Measures Of Subjective Well-being Research Articles

Subjective well-being population norms and inequalities in Hungary: a large cross-sectional, internet-based survey

This study aims to provide subjective well-being (SWB) population norms in Hungary and explore the contribution of explanatory factors of SWB inequality among the Hungarian adult general population. The data originated from a large representative internet-based cross-sectional survey in Hungary, which was conducted in 2020. We applied validated multi-item instruments for measuring SWB, namely SWLS and WHO-5. Multiple linear regressions were employed to examine the relationship between demographic-socioeconomic-health status and both well-being instruments. The concentration index (CI) was used to measure the degree of income-related inequality in well-being. A total of 2,001 respondents were enrolled with the means ± SD WHO-5 scores and SWLS scores of 0.51 ± 0.21 and 0.51 ± 0.23, respectively. Higher household income, higher educational level, better general health status, and absence of chronic morbidity were significant positive predictors for both WHO-5 and SWLS scores. The CI of WHO-5 scores was lower than that of SWLS scores in the total sample (0.0480 vs. 0.0861) and in subgroups by gender (male: 0.0584 vs. 0.1035, female: 0.0302 vs. 0.0726). The positive CI values implied a slight pro-rich SWB inequality in this population. The regression analyses showed a positive association of SWB with having a higher household income and a better general health status. This is the first representative study in Hungary to compare population norm of two well-being instruments and analyze well-being inequality. Slight pro-rich inequality was found consistently with both SWB measures. Our findings support the need for health and social policies that effectively tackle inequalities in Hungary.

Analyse Subjective Wellbeing- Based on Definition, Measurement, and Limitations

The literature on subjective well-being (SWB) is evaluated in three sections: definition, measurement, and limitations. Subjective well-being (SWB) is a branch of psychology that studies people's assessments of their lives. Researchers have been investigating the idea of employing subjective well-being measures for potential policy implications since the inception of happiness economics. Despite the growing body of literature on the issue, no unambiguous definition of subjective well-being or indices such as life satisfaction or happiness exists. These assessments may be purely cognitive (e.g., life satisfaction or marriage satisfaction) or may consist of the frequency with which people feel positive emotions (e.g., pleasure) and bad emotions (e.g., sadness, as evaluated by the experience sampling approach). Researchers in the discipline are attempting to comprehend not just undesired clinical situations, but also distinctions between persons in terms of long-term well-being. The paper provides a brief summary of studies on SWB defining, measurement, and limitations in SWB reporting.

Development of a Child-Informed Measure of Subjective Well-Being for Research on Residential Care Institutions and Their Alternatives in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Abstract10% of children worldwide live in households without a biological parent, and 5.4 million children live in residential care institutions. This study describes a participatory, child-informed process of developing a multidimensional measure of child subjective well-being tailored towards the priorities of children who have lived in residential care. Eight focus groups were held with n = 49 adolescents reunified with family after living in residential care in Kenya and Guatemala and six focus groups were held with n = 29 young adults who had lived in residential care during childhood. After analysis of the focus groups, and using the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Wellbeing Tool as a foundation, the resulting tool contained 43 survey questions. Member checking, translation, and cognitive interviewing were conducted. The survey was administered to N = 180 young people in Kenya and Guatemala who were reunified with family after living in residential care or at risk of entering residential care. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the measure had three salient factors with good convergent validity and internal consistency: care and safety (12 items), basic needs (13 items), and leisure and freedom (7 items). This study contributes a new, psychometrically validated survey measure that can be used to assess the well-being of children connected to residential care, as well as a replicable model for creating contextualized quantitative measures via child participation that can inform policymaking on children’s care in low- and middle-income countries.

