Measuring Subjective Well-Being (individual level)

Citation: Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of personality and social psychology, 69(4), 719.

PMID or DOI: PMID: 7473027, DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.69.4.719

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Psychological well-being

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, self-acceptance

Description: The Scales of Psychological Well-being is a theoretically grounded, multidimensional model of well-being that was designed to include six distinct components of positive psychological functioning including positive self-regard (self-acceptance), mastery of the surrounding environment, quality relations with others, continued growth and development, purposeful living, and the capacity for self-determination (autonomy).

Number of items: 18

Example statement/item: “Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I am not one of them.”

Response options: 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 6, 1,“Completely disagree” and 6,“Completely agree”.

Total score: Items within each subscale are summed, yielding a range from 18 to 108. Higher scores indicate greater physiological well-being for each subscale.

Examples of studies that link to health outcomes:

1. Boyle, P.A., et al., Effect of a purpose in life on risk of incident Alzheimer disease and mild cognitive impairment in community-dwelling older persons. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2010. 67(3): p. 304-10.
2. Kim, E.S., et al., Purpose in life and reduced incidence of stroke in older adults: ‘The Health and Retirement Study’. J Psychosom Res, 2013. 74(5): p. 427-32.
3. Boylan, J.M. and C.D. Ryff, Psychological well-being and metabolic syndrome: Findings from the midlife in the United States national sample. Psychosom Med, 2015. 77(5): p. 548-58.

Citation: Dupuy, H.J. (1977). The General Well-being Schedule. In I. McDowell & C. Newell (Eds.), Measuring health: a guide to rating scales and questionnaire (2nd ed) (pp. 206-213). USA: Oxford University Press.

PMID or DOI: N/A

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Psychological well-being

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The General Well-Being (GWB) Schedule focuses on one’s subjective feelings of psychological well-being and distress, one’s inner personal state.

Number of items: 23

Example of statement/item: “How happy, satisfied or pleased have you been with your personal life during the past month?”

Response options: 14 items are rated on a 6-point Likert scale, with 1 “All the time” to 6 “None of the time”. The remaining 4 items are rated on a 10-point Likert scale with response options that are relevant to each of these 4 items.

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 0 to 110, with higher scores indicating greater levels of well-being.

Examples of studies:

1. Yanek, L. R., Kral, B. G., Moy, T. F., Vaidya, D., Lazo, M., Becker, L. C., et al. (2013). Effect of positive well-being on incidence of symptomatic coronary artery disease. Am J Cardiol, 112(8), 1120-1125.

Citation: Neugarten BL, Havighurst RJ, Tobin SS. The measurement of life satisfaction. J Gerontol 1961;16;134-143.

PMID or DOI: N/A

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Psychological well-being

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Life Satisfaction Index A (LSIA) measures the psychological well-being in elderly, with dimensions such as zest for life, fortitude, congruence between desired and achieved goals, physical, psychological and social self-concept.

Number of items: 20

Example of statement/item: “I am just as happy as I was when I was younger”

Response options: 0 “Disagree”, 1 “Agree”

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 0 to 20, with higher scores indicating greater levels of satisfaction.

Other forms available (and related citation):
A) Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age (LSITA-SF); (Barrett, A. J., & Murk, P. J. (2009). Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age (LSITA): A measurement of successful aging. https://scholarworks.iupui.edu/handle/1805/1160
B) Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age – Short Form (LSITA-SF); (Barrett, A. J., & Murk, P. J. (2009). Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age – Short Form (LSITA-SF): An improved and briefer measure of successful aging. Paper presented at the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, Community and Extension Education.)

Examples of studies:

1. Roos, N. P., & Havens, B. (1991). Predictors of successful aging: a twelve-year study of Manitoba elderly. Am J Public Health, 81(1), 63-68.
2. Collins, A. L., Glei, D. A., & Goldman, N. (2009). The role of life satisfaction and depressive symptoms in all-cause mortality. Psychol Aging, 24(3), 696-702.
3. Kimm, H., Sull, J. W., Gombojav, B., Yi, S. W., & Ohrr, H. (2012). Life satisfaction and mortality in elderly people: the Kangwha Cohort Study. BMC Public Health, 12, 54.

Citations:

1. Tellegen, A. (1982). Brief manual for the multidimensional personality questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 1031-1010.
2. The University of Minnesota Press. MPQ (Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire) Standard. Retrieved March 28th, 2017, from https://www.upress.umn.edu/test-division/mpq/copy_of_mpq_BF-overview

PMID or DOI:

1. N/A
2. https://www.upress.umn.edu/test-division/mpq/copy_of_mpq_BF-overview

Main PPWB construct measured: Psychological well-being

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: 18 subscales including one primary trait subscale labeled “Well-being” and one broader trait called “Positive Emotional Temperament” (that relates to the “Well-being”, “Social Potency”, “Achievement” and “Social Closeness” primary traits subscales).

Description: The Well-being subscale assesses the disposition to experience positive emotions, whereas the Positive Emotional Temperament captures the behaviors and temperamental characteristics conducive to joy, and to active and rewarding engagement with social and work environments.

