraised as threatening if one perceives a lack of control over the situation and challenging if the individual perceives the stressor as controllable. A situation that is appraised as threatening is likely to be stressful because the person sees the confronting demands as exceeding his or her coping abilities and this perception creates stress with adverse effect on subjective well-being.[11]
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