A new subjective well-being index using anchored best-worst scaling

Subjective well-being (SWB) describes an individual's life evaluation. Direct elicitation methods for SWB via rating scales do not force individuals to trade-off among life domains, whilst best-worst scaling (BWS) approaches only provide relative measures. This paper instead offers a dual-response BWS task, where respondents nominate areas of most and least importance and satisfaction with respect to 11 SWB domains, whilst also eliciting anchoring points to obtain an absolute measure of domain satisfaction. Combining domain satisfaction and importance produces a robust measure of individual SWB, but statistically unique relative to other life satisfaction measures utilizing single- and multi-item ratings, including global satisfaction and those aggregated over SWB domains, as well as eudemonia. Surveying 2500 Australians reveals anchored-BWS improves discrimination amongst domains in terms of importance and satisfaction, illustrating its value as a diagnostic tool for SWB measurement to focus services, policy, and initiatives in areas to most impact wellbeing. This includes highlighting a major discrepancy between health satisfaction and importance, whilst also reporting that SWB is significantly lower for Indigenous, unemployed, middle-aged, males and lower income groups.

Financial Education Effects on Financial Behavior and Well-Being: The Mediating Roles of Improved Objective and Subjective Financial Knowledge and Parallels in Physical Health

How does financial education lead to improved financial behavior and higher financial well-being? An influential Consumer Financial Protection Bureau model introduced in 2015 proposes that the goal of financial education is to improve financial well-being and that financial education does so by increasing financial knowledge, which improves financial behavior, which improves financial well-being. In this study, the authors test links in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau model, examining the differential roles of objective and subjective knowledge. They also test whether an analogous model might capture effects of physical health education on physical health knowledge, behavior, and well-being. They report a quasi-experiment comparing changes in financial and physical health knowledge, behavior, and well-being at two time points in a semester for students enrolled in a personal finance class, a personal health class, or neither. This study reports the first causal estimates of flow from financial education to financial knowledge to financial behaviors to a validated measure of subjective financial well-being. Financial education caused large changes in both objective and subjective knowledge. Yet only subjective knowledge mediated the large effects of financial education on changes in downstream behaviors. The authors find weaker but similar results for physical health. The findings suggest that financial education efforts should be refocused to foster subjective knowledge and improved behavior.

Predictors of Psychological Well-Being and Quality of Life in Patients with Hypertension: A Longitudinal Study.

Previous research has highlighted the positive impact of greater health-related quality of life (Hr-QoL) and subjective well-being (SWB) on chronic diseases' severity and progression. There is a paucity of studies investigating the long-term trajectories of these variables among hypertensive patients. The present study aims to investigate the relationships between psychological variables (Type A and D personality, locus of control-LoC, self-esteem, and trait anxiety) with SWB and Hr-QoL in patients with hypertension and comorbid metabolic syndrome. A total of 185 volunteer patients (130 males, 70.3%; mean age 54 ± 10.93) were enrolled. Patients filled out measures of Hr-QoL and SWB, LoC, and self-esteem at three time points-Type A and D behaviors and anxiety measures only at baseline. Analyses were run through two-level hierarchical mixed models with repeated measures (Level 1) nested within participants (Level 2), controlling for sociodemographic and clinical confounders. Neither Hr-QoL nor SWB changed over time. Patients with greater self-esteem and internal LoC (and lower external LoC) increased their SWB and Hr-QoL up to 1-year follow-up. A greater Type A behavior and trait anxiety at baseline predicted a longitudinal increase in most of the dependent variables. Results suggest that it could be useful to tailor interventions targeting specific variables to increase Hr-QoL and SWB among hypertensive patients.

Well-being in late childhood and early adolescence: evolution and explanatory factors

AbstractThis paper has three objectives (1) to test whether a decrease in well-being scores is observed from one year to the next in the period between 10 and 16 years of age when measured using indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) (including the OLS as a global measure) and psychological well-being (PWB); (2) to explore the contribution of the primary/secondary school, gender and age in explaining global SWB; and (3) to identify potential non-linear relationships between SWB, measured globally, and other indicators of SWB and PWB. To this end, data were analysed from 994 Spanish students, who responded to the same self-administered questionnaire over two consecutive school years and were recruited through a process of non-random sampling. The results obtained using Student’s t-test for repeated measures and generalized additive models (GAM) showed a statistically significant decrease in 10 out of the 20 indicators considered (more of which assess PWB than SWB), and that the indicators measuring the SWB affective component made a more relevant and less linear contribution to a global SWB measure than those measuring the cognitive component or the PWB.