Number of items: 276 items for the whole questionnaire, including 23 for the Well-being trait subscale and 89 items for the Positive Emotional Temperament broader trait.

Example of statement/item: “I see a bright future ahead”

Response options: 0 “False”, 1 “True”

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 0 to 23 for the Well-being trait subscale and 0 to 89 for the Positive Emotional Temperament broader trait, with higher scores indicating greater levels of well-being and positive temperament, respectively.

Other forms available (and related citation):
A) Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire-Brief Form (MPQ-BF) (Patrick, C. J., Curtin, J. J., & Tellegen, A. (2002). Development and validation of a brief form of the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire. Psychol Assess, 14(2), 150-163.)

Examples of studies:

1. Leventhal, A. M., Japuntich, S. J., Piper, M. E., Jorenby, D. E., Schlam, T. R., & Baker, T. B. (2012). Isolating the role of psychological dysfunction in smoking cessation: relations of personality and psychopathology to attaining cessation milestones. Psychol Addict Behav, 26(4), 838-849.

Citation: M. Hyde, R. D. Wiggins, P. Higgs & D. B. Blane (2003): A measure of quality of life in early old age: The theory, development and properties of a needs satisfaction model (CASP-19), Aging & Mental Health, 7:3, 186-194

PMID or DOI: PMID: 12775399, DOI: 10.1080/1360786031000101157

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Psychological well-being (related to quality of life)

Subconstructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Quality of Life Scale (CASP-19) uses four domains (i.e., control, autonomy, pleasure and self-realization) to assess the quality of life in individuals in early old age.

Number of items: 19, including 6 items for control, 5 items for autonomy, 4 items for pleasure and 4 items for self-realization.

Example of statement/item: “I look forward to each day”

Response options: 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0, “never” to 3, “often”.

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 0 to 57 for the total score (domains are usually not used separately). Higher scores indicate higher levels of satisfaction of quality of life.
Other forms available (and related citation):
A) CASP-12 (Wiggins, R. D., Netuveli, G., Hyde, M., Higgs, P., & Blane, D. (2008). The evaluation of a self-enumerated scale of quality of life (CASP-19) in the context of research on ageing: A combination of exploratory and confirmatory approaches. Social Indicators Research, 89(1), 61-77).

Examples of studies:

1. Okely, J. A., Cooper, C., & Gale, C. R. (2016). Wellbeing and arthritis incidence: the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. Ann Behav Med, 50(3), 419-426.
2. Okely, J. A., & Gale, C. R. (2016). Well-being and chronic disease incidence: The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Psychosom Med, 78(3), 335-344.

Citation: Lamers, S. M. A., Westerhof, G. J., Bohlmeijer, E. T., ten Klooster, P. M., & Keyes, C. L. M. (2011). Evaluating the psychometric properties of the mental health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF). Journal of Clinical Psychology, 67(1), 99-110. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20741

Items listed here.

PMID or DOI: N/A

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Flourishing

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: Emotional, social, and psychological well-being

Description: The Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) is derived from the long form (MHC-LF) which consists of 7 items measuring emotional well-being, 18 items measuring psychological well-being, and 15 items measuring social well-being (40 items total). The MHC-SF consists of 14 items that were selected to represent each fact of well-being. The short form consists of 3 emotional well-being items (reflects hedonic well-being), 6 psychological well-being items, and 5 social well-being items (when combined, reflects eudemonic well-being). These response options assess the frequency with which respondents experience each symptom of positive mental health. This scale also provides a flourishing and languishing mental health indicator based on these three subscales.

Number of items: 14 items: 3 items for emotional (hedonic) well-being, 5 items for social well-being, and 6 items for psychological well-being

Example of statement/item: Emotional well-being: “During the past month, how often do you feel satisfied with life?”; Social well-being: “During the past month, how often do you feel that you had something important to contribute to society”; Psychological well-being: “During the past month, how often do you feel that you had experiences that challenged you to grow and become a better person?”

Response options: 6-point Likert scale ranging from 0 “never” to 5 “everyday”

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a total score ranging from 0 to 70. Subscale scores range from 0 to 15 for the emotional (hedonic) well-being, from 0 to 25 for social well-being, and from 0 to 30 for psychological well-being. Flourishing mental health is defined by reporting ≥ 1 of 3 hedonic signs and ≥ 6 of 11 eudaimonic signs (social and psychological subscales combined) experienced “every day” or “5-6 times a week.” Higher scores indicate greater levels of positive well-being.

