Structure of Well-Being

Abstract

A third aspect of individual well-being within a society is analyzed in terms of twelve sequential national probability surveys of individual well-being in the United States from April 1973 through May 1974. This third aspect, in contrast to (1) absolute levels of well-being and (2) feelings of power over individual well-being (i.e., anomie, alienation, and soon), concerns the cultural framework of interrelated dimensions, here discussed as the "structure of well-being," in terms of which individuals evaluate well-being within a society. Alternative structures of well-being for the United States are drawn from existing research and examined for adequacy in describing covariation among twelve indicators of satisfaction with various aspects of life activities. A structure composed of four dimensions; positive affect, negative affect, satisfaction with domains, and general satisfaction, is found to be most adequate of the alternatives. The expected relative stability of the structure of well-being over the twelve sequential national surveys is demonstrated. Implications of the analysis for the study of individual well-being are discussed.