Insecure Parental Attachment and Anxiety in Vocational College Students: The Mediating Role of Subjective Well-Being and the Moderating Role of Self-Esteem.

Although insecure parental attachment (IPA) has been shown to play an important role in anxiety, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. In the present study, we examined the mediating role of subjective well-being (SWB) in the association between IPA and anxiety and the moderating role of self-esteem. 947 Chinese vocational college students completed the measures of IPA, anxiety, SWB, and self-esteem. The results indicated that IPA was significantly and positively associated with anxiety, and SWB partially mediated this relationship. Moreover, the results indicated that self-esteem moderated the relationship between IPA and anxiety. The higher the level of self-esteem, the weaker the effect of insecure attachment on the anxiety of vocational college students. This study highlights the significance of identifying the mechanisms of mediating and moderating paths between IPA and anxiety in vocational college students.

Doing wellbeing policy: A discussion on public policy making for integrative prosperity

AbstractFocusing on holistic wellbeing rather than solely economic prosperity is becoming ever more popular among policy makers, both in Australia and New Zealand, and elsewhere. And yet, turning a complex set of system‐level indicators of wellbeing into actionable policy requires us to rethink how we develop, implement, and evaluate policy. In this article, I review the current trends in wellbeing, including developments in the measurement and tracking of wellbeing, and offer practical steps for integrating actionable wellbeing outcomes into future policymaking processes.Points for practitioners Focusing on wellbeing as part of the policy making process is becoming more popular among governments, including in Australia and New Zealand. The New Zealand Government has been doing wellbeing budgets since 2019 while the Australian Government released a new wellbeing framework in 2023. Wellbeing policy represents an approach to policy making that aims to maximize the general health and happiness of a target population on both subjective and objective measures of wellbeing. This includes both economic and non‐economic measures of prosperity and wellbeing. There are many ways of tracking the wellbeing effect of policy and so choosing the right framework is important for effective wellbeing policy making. This starts with a wellbeing purpose for the policy and a clear and concise definition of wellbeing. Doing wellbeing policy requires a good understanding of what wellbeing represents and how it is measured. You need relevant and measurable indicators of wellbeing, an evaluation strategy, and the ability to reflect and innovate as part of an iterative policy making process.

Polygenic risk scores for mood and related disorders and environmental factors: Interaction effects on wellbeing in the UK biobank

Mood disorders have a genetic and environmental component and interactions (GxE) on the risk of psychiatric diseases have been investigated. The same GxE interactions may affect wellbeing measures, which go beyond categorical diagnoses and reflect the health-disease continuum.We evaluated GxE effects in the UK Biobank, considering as outcomes subjective wellbeing (feeling good and functioning well) and objective measures (education and income). We estimated the polygenic risk scores (PRSs) of major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Stressful/traumatic events during adulthood or childhood were considered as E variables, as well as social support. The addition of the PRSxE interaction to PRS and E variables was tested in linear or multinomial regression models, adjusting for confounders.We included 33 k–380 k participants, depending on the variables considered. Most PRSs and E factors showed additive effects on outcomes, with effect sizes generally 3–5 times larger for E variables than PRSs. We found some interaction effects, particularly when considering recent stress, history of a long illness/disability/infirmity, and social support. Higher PRSs increased the negative effects of stress on wellbeing, but they also increased the positive effects of social support, with interaction effects particularly for the outcomes health satisfaction, loneliness, and income (p < Bonferroni corrected threshold of 1.92e-4). PRSxE terms usually added ∼0.01–0.02% variance explained to the corresponding additive model.PRSxE effects on wellbeing involve both positive and negative E factors. Despite small variance explained at the population level, preventive/therapeutic interventions that modify E factors could be beneficial at the individual level.