Examples of studies:

1. Bassi M, Negri L, Delle Fave A, Accardi R. The relationship between post-traumatic stress and positive mental health symptoms among health workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Lombardy, Italy. J Affect Disord. 2021 Feb 1;280(Pt B):1-6.
2. Burns RJ, Fardfini K. Prevalence and Correlates of Positive Mental Health Among Canadian Adults With Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes: Results From the Canadian Community Health Survey—Mental Health. Can J Diabetes. 2020 Dec 5:S1499-2671(20)30469-X. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2020.12.001.
3. Doré I, Sylvester B, Sabiston C, Sylvestre MP, O’Loughlin J, Brunet J, Bélanger M. Mechanisms underpinning the association between physical activity and mental health in adolescence: a 6-year study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2020 Jan 31;17(1):9.
4. Fredrickson, B. L., Grewen, K. M., Algoe, S. B., Firestine, A. M., Arevalo, J. M., Ma, J., et al. (2016). Psychological well-being and the human conserved transcriptional response to adversity. PLoS One, 10(3), e0121839.
5. Keyes CL, Simoes EJ. To flourish or not: positive mental health and all-cause mortality. Am J Public Health. 2012 Nov;102(11):2164-72. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300918.

Citation: Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi, D., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). New measures of well-being: Flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 97(2), 143-156.

PMID or DOI: N/A

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Flourishing

Sub-constructs measured: Purpose/meaning in life, life satisfaction, optimism, competence, engagement in activities, positive relationships, contributing to others’ happiness, being respected by others

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Flourishing Scale is a brief 8-item summary measure of the respondent’s self-perceived success in important areas such as relationships, self-esteem, purpose, and optimism. The scale provides a single psychological well-being score.

Number of items: 8

Example of statement/item: “I actively contribute to the happiness and well-being of others”

Response options: 7-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 “Strongly disagree” to 7 “Strongly agree”

Total score: Responses are summed, varying from 1 to 7, for all eight items. The possible range of scores is from 8 (lowest possible) to 56 (highest PWB possible). A high score represents a person with many psychological resources and strengths.

Examples of studies:

1. Kim TE, Jang CY. The relationship between children’s flourishing and being overweight. J Exerc Rehabil. 2018 Aug 24;14(4):598-605.
2. Lyons A, Heywood W, Rozbroj T. Psychosocial factors associated with flourishing among Australian HIV-positive gay men. BMC Psychol. 2016 Sep 15;4(1):46.
3. Wickham SR, Amarasekara NA, Bartonicek A, Conner TS. The Big Three Health Behaviors and Mental Health and Well-Being Among Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Sleep, Exercise, and Diet. Front Psychol. 2020 Dec 10;11:579205.

Citation: VanderWeele, T.J. (2017). On the promotion of human flourishing. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 31:8148-8156.

PMID or DOI: DOI: full/10.1073/pnas.1702996114

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: ‘Human flourishing’

Definition: “… flourishing, however conceived, would, at the very least, require doing or being well in the following five broad domains of human life: (i) happiness and life satisfaction; (ii) health, both mental and physical; (iii) meaning and purpose; (iv) character and virtue; and (v) close social relationships” (VanderWeele, 2017).

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, close relationships, financial and material stability
Description: “The “Flourish” measure consists of two questions or items from each of the five main subscales: happiness and life satisfaction, mental and physical health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships. The questions were selected primarily from among existing questions that had received some empirical validation and that are widely used in the well-being literature. Two additional questions on financial and material stability may be included to obtain a measure of “Secure Flourish”.

Number of items: 12

Example of statement/item: “I always act to promote good in all circumstances, even in difficult and challenging situations” and “Overall, how satisfied are you with life as a whole these days?”
Response options: All questions are scored on a scale of 0-10 and differ for each question. For example, 0 represents lower levels of agreement (i.e., “poor”, “strongly disagree”, “not true of me”), and 10 represents higher levels of agreement (i.e., “excellent”, “strongly agree”, “completely true of me”).

Total score: The flourishing index score is obtained by summing the scores from each of the ten questions and results in a total score from of 0 – 100. The secure flourishing index score is obtained by summing the scores from the twelve questions in all six domains and results in a score from 0 – 120. Often, for purposes of interpretation, the flourishing and secure flourishing scores are reported as averages of the questions (rather than sums) so that all scores are on a scale of 0-10. The average score within each of the five or six domains is also often of interest.

Examples of studies:

1. Weziak-Bialowolska D, Bialowolski P, VanderWeele TJ, McNeely E. Character Strengths Involving an Orientation to Promote Good Can Help Your Health and Well-Being. Evidence From two Longitudinal Studies. Am J Health Promot. 2020 Oct 13:890117120964083.
2. Węziak-Białowolska, D., McNeely, E., and VanderWeele, T.J. (2019). Human flourishing in cross cultural settings: evidence from the US, China, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and Mexico. Front Psychol. 2019 May 29;10:1269.

Citation: Butler, J., & Kern, M. L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1-48.

PMID or DOI: DOI: 10.5502/ijw.v6i3.1

Main construct measured: flourishing

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: positive and negative emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment, health

Description: “In his 2011 book Flourish, Dr. Martin Seligman, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the founders of the field of positive psychology, defined 5 facets of wellbeing: PERMA (positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning, accomplishment). The PERMA-Profiler measures these five pillars, along with negative emotion and health.”

Number of items: 23 items (short-form includes 15 items, but full measure is recommended)

Example of statement/item: “How often do you lose track of time while doing something you enjoy?”

