Measuring happiness: The higher order factor structure of subjective and psychological well-being measures

Linley, P. Alex; Maltby, John; Wood, Alex M.; Osborne, Gabrielle; Hurling, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2009.07.010

Cited by 362 publications

(241 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Despite the conceptual distinction between positive feeling and positive functioning, the two have been found to be highly correlated, with relationships as high as .76 and .84 reported (Linley, Maltby, Wood, Osborne & Hurling, 2009;Keyes, Shmotkin & Ryff, 2002). Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that well-being indicators, which are typically categorized as positive feeling and positive functioning, may be explained by a single higher-order or "general" factor.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Support for a general factor of well-being

Longo

Coyne

Joseph

et al. 2016

Personality and Individual Differences

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Abstract. Well-being is typically defined as positive feeling (e.g. happiness), positive functioning (e.g. competence, meaning) or a combination of the two. Recent evidence indicates that well-being indicators belonging to different categories can be explained by single "general" factor of well-being (e.g. Jovanovic, 2015). We further test this hypothesis using a recent well-being scale, which includes indicators of positive feeling and positive functioning (Huppert & So, 2013). While the authors of the scale originally identified a two-factor structure, in view of recent evidence, we hypothesize that the two-factor solution may be due to a method effect of different items being measured with different rating scales. In study 1, we use data from the European Social Survey round 3 (n = 41,461) and find that two factors have poor discriminant validity and, after using a bifactor model to account for different rating scales, only the general factor is reliable. In study 2, we eliminate method effects by using the same rating scale across items, recruit a new sample (n = 507), and find that a onefactor model fits the data well. The results support the hypothesis that well-being indicators, typically categorized as "positive feeling" and "positive functioning," reflect a single general factor.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Support for a general factor of well-being

Longo

Coyne

Joseph

et al. 2016

Personality and Individual Differences

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“…Life satisfaction, which forms the cognitive assessment of satisfaction by one's standing in life and which is a key indicator of subjective well-being (Linley, Maltby, Wood, Osborne and Hurling, 2009), is conceptualized as a construct representing positive evaluation of the quality of one's life as a whole (Diener, Emmons, Larsen and Griffin, 1985;Diener, Suh, Lucas, and Smith, 1999;McDowell, 2010;Pavot and Diener, 1993). levels of life satisfaction determinants (Rothmann, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Study of Relations between Life Satisfaction, Burnout, Work Engagement and Hopelessness of High School Students

Çapri

Gündüz

Akbay

2013

IES

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The purpose of this research is to determine the relations between high school students' life satisfaction, burnout, work engagement and hopelessness scores and examine the contribution of their burnout, work engagement and hopelessness scores in the prediction of their life satisfaction scores. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student Survey (UWES-SS), Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and "Personal Information Form", has been applied on a total of 461 students, 225 (%48.8) of them being girl students and 236 (%51.2) of them being male students, who were continuing the 12th grade in varying high school classes during the 2011-2012 school year within the provincial boundaries of the Mersin Municipality and had voluntarily accepted to participate in the research. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis have been used in the analysis of the data. It is observed as a result of the analyses that high school students' life satisfaction scores have a negative relation with exhaustion, cynicism, efficacy and hopelessness scores; on the other hand, these have a positive relation with vigor, dedication and absorption scores. Also it has been observed that life satisfaction scores only predict hopelessness, absorption and efficacy in a meaningful way.

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“…Some skepticism exists regarding the degree to which eudaimonic and hedonic well-being can be meaningfully separated because they may overlap conceptually and share underlying psychological mechanisms (Kashdan, Biswas-Diener, & King, 2008). However, other research suggests that a distinction can be made (Keyes & Annas, 2009;Keyes, Shmotkin, & Ryff, 2002;Linley, Maltby, Wood, Osborne, & Hurling, 2009;Ryff & Keyes, 1995).Other positive factors may be considered under the broad category of PPWB but are not easily classified into the eudaimonic or hedonic approaches to well-being. These include constructs like optimism and vitality, which may contain elements of both eudaimonic and hedonic well-being, but are not pure measures of either.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The heart's content: The association between positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health.

Boehm

Kubzansky

2012

Psychological Bulletin

749

698

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This review investigates the association between positive psychological well-being (PPWB) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We also consider the mechanisms by which PPWB may be linked with CVD, focusing on the health behaviors (e.g., smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, sleep quality and quantity, and food consumption) and biological functions (e.g., cardiovascular, inflammatory, and metabolic processes) that are most relevant for cardiovascular health. Because PPWB is a broad concept, not all aspects of PPWB may be associated with cardiovascular health. Thus, we distinguish between eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being, optimism, and other measures of well-being when reviewing the literature. Findings suggest that PPWB protects consistently against CVD, independently of traditional risk factors and ill-being. Specifically, optimism is most robustly associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular events. In general, PPWB is also positively associated with restorative health behaviors and biological function and inversely associated with deteriorative health behaviors and biological function. Cardiovascular health is more consistently associated with optimism and hedonic well-being than with eudaimonic well-being, although this could be due in part to more limited evidence being available concerning eudaimonic well-being. Some similarities were also evident across different measures of PPWB, which is likely due to measurement overlap. A theoretical context for this research is provided, and suggestions for future research are given, including the need for additional prospective investigations and research that includes multiple constructs of psychological well-being and ill-being.Keywords: cardiovascular disease, health behaviors, biological function, eudaimonic well-being, hedonic well-being Scholars have long recognized the connection between mental health and physical health. From the ancient Roman poet Juvenal who declared, "A healthy mind in a healthy body," to early 20th century psychoanalysts who investigated the connection between mental states and physiology (Menninger & Menninger, 1936), and to researchers in the late 20th century seeking to identify disease-prone personalities (H. S. Friedman & Booth-Kewley, 1987;Rosenman et al., 1964), the complex relationship between psychological attributes and physical ailments has been the subject of fascination across time. Although past research has predominantly focused on the relationship between poor psychological functioning (e.g., anxiety, depression, hostility) and physical health, increasing research also suggests that a protective relationship exists between positive psychological functioning and physical health (Diener & Chan, 2011;Pressman & Cohen, 2005). Because the effects of psychological well-being and psychological ill-being are not merely opposites of one another and the absence of one does not necessarily indicate the presence of the other (Ryff et al., 2006;Ryff & Singer, 1998), it is critical to consider each separately in rel...

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Measuring happiness: The higher order factor structure of subjective and psychological well-being measures

Cited by 362 publications

References 18 publications

Support for a general factor of well-being

Support for a general factor of well-being

The Study of Relations between Life Satisfaction, Burnout, Work Engagement and Hopelessness of High School Students

The heart's content: The association between positive psychological well-being and cardiovascular health.

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