Level of subjective well-being among students of Al-Qasim Green University

&#x0D; The study aimed to identify the level of subjective well-being as well as to identify the differences in it between male and female students. The measure of subjective well-being was used, which was built by (Haider Sami Muhammad, 2022).It consists of (41) items. The sample of rationing the scale consisted of (150) male and female students. The application sample consisted of (300) male and female students, and after applying it and analyzing it statistically, The study came out with a number of conclusions, the most important of which is that students of Al-Qasim Green University colleges enjoy high subjective well-being. As for the recommendations, the most important of them is the recommendation to make comparisons between students of other academic levels for students of Al-Qasim Green University colleges.&#x0D; &#x0D;  

Reliability and Validity of a Multidimensional Measure of Subjective Community Well-Being

An individual’s flourishing is sustained by and dependent on their community’s well-being. We provide one of the first studies of a measure of communal subjective well-being, focusing on individuals’ relationships with their community. Using two samples from the Greater Columbus, Ohio region, we provide evidence of the reliability and validity of the Subjective Community Well-being (SCWB) assessment. The five domains of the SCWB are Good Relationships (α = .92), Proficient Leadership (α = .93), Healthy Practices (α = .92), Satisfying Community (α = .88), and Strong Mission (α = .81). A community-based sample ( N = 1,435) and an online sample of Columbus residents ( N = 692) were scored on the SCWB and compared across domains. We found evidence that the SCWB scores differentiate between active and less active community members. We discuss the appropriate uses of the SCWB as a measure of well-being and provide recommendations for research that could profitably utilize the SCWB measure to examine community well-being.

The Cantril Ladder elicits thoughts about power and wealth

The Cantril Ladder is among the most widely administered subjective well-being measures; every year, it is collected in 140+ countries in the Gallup World Poll and reported in the World Happiness Report. The measure asks respondents to evaluate their lives on a ladder from worst (bottom) to best (top). Prior work found Cantril Ladder scores sensitive to social comparison and to reflect one’s relative position in the income distribution. To understand this, we explored how respondents interpret the Cantril Ladder. We analyzed word responses from 1581 UK adults and tested the impact of the (a) ladder imagery, (b) scale anchors of worst to best possible life, and c) bottom to top. Using three language analysis techniques (dictionary, topic, and word embeddings), we found that the Cantril Ladder framing emphasizes power and wealth over broader well-being and relationship concepts in comparison to the other study conditions. Further, altering the framings increased preferred scale levels from 8.4 to 8.9 (Cohen’s d = 0.36). Introducing harmony as an anchor yielded the strongest divergence from the Cantril Ladder, reducing mentions of power and wealth topics the most (Cohen’s d = −0.76). Our findings refine the understanding of historical Cantril Ladder data and may help guide the future evolution of well-being metrics and guidelines.

Norwegian Outdoor Happiness: Residential Outdoor Spaces and Active Leisure Time Contributions to Subjective Well-being at the National Population Level at the Start of and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Accumulating research shows that residential nature reliably promotes residents’ subjective well-being (SWB) in complex ways. The present study investigates how self-reported proximity to different outdoor spaces relate to SWB in Norway. The effects of having proximity to recreation and hiking areas and the frequency of moderate-to-vigorous intensity leisure-time physical activity (MVLTPA) were estimated for five SWB measures (satisfaction with life, positive, and negative affect, mental well-being, and meaning in life). The study also estimated how outdoor spaces promote MVLTPA, and which of these relationships changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two Norwegian samples (collected in 2020 and 2021; N = 34,904) were explored using multiple linear and multinomial logistic regression analyses. Residential outdoor spaces predicted higher SWB across measures and MVLTPA frequency. Importantly, an inverted U-shaped relationship between MVLTPA and all SWB measures was found, with a tipping point coinciding with weekly MVLTPA. Last, during the pandemic, outdoor spaces became stronger predictors: hiking areas for mental well-being and meaning in life; and recreation areas for MVLTPA (p < .05). This study refines our understanding of these complex relations and contributes to setting these effects in perspective with other sociodemographic factors and SWB measures. Lastly, the importance of residential outdoor spaces upon the prospect of future pandemics is discussed.