Response options: All questions are scored on an 11-point scale ranging from 0 “never”, “terrible”, and “not at all”, to 10 “always”, “excellent”, and “completely” depending on the question.
Total score: “Scores are calculated as the average of the items comprising each factor.” More scoring information can be found here

Examples of studies:

1. Stiglbauer, B., Weber, S., & Batinic, B. (2019). Does your health really benefit from using a self-tracking device? Evidence from a longitudinal randomized control trial. Computers in Human Behavior, 94, 131–139.
2. Umucu, E., & Lee, B. (2020). Examining the impact of COVID-19 on stress and coping strategies in individuals with disabilities and chronic conditions. Rehabilitation Psychology, 65(3), 193–198.
3. Bartholomaeus, J. D., Van Agteren, J. E. M., Iasiello, M. P., Jarden, A., & Kelly, D. (2019). Positive aging: The impact of a community wellbeing and resilience program. Clinical Gerontologist: The Journal of Aging and Mental Health, 42(4), 377–386.

Citation: Su R, Tay L, Diener E. The development and validation of the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT) and the Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT). Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2014 Nov;6(3):251-79.

PMID or DOI: PMID: 24919454, DOI: 10.1111/aphw.12027

Main construct measured: thriving

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales:

CIT: relationship (support, community, trust, respect, loneliness, belonging); engagement; mastery (skills, learning, accomplishment, self-efficacy, self-worth); autonomy (lack of control); meaning; optimism; subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive feelings, negative feelings)

BIT: relationship (support, belonging); engagement; mastery (accomplishment, self-efficacy, self-worth); meaning; optimism; subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive feelings)

Description: The Comprehensive (CIT) and Brief (BIT) Inventories of Thriving measure a broad range of psychological well-being constructs a represent a holistic view of positive functioning. The CIT includes 18 subscales (3 items each) with 54 items total. The BIT has 10 items total and can serve as an indicator of psychological well-being and a brief screening tool of mental health.

Number of items:

CIT – 54 items (3 items per 18 subscales)

BIT – 10 items (1 item per 10 subscales)

Example of statement/item: “I feel a sense of belonging in my community”, “In most activities I do, I feel energized”, “What I do in my life is valuable and worthwhile”, “The life choices I make are not really mine”, “I feel good most of the time”

Response options: 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 “Strongly Disagree” to 5 “Strongly Agree”

Total score: The researchers who developed the scale recommend that users refer to the norms of the scales developed in the original paper (Su, Tay, Diener, 2014) as a guideline for identifying psychological strengths and risks. A score above the 75th percentile signifies an area of strength, whereas a score below the 25th percentile points to an area of risk and the need for intervention or referral. A score between the 25th and 75th percentiles indicates that an area is within the common range.

Examples of studies:

1. Cheng X, Bu H, Duan W, He A, Zhang Y. Measuring character strengths as possible protective factors against suicidal ideation in older Chinese adults: a cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2020 Apr 3;20(1):439.
2. Su R, Tay L, Diener E. The development and validation of the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT) and the Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT). Appl Psychol Health Well Being. 2014 Nov;6(3):251-79.

Citation: Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: the PANAS scales. Journal of personality and social psychology, 54(6), 1063.

PMID or DOI: DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Positive affect

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: Positive and negative affect

Description: The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is a self-report measure that is made up of two mood scales, one measuring positive affect and the other measuring negative affect.

Number of items: 10-items measuring positive affect, 10-items measuring negative affect

Example of statement/item measuring positive affect: “Indicate to what extent you feel enthusiastic at the present moment or within the past week”

Example of statement/item measuring negative affect: “Indicate to what extent you feel distressed at the present moment or within the past week”

Response options: 5-point Likert Scale ranging from 1 “very slightly or not at all” to 5 “extremely”.

Total score: Positive affect score: items are summed, yielding a range from 10 to 50. Higher score indicates greater levels of positive affect.

Other forms available (and related citation):
A) Positive and Negative Affect Schedule – Expanded Form (PANAS-X) (Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1994). The PANAS-X: Manual for the positive and negative affect schedule-expanded form.)

Examples of studies:

1. Mroczek, D.K., et al., Emotional reactivity and mortality: Longitudinal findings from the VA Normative Aging Study. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci, 2013. 70(3): p. 398-406.
2. Simons, J.S., T.A. Wills, and D.J. Neal, The many faces of affect: A multilevel model of drinking frequency/quantity and alcohol dependence symptoms among young adults. J Abnorm Psychol, 2014. 123(3): Boylan, J.M. & Ryff, C.D., Psychological well-being and metabolic syndrome: Findings from the midlife in the United States national sample. Psychosom Med, 2015. 77(5): p. 548-58.
3. Stellar, J.E., et al., Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. Emotion, 2015. 15(2): p. 129-33.

Citation: Bradburn NM, Noll CE. The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago, IL: Aldine, 1969.

PMID or DOI: N/A

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Positive affect

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: Positive and negative affect

Description: The Affect Balance Scale assesses positive and negative affect as indicators of life satisfaction and general well-being.

