Abstract
The concept of well-being has not been well defined or reliably measured in academic research. This article identifies four academic strands of well-being conceptualization and measurement (economic, medical, psychological and integrative) and shows how well-being has shifted from being conceived as a collectivist concept with objective measures, to being conceived in individualistic terms with subjective measures. Given its clinical relevance the main emphasis is on subjective well-being. While well-being has become a key concept in mental health, the article also discusses some limitations to its use in practice and proposes considerations for future research. Key issues are a consensus definition of well-being in people with mental illness, and empirical studies on the measurement of well-being and its determinants. Future research might be based on the good life approach, the Complete State Model of Mental Health or the academic field of Positive Psychology.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 525-534 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Cognitive Neuropsychiatry |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2013 |
Keywords
- QUALITY-OF-LIFE
- POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
- NARRATIVE SYNTHESIS
- SCALE WEMWBS
- HAPPINESS
- RECOVERY
- ILLNESS
- VALIDATION
- DEPRESSION
- SCHIZOPHRENIA
- Acknowledged-BRC
- Acknowledged-BRC-13/14