Hubungan antara Subjective Well-Being dengan Problematic Internet Use pada Mahasiswa

The ever-growing internet can encourage students to experience the phenomenon of problematic internet use. This study aims to provide empirical evidence between the relationship between subjective well-being and problematic internet use in college students. This study is a correlational study of 272 students in West Sumatra. Data were collected using Diener's subjective well-being measurement tool and Caplan's generalized problematic internet use-2 (GPIUS2) which has been adapted into Indonesian. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. Hypothesis testing using Spearman correlation showed a positive and significant relationship between subjective well-being and problematic internet use in students with r=0, 218 and a significant level of p=0.000 (p&lt;0.05). The direction of the positive relationship means that the higher the subjective well-being, the higher the problematic internet use in students, on the other hand, the lower the subjective well-being, the lower the problematic internet use in students. These results indicate that students' high happiness is associated with strong Internet usage behavior, and the results of this study differ from previous studies.

Evaluation of the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the 10-item perceived stress scale in a sample of teachers.

The 10-item Perceived Stress Scale is a widely used questionnaire for measuring perceived stress. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale in a sample of Italian teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was performed. A sample of 1,179 teachers of pre-primary, primary, and secondary schools anonymously completed an online questionnaire. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis was performed to compare the fit of a two-factor model against a one-factor solution of the scale. Multigroup CFA was run to test the measurement invariance of the two-factor PSS-10 solution across gender. The internal reliability of the scale was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and McDonald' omega coefficients. Convergent validity with measures of subjective well-being and self-reported health was evaluated. The results of the Confirmatory Factor Analysis showed that the two-factor structure of the 10-items Perceived Stress Scale provided a better fit to the data and supported the adequacy of the Italian version of the scale. The two-factor model showed measurement invariance across female and male groups, as result of the multigroup CFA. The scale proved to have good internal reliability. Correlation analyses with measures of the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule and self-reported health supported convergent validity. These results suggest that the Italian version of the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale has good psychometric properties and can be considered a valid and reliable instrument to assess perceived stress.

Bullying victimization and mental health of Chinese adolescents: The chain of tragedy effect of belief in a just world and health promoting lifestyle

BackgroundExperiences of being bullied in school can impair adolescents' subjective well-being and elevate the risk of psychopathology, suggesting the necessity of identifying factors that may protect against the deleterious effects of being bullied. This study expands upon prior research by examining the relationship between bullying victimization and adolescent mental health, specifically from the perspective of individual perceptions of justice and healthy lifestyles in the Chinese cultural context. MethodsA total of 3873 Chinese adolescents in grades 7–11 (51.85 % female) completed bullying victimization, belief in a just world, health promoting lifestyle, depressive symptoms, and subjective well-being measures, and provided information on their demographics, including gender, grade, family structure, parents' educational background. ResultsAfter adjusting for demographic variables, bullying victimization was directly and positively related to depression, while directly and negatively related to subjective well-being. Bullying victimization also influenced depression and subjective well-being through three mediation pathways, with belief in a just world and health promoting lifestyle playing multiple mediating roles in the relationship between bullying victimization and mental health outcomes. LimitationsThe data used in this study were self-reported by adolescents and measured via cross-sectional designs, thus precluding statistical examination of temporal causal relationships, and assessments of whether reported affects are stable over time. ConclusionsThe study suggests that belief in a just world and health promoting lifestyle are important factors in understanding the impact of bullying victimization on adolescent mental health, and underscores the need for targeted bullying interventions for at-risk adolescents.