Number of items: 10 total items; 5 items assess positive affect, 5 items assess negative affect

Examples of statement/items: “During the past few weeks, did you ever feel that things were going your way?”

Response options: 1 “Yes”, 0 “No”

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 0 to 5 for each subscale. Higher scores indicate greater levels of positive and higher negative affect, respectively. Note: the “Affect Balance” score, which is the difference between Positive Affect and Negative Affect scores, is sometimes used as an indicator of overall happiness.

Examples of studies:

1. Nabi, H., et al., Positive and negative affect and risk of coronary heart disease: Whitehall II prospective cohort study. Bmj, 2008. 337: p. a118.

Citations:

1. Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1991). The mood and anxiety symptom questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, University of Iowa, Department of Psychology, Iowa City.
2. Watson, D., et al., Testing a tripartite model: I. Evaluating the convergent and discriminant validity of anxiety and depression symptom scales. J Abnorm Psychol, 1995. 104(1): p. 3-14.

PMID or DOI:

1. N/A
2. PMID: 7897050

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Positive affect

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The MASQ was designed to assess symptoms of general distress using a tripartite model, dividing symptoms into 3 groups: symptoms of nonspecific general distress, symptoms specific to depression and symptoms specific to anxiety. The High Positive Affect subscale measures more specifically positive emotional experiences, as it appears valuable to assess high positive affect directly rather than measuring only low levels of it, because these high-end items tend to be purer indicators of the positive psychological well-being dimension.

Number of items in the subscale: 24

Example of statement/item: “Indicate to what extent you have felt good about yourself during the past week, including today.”

Response options: 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1“not at all” to 5 “extremely”.

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 24 to 120. Higher scores indicate greater levels of positive affect.

Examples of studies:

1. Morozink, J.A., et al., Socioeconomic and psychosocial predictors of interleukin-6 in the MIDUS national sample. Health Psychol, 2010. 29(6): p. 626-35.

Citation: Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2004). A survey method for characterizing daily life experience: The day reconstruction method. Science, 306(5702), 1776-1780.

PMID or DOI: DOI: 10.1126/science.1103572

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Positive affect

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: Positive and negative affect

Description: The Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) measures how people spend their time and how they emotionally experience the various activities of life.

Number of items: 12, including 4 positive and 8 negative

Example of statement/item: “Indicate to what extent you felt happy during specific activities of your day”

Response options: 7-point Likert scale ranging from 0, “not at all” to 6, “very much”.

Total score: Items are averaged, yielding a range from 0 to 6 for both dimensions. Higher scores indicate greater levels of positive and negative affect, respectively. Note: Most studies using the DRM have computed the overall positive affect score by weighting the positive emotions reported for each activity by the number of minutes spent in that activity, and then averaged across all the time-weighted activity scores.

Examples of studies:

1. Bhattacharyya, M. R., & Steptoe, A. (2011). Mood and transient cardiac dysfunction in everyday life. J Behav Med, 34(1), 74-81.

Citation: Shiota, M. N., Keltner, D., & John, O. P. (2006). Positive emotion dispositions differentially associated with Big Five personality and attachment style. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 1(2), 61-71.

PMID or DOI: DOI: 10.1080/17439760500510833

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Positive emotion

Sub-constructs measured: Joy, contentment, pride, love, compassion, amusement and awe

Description: The Dispositional Positive Emotion Scale consists of seven subscales (joy, contentment, pride, love, compassion, amusement and awe) that measure ones dispositional tendencies to feel positive emotions towards others in their daily lives.

Number of items: 38 items total; seven 5- or 6-item scales

Example of statement/item: “On a typical day, many events make me happy”

Response options: 7 point Likert scale ranging from 1, “strongly disagree” to 7, “strongly agree”.

Total score: Items are averaged, yielding a range from 1 to 7. Higher scores indicate greater levels of positive emotion.

Examples of studies:

1. Stellar, J. E., John-Henderson, N., Anderson, C. L., Gordon, A. M., McNeil, G. D., & Keltner, D. (2015). Positive affect and markers of inflammation: Discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines. Emotion, 15(2), 129-133.

Citation: Scheier, M. F., Wrosch, C., Baum, A., Cohen, S., Martire, L. M., Matthews, K. A., Schulz, R. & Zdaniuk, B. (2006). The Life Engagement Test: Assessing purpose in life. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29(3), 291.

PMID or DOI: PMID: 16565785

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Purpose in life

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Life Engagement Test is designed to measure purpose in life, defined as the degree to which a person engages in activities that are meaningful to them.

Population: Appropriate for use across gender, age and ethnic groups

Number of items: 6

Example statement/item: “To me, the things I do are all worthwhile”

Response options: 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1-5, 1,“Strongly disagree” and 5,“Strongly agree”.

Total score: Items are then summed, yielding a range from 6 to 30. Higher scores indicate greater levels of purpose in life.

