Subjective Well-Being - Research Paper Example

Corey Keyes notes: “Well-being has been a paramount concern of thinkers since ancient times as witnessed in much of Greek philosophical writings. It became a topic of scientific inquiry during the 1950s when interest in fostering a better life was facilitated by the Zeitgeist following World War II.” Earlier studies mainly focused on the relationship between subjective well-being and mental health and merely examined the concept of happiness. Marc Hooghe and Bram Vanhouette reveal: “While local communities apparently have an impact on happiness levels, this is not necessarily the case for subjective well-being.

Subjective well-being indicators are strongly influenced by national-level determinants (culture, income level) but it remains to be investigated what kind of community levels can have an impact on subjective well-being.” Even though happiness is an important factor in subjective well-being, it was later discovered that other aspects needed to be included in order to have a more accurate evaluation of the concept. Subjective well-being is not only about the positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction, but it involves other multidimensional factors that contribute to an effective evaluation.

The inclusion of these factors makes later research more extensive and reliable because it incorporates new aspects never before considered. These new studies analyzed the social, political, cultural, environmental, economic aspects and other elements that may interfere with individuals’ well-being. A better analysis and understanding of the external factors that turn around individuals’ lives allow a better evaluation of their subjective well-being that takes into consideration all components.

The issue of subjective well-being has been around for a long time; however, the scientific research started after World War II. People have always evaluated their