The Effect of Long-Term (Im)balance of Giving Versus Receiving Support With Nonrelatives on Subjective Well-Being Among Home-Dwelling Older People.

Although many studies have explored the benefits of support giving or receiving for older people, little is known about how the balance between giving and receiving instrumental support in nonrelative relationships affects home-dwelling older people. This study examines the relationship between long-term support balance and subjective well-being in relationships with nonrelatives among older people across 11 European countries. A total of 4,650 participants aged 60 years and older from 3 waves of the Survey of Health and Retirement in Europe were included. Support balance was calculated as the intensity difference between support received and support given across 3 waves. Multiple autoregressive analyses were conducted to test the relationship between support balance and subjective well-being, as indicated by quality of life, depression, and life satisfaction. The impact of balanced versus imbalanced support on all subjective well-being measurements was not significantly different. Compared to balanced support, imbalanced receiving was negatively related to subjective well-being and imbalanced giving was not related to better subjective well-being. Compared to imbalanced receiving, imbalanced giving showed to be the more beneficial for all subjective well-being measures. Our results highlight the beneficial role of imbalanced giving and balanced support for older people compared to imbalanced receiving. Policies and practices should prioritize creating an age-friendly environment that promotes active participation and mutual support among older people, as this may be effective to enhance their well-being.

Structural validity of the 5-item World Health Organization Well-being Index (WHO-5) in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

BackgroundWhen monitoring the severity and impact of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, a measure of subjective well-being should ideally accompany measures of symptom severity and medication side effects. The self-reported 5-item World Health Organization Well-being Index (WHO-5) is a brief, generic, and widely used measure of subjective well-being. However, the structural validity of the WHO-5, namely, whether the individual item scores can be combined to produce a meaningful total score, has not been examined among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. MethodUtilizing data from 399 Danish patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders attending the Psychiatric Services of the Central Denmark Region, we employed Rasch analysis to examine the structural validity (i.e., unidimensionality, overall fit to the Rasch model, and differential item functioning) of the WHO-5. ResultsThe WHO-5 was found to be unidimensional with no differential item functioning for age, sex, or inpatient/outpatient status. However, in the initial analysis, some misfit to the Rasch model, partially caused by the disordering of response categories, was evident. In adjusted analyses in which the item response categories 2 (Less than half of the time) and 3 (More than half of the time) were merged, overall fit to the model was improved. ConclusionsWhen two item response categories were merged, the Danish version of the WHO-5 was found to be structurally valid for patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. This suggests that the WHO-5 holds promise as a measure of subjective well-being in this patient population.

HOW INTERNET USE MODERATES THE EFFECT OF PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS ON SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING IN OLDER ADULTS

Abstract Due to geographic barriers and limitations in mobility, older adults with functional limitations are at greater risk of social isolation and lower well-being. The Internet has the potential to help mitigate the negative effects of functional limitations by connecting older adults to health services and meaningful social networks, and thus contribute to their subjective well-being (SWB). This study examined how Internet use could increase access to health behaviors and close friendships and moderate the impact of physical limitations on older adults’ SWB. Using data from 2008 to 2018 U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) (n = 14,178, 76% white, 55% female), this paper used life satisfaction and emotional indicators (positive and negative affect) as measurements of SWB and adopted multilevel random effect models to conduct empirical analysis. The results showed that older adults with physical limitations experienced significant reductions in life satisfaction and positive affect and increases in negative emotions. However, the Internet mitigated the adverse emotional impacts of physical limitations by facilitating the maintenance of older adults’ social networks and health behaviors. These findings support the development of actions to enhance the well-being of older adults with physical limitations and put them as the primary beneficiaries of information and communication technology.