Examples of studies:

1. Mezick, E.J., et al., Low life purpose and high hostility are related to an attenuated decline in nocturnal blood pressure. Health Psychol, 2010. 29(2): p. 196-204.
2. Low, C.A., et al., Psychosocial predictors of coronary artery calcification progression in postmenopausal women. Psychosom Med, 2011. 73(9): p. 789-94.
3. Shahabi, L., et al., Associations of psychological well-being with carotid intima media thickness in African American and White middle-aged women. Psychosom Med, 2016. 78(4): p. 511-9.

Citation: Crumbaugh, J. C. (1977). The seeking of noetic goals test (SONG): A complementary scale to the purpose in life test (PIL). Journal of Clinical Psychology, 33(3), 900-907.

PMID or DOI: PMID: 893732

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Purpose in life

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: SONG seeks to evaluate the perceived need to search for and the strength of motivation to find purpose in life.

Example of statement/item: “I think about the ultimate meaning of life.”

Response options: 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7, 1,“Never” and 7“Constantly”.

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 20 to 140. Higher scores indicate greater levels of purpose in life.

Examples of studies:

1. Roos, C.R., et al., Examining temptation to drink from an existential perspective: Associations among temptation, purpose in life, and drinking outcomes. Psychol Addict Behav, 2015. 29(3): p. 716-24.

Citations:

1. Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unraveling the Mystery of Health: How People Manage Stress and Stay Well. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
2. Antonovsky, A. (1993). The structure and properties of the Sense of Coherence Scale. Soc Sci Med, 36(6), 725-733.

PMID or DOI:

1. N/A
2. PMID: 8480217

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Meaning in life

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC) assesses how people view life and identifies how they use their resistance resources to maintain and develop their health.

Number of items: 29

Example of statement/item: “Until now your life has had….”

Response options: 7-point Likert scale with response options relevant to each item (e.g., with the example above: 1, “No clear goal or purpose at all” to 7, “Very clear goals and purpose”).

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 7 to 203. Higher scores indicate greater levels of sense of coherence.

Other forms available (and related citation):
A) Short form (13-item) of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire (OLQ) (Antonovsky, A. (1987). Unraveling the Mystery of Health: How People Manage Stress and Stay Well. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco; Antonovsky, A. (1993). The structure and properties of the Sense of Coherence Scale. Soc Sci Med, 36(6), 725-733)

Examples of studies:

1. Poppius, E., Tenkanen, L., Kalimo, R., & Heinsalmi, P. (1999). The sense of coherence, occupation and the risk of coronary heart disease in the Helsinki Heart Study. Soc Sci Med, 49(1), 109-120.
2. Kivimaki, M., Feldt, T., Vahtera, J., & Nurmi, J. E. (2000). Sense of coherence and health: Evidence from two cross-lagged longitudinal samples. Soc Sci Med, 50(4), 583-597.
3. Surtees, P., Wainwright, N., Luben, R., Khaw, 3. K. T., & Day, N. (2003). Sense of coherence and mortality in men and women in the EPIC-Norfolk United Kingdom prospective cohort study. Am J Epidemiol, 158(12), 1202-1209.
4. Kuuppelomaki, M., & Utriainen, P. (2003). A 3 year follow-up study of health care students’ sense of coherence and related smoking, drinking and physical exercise factors. Int J Nurs Stud, 40(4), 383-388.

Citation: Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006). The Meaning in Life Questionnaire: Assessing the presence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 53(1), 80-93.

PMID or DOI: DOI: 10.1037/0022-0167.53.1.80

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Meaning in life

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: Presence of meaning in life and Search for meaning in life

Description: The Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) measures the presence of meaning in life, that is the subjective sense that one’s life is meaningful, and the search for meaning in life, reflecting one’s drive and orientation toward finding such meaning.

Number of items: 10, 5 for Presence and 5 for Search

Example of statement/item: “I understand my life’s meaning.”

Response options: 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1, “absolutely untrue” to 7, “absolutely true”

Total score: Items are summed yielding a range from 5 to 35 for each subscale. Higher scores indicate a stronger presence of/search for meaning in one’s life.

Examples of studies:

1. Hsiao, F. H., Jow, G. M., Kuo, W. H., Huang, C. S., Lai, Y. M., Liu, Y. F., et al. (2014). The partner’s insecure attachment, depression and psychological well-being as predictors of diurnal cortisol patterns for breast cancer survivors and their spouses. Stress, 17(2), 169-175.
2. Brassai, L., Piko, B. F., & Steger, M. F. (2015). A reason to stay healthy: The role of meaning in life in relation to physical activity and healthy eating among adolescents. J Health Psychol, 20(5), 473-482.

Citation: Diener, E. D., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of personality assessment, 49(1), 71-75.

PMID or DOI: PMID: 16367493

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Life satisfaction

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Satisfaction With Life Scale is a multi-item scale that was developed to assess general life satisfaction, or satisfaction with life as a whole.

Number of items: 5

Example statement/item: “In most ways, my life is close to my ideal”

Response options: 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7, 1 indicating “strong disagreement” and 7 indicating “strong agreement”.

