The challenge of defining wellbeing

By R. Dodge, Annette P. Daly, J. Huyton, Lalage Sanders. 2012

1,941 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Wellbeing is a growing area of research, yet the question of how it should be defined remains unanswered. This multi-disciplinary review explores past attempts to define wellbeing and provides an overview of the main theoretical perspectives, from the work of Aristotle to the present day. The article argues that many attempts at expressing its nature have focused purely on dimensions of wellbeing, rather than on definition. Among these theoretical perspectives, we highlight the pertinence of dynamic equilibrium theory of wellbeing (Headey & Wearing, 1989), the effect of life challenges on homeostasis (Cummins, 2010) and the lifespan model of development (Hendry & Kloep, 2002). Consequently, we conclude that it would be appropriate for a new definition of wellbeing to centre on a state of equilibrium or balance that can be affected by life events or challenges. The article closes by proposing this new definition, which we believe to be simple, universal in application, optimistic and a basis for measurement. This definition conveys the multi-faceted nature of wellbeing and can help individuals and policy makers move forward in their understanding of this popular term.

Subfields: General Health Professions, Health, Social Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0e48e8352ecec27c962ff14c0d436d1330d06c89

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In General Health Professions

1. Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro
2. E. Muir‐Cochrane
3. M. Iasiello
4. J. Agteren

In Health

1. E. Muir‐Cochrane
2. M. Iasiello
3. J. Agteren

In Social Psychology

1. João Guerreiro
2. Sandra Maria Correia Loureiro
3. E. Muir‐Cochrane
4. M. Iasiello
5. Iis P. Tussyadiah
6. J. Agteren

Citations in the corpus

• Bilingualism in the family and child well-being: A scoping review (2020, background): “Note that although recent decades have seen an increased interest in well-being (Diener et al., 1999; Statham & Chase, 2010), not only as a subject of research but also in the public sphere and in policy making, its definition remains a challenge (Dodge et al., 2012).”
• Measuring objective and subjective well-being: dimensions and data sources (2020, background): “Defining objective well-being has always been considered a challenging task, and therefore researchers have focused on exploring its dimensions rather than its definition [4,5].”
• Artificial intelligence in business: State of the art and future research agenda (2020, background): “The meaning behind subjective well-being comprises personal traits of individuals, their positive and negative affect, and life events (e.g., Headey & Wearing, 1989; Myers & Sweeney, 2004; Dodge et al., 2012).”
• Mental Health and/or Mental Illness: A Scoping Review of the Evidence and Implications of the Dual-Continua Model of Mental Health (2020, background): “…publications investigating the dual-continua model of mental health, our ability to effectively scope the literature was restricted by imprecise taxonomy and nomenclature that is pervasive throughout wellbeing and positive psychology literature (Salvador-Carulla et al., 2014; Dodge et al., 2012).”