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 5 to 35. Higher scores indicate greater levels of life satisfaction.

Examples of studies:

1. Ailshire, J.A. and E.M. Crimmins, Psychosocial factors associated with longevity in the United States: Age differences between the old and oldest-old in the Health and Retirement Study. J Aging Res, 2011. 2011: p. 530534.
2. Smyth, N., et al., Post awakening salivary cortisol secretion and trait well-being: The importance of sample timing accuracy. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2015. 58: p. 141-51.

Citations:

1. Koivumaa-Honkanen, H.-T. (1998). Life Satisfaction as a Health Predictor. Kuopio University Publications D. Medical Sciences 143: Kuopio.
2. Koivumaa-Honkanen, H., Kaprio, J., Honkanen, R., Viinamäki, H., & Koskenvuo, M. (2004). Life satisfaction and depression in a 15-year follow-up of healthy adults. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 39(12), 994-999.

PMID or DOI:

1. N/A
2. PMID: 15583908

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Life satisfaction

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Life Satisfaction Scale is designed to measure personal life satisfaction.

Number of items: 4

Example of statement/item: “Do you feel that your life at present is …?”

Response options: 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5 with response options relevant to each item (e.g., with the example above: 1, “very interesting” to 5, “Very boring”)

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 4 to 20 with higher scores indicating lower levels of life satisfaction.

Examples of studies:

1. Koivumaa-Honkanen, H., Honkanen, R., Viinamaki, H., Heikkila, K., Kaprio, J., & Koskenvuo, M. (2000). Self-reported life satisfaction and 20-year mortality in healthy Finnish adults. Am J Epidemiol, 152(10), 983-991.
2. Rissanen, T., Lehto, S. M., Hintikka, J., Honkalampi, K., Saharinen, T., Viinamaki, H., et al. (2013). Biological and other health related correlates of long-term life dissatisfaction burden. BMC Psychiatry, 13, 202.

Citation: Pearlin, L. I., & Schooler, C. (1978). The structure of coping. Journal of health and social behavior, 2-21.

PMID or DOI: DOI: 10.2307/2136319

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Mastery

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Pearlin Mastery (PM) scale measures the extent to which an individual regards their life chances as being under their personal control rather than fatalistically ruled.

Number of items: 7

Example of statement/item: “What happens to me in the future mostly depends on me”

Response options: 4-point Likert scale, 1,“Strongly disagree” and 4,“Strongly agree”.

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 7 to 28. Higher scores indicate greater levels of mastery.

Examples of studies:

1. Low, C.A., et al., Psychosocial predictors of coronary artery calcification progression in postmenopausal women. Psychosom Med, 2011. 73(9): p. 789-94.

Citation: Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological monographs: General and applied, 80(1), 1.

PMID or DOI: PMID: 5340840

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Mastery

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Internal-External (I-E) Locus of Control scale measures generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Those with an internal locus of control believe that their own behavior determines events in their lives, while those with an external locus of control believe that life events are generally outside of their control.

Number of items: 29 (6 filler items)

Example of statement/item: “I have often found that what is going to happen will happen; “Trusting to fate has never turned out as well for me as making a decision to take a definite course of action.”

Response options: A or B, where one represents an internal locus of control and the matching statement an external locus of control.

Total score: Items representing external choices are summed, yielding a range from 0 to 23. Higher scores indicate greater levels of external locus of control.

Examples of studies:

1. Shippee, T.P., L. Rinaldo, and K.F. Ferraro, Mortality risk among Black and White working women: The role of perceived work trajectories. J Aging Health, 2012. 24(1): p. 141-67.

Citation: Lyubomirsky, S., & Lepper, H. S. (1999). A measure of subjective happiness: Preliminary reliability and construct validation. Social indicators research, 46(2), 137-155.

PMID or DOI: DOI: 10.1023/A:1006824100041

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Happiness

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Subjective Happiness Scale seeks to conduct a global, subjective assessment of whether a person is happy or unhappy.

Number of items: 4

Example of statement/item: “In general, I consider myself not a very happy person (1) or a very happy person (7)”

Response options: 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7.

Total score: Responses to the four items are averaged, yielding a range from 1 to 7. Higher score indicates greater levels of happiness.

Examples of studies:

1. Ameringer, K.J., C.P. Chou, and A.M. Leventhal, Shared versus specific features of psychological symptoms and cigarettes per day: structural relations and mediation by negative- and positive-reinforcement smoking. J Behav Med, 2015. 38(2): p. 224-36.
2. Smyth, N., et al., Post awakening salivary cortisol secretion and trait well-being: The importance of sample timing accuracy. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2015. 58: p. 141-51.

Citation: Michael F. Scheier & Charles S. Carver. (1985). Optimism, coping, and health: Assessment and implications of generalized outcome expectancies. Health Psychology, 4, 219-247.

PMID or DOI: DOI: 10.1037//0278-6133.4.3.219

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Optimism

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Life Orientation Test (LOT) was developed to measure individual differences in optimism versus pessimism.

Number of items: 12 (including 4 filler items)

Example of statement/item: “In uncertain times, I usually expect the best”

Response options: 5-point Likert scale ranging from 0, “Strongly disagree” to 4, “Strongly agree”.

Total score: Items are summed, yielding a range from 0 to 32. Higher scores indicate greater levels of optimism.

Other forms available (and related citation):
A) Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-r); (Scheier, M. F., Carver, C. S., & Bridges, M. W. (1994). Distinguishing optimism from neuroticism (and trait anxiety, self-mastery, and self-esteem) – A revaluation of the life orientation test. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1063-1078)

Examples of studies:

1. Ikeda, A., et al., Pessimistic orientation in relation to telomere length in older men: the VA normative aging study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2014. 42: p. 68-76.
2. Kim, E.S., W.J. Chopik, and J. Smith, Are people healthier if their partners are more optimistic? The dyadic effect of optimism on health among older adults. J Psychosom Res, 2014. 76(6): p. 447-53.
3. Kim, E.S., J. Smith, and L.D. Kubzansky, Prospective study of the association between dispositional optimism and incident heart failure. Circ Heart Fail, 2014. 7(3): p. 394-400.
4. Anthony, E.G., D. Kritz-Silverstein, and E. Barrett-Connor, Optimism and mortality in older men and women: The Rancho Bernardo Study. J Aging Res, 2016. 2016: p. 5185104.

Citation: Nakanishi, N. (1999). ‘Ikigai’ in older Japanese people. Age Ageing, 28(3), 323-324.

PMID or DOI: PMID: 10475874

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Ikigai

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The Ikigai term refers to purpose in life, or the sense of “life worth living”, among Japanese adults.

Population: Japanese adults

Number of items: 1

Example of statement/item: “Do you have ikigai in life?”

Response options: Various scoring exist across studies. One example is using a 3-point Likert scale; 0 “Yes”, 1 “Uncertain” and 2 “No”.

Total score: From the example above: Ranges from 0 to 2. Higher score indicates lower levels of ikigai.

Examples of studies:

1. Tanno, K. and K. Sakata, Psychological factors and mortality in the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer (JACC). Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2007. 8 Suppl: p. 113-22.
2. Wakai, K., et al., Psychological attitudes and risk of breast cancer in Japan: a prospective study. Cancer Causes Control, 2007. 18(3): p. 259-67.
3. Sone, T., et al., Sense of life worth living (ikigai) and mortality in Japan: Ohsaki Study. Psychosom Med, 2008. 70(6): p. 709-15.

Citation:

1. Penninx, B. W., Guralnik, J. M., Simonsick, E. M., Kasper, J. D., Ferrucci, L., & Fried, L. P. (1998). Emotional vitality among disabled older women: The Women’s Health and Aging Study. J Am Geriatr Soc, 46(7), 807-815.
2. Kubzansky, L. D., & Thurston, R. C. (2007). Emotional vitality and incident coronary heart disease: Benefits of healthy psychological functioning. Arch Gen Psychiatry, 64(12), 1393-1401.

PMID or DOI:

1. PMID: 9670865
2. PMID: 18056547, DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.64.12.1393

Main positive psychological well-being construct measured: Emotional vitality

Sub-constructs measured: N/A

Available subscales: N/A

Description: The construct of emotional vitality has been derived from items available either in the Whitehall II cohort, in the NHANES cohort or in the Women’s Health and Aging Study thus far. Across these studies, emotional vitality overall captures the capacity to effectively regulate emotion and behavior and a sense of positive psychological well-being.

Number of items: 4 to 6 items, depending on the studies.

Example of statement/item: “How much of the time during the past 4 weeks did you feel full of life?”; “During the last month, has your daily life been full of things that were interesting to you?”; “I can do just about anything I really set my mind to.”

Response options: Various scoring exist across studies. For example, within the NHANES cohort, the 6-point Likert Scale ranges from 0 “None or not at all” to 5 “A lot or all of the time”.

Total score: Various scoring exist across studies. For example, within the NHANES cohort, the 6 items are summed, yielding a range from 0 to 30. Higher score indicates greater levels of emotional vitality.

Examples of studies:

1. Penninx, B. W., Guralnik, J. M., Bandeen-Roche, K., Kasper, J. D., Simonsick, E. M., Ferrucci, L., et al. (2000). The protective effect of emotional vitality on adverse health outcomes in disabled older women. J Am Geriatr Soc, 48(11), 1359-1366.
2. Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Boehm, J. K., Kivimaki, M., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2014). Taking the tension out of hypertension: a prospective study of psychological well being and hypertension. J Hypertens, 32(6), 1222-1228.
3. Lambiase, M. J., Kubzansky, L. D., & Thurston, R. C. (2015). Positive psychological health and stroke risk: The benefits of emotional vitality. Health Psychol, 34(10), 1043-1046.
4. Boehm, J. K., Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Kivimaki, M., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2015). The prospective association between positive psychological well-being and diabetes. Health Psychol, 34(10), 1013-1021.