Well-being facts for kids

Kids looking happy after an art class

Well-being means feeling good and living a good life. It's about what is truly valuable and good for a person. When we talk about someone's well-being, we mean what helps them thrive and be their best self. It can include both positive feelings and the absence of negative ones. Sometimes, people use the term "wellness" or "quality of life" to mean similar things. When people talk about "subjective well-being," they mean how individuals feel about and judge their own lives, often found through surveys.

Well-being can be seen as something that ranges from not present at all to a very high level. Recently, this idea has also included a negative side. For example, "environmental unwell-being" describes how different things in our surroundings can affect how we feel when walking or cycling.

Understanding Well-being
Ideas About Well-being
Scientific Ways to Study Well-being
Models and Parts of Well-being
Well-being as a Goal for Countries
Global Studies on Well-being
See also

Understanding Well-being

Many parts of well-being, like how you feel mentally, physically, financially, or emotionally, are often connected. For example, if your physical health gets better (maybe you stop an unhealthy habit), your emotional well-being often improves too. Also, having more money usually means you feel better emotionally, even during tough times like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Well-being is very important in understanding what people should do. What is right often depends on what makes someone's life better or worse. Some people even believe that well-being is the *only* thing that truly matters.

Words like well-being, pleasure, and happiness are often used in similar ways every day. However, in studies like philosophy or psychology, they have specific meanings. Pleasure is a good feeling, and it's usually part of well-being. But well-being can also include other things like being healthy, having good character, learning new things, or achieving your goals. Happiness, which is often seen as having more good experiences than bad, or being happy with your life, is also a key part of well-being.

Scientists try to figure out what makes up all forms of well-being. Some ideas say well-being is mostly about having more pleasure than pain. Others believe it's about getting what you want. Still, other ideas suggest that well-being comes from a list of good things, which can include both personal feelings and things that are good no matter what.

Well-being is a main topic in positive psychology. This field looks for what helps people live well. For example, Martin Seligman suggests that feeling well comes from having positive emotions, being engaged in activities, having good relationships, finding meaning in life, and feeling a sense of accomplishment.

The word well-being first appeared in English in the 1500s. It came from the Italian word benessere.

Ideas About Well-being

The well-being of a person is what is truly good for them. Different ideas try to explain what makes something contribute to a person's well-being. These ideas are often grouped into:

Hedonistic theories: These say well-being is all about having more pleasure than pain.
Desire theories: These suggest well-being comes from getting what you want. The more desires you satisfy, the better your well-being.
Objective list theories: These state that well-being depends on a list of good things. These good things might include both personal feelings and things that are good for everyone, like friendship or being kind.

Hedonistic and desire theories are called subjective theories. They believe that how well you are depends on your personal feelings and thoughts. Objective list theories, however, say that some things can be good for you even if you don't personally feel strongly about them.

Scientific Ways to Study Well-being

Psychology has three main areas that help us understand psychological well-being:

Developmental psychology: This looks at how well-being changes as people grow throughout their lives.
Personality psychology: This uses ideas like reaching your full potential or becoming a complete person to explain well-being.
Clinical psychology: This suggests well-being means that a person's biological, psychological, and social needs are met.

According to Corey Keyes, social well-being has five parts:

Feeling like you belong and are part of a group (social integration).
Feeling like you are useful to society (social contribution).
Understanding and feeling connected to the world around you (social coherence).
Believing that society can grow and improve (social actualization).
Feeling accepted by others (social acceptance).

There are two main ways to understand psychological well-being:

Looking at positive and negative feelings and finding a good balance between them.
Focusing on how satisfied someone is with their life as the main sign of well-being.

Some researchers also see well-being as a special kind of attitude. This helps them create and test ideas about how different types of well-being are connected.

Models and Parts of Well-being

Many different models have been created to explain well-being.

How Things Connect (Causal Network Models)

Philosopher Michael Bishop suggests that well-being is like a network. It's made up of many things like feelings, beliefs, habits, and resources. These things are all connected and can cause well-being to increase or decrease. This idea has also been used to understand problems like depression.

Diener's Three-Part Model of Subjective Well-being

Ed Diener created a popular model in psychology. It says that subjective well-being has three main parts:

Having many positive feelings often.
Having negative feelings rarely.
Thinking positively about your life, like being satisfied with it.

These parts are influenced by your thoughts, feelings, and the situations you are in. Diener believes that how each person thinks and feels about their own life is very important.

Ryff's Six Factors of Psychological Well-being

Carol Ryff developed a model with six key factors for well-being:

Self-acceptance: Liking yourself and your past.
Personal growth: Feeling like you are always learning and developing.
Purpose in life: Having goals and a sense of direction.
Environmental mastery: Feeling able to manage your surroundings and daily life.
Autonomy: Feeling independent and able to make your own choices.
Positive relations with others: Having good, trusting relationships.

Corey Keyes: Flourishing

Corey Keyes, who worked with Carol Ryff, says mental well-being has three parts:

Emotional well-being: This is about how you feel, like being happy.
Psychological well-being: This is about your skills, abilities, and how well you function mentally.
Social well-being: This is about how well you function in society.

Keyes' model has been supported by studies in many different cultures.

Seligman: Positive Psychology

Positive psychology focuses on well-being. It explores "the good life," which means thinking about what is most valuable in life and what helps us live a full and satisfying life. Positive psychologists agree that a good life involves being happy, engaged, and finding meaning. Martin Seligman describes "the good life" as using your unique strengths every day to find true happiness and deep satisfaction.

PERMA Theory

Simple exercise, like running, can help you feel happy.

In his book Flourish (2011), Seligman explained that a "meaningful life" can be broken down into five parts. He uses the acronym PERMA to remember them:

Positive emotions: These are feelings like joy, excitement, satisfaction, pride, and wonder. They are linked to good things like living longer and having healthier friendships.
Engagement: This means being deeply involved in activities that use your interests. When you are truly engaged, you might experience "flow"—a feeling of intense focus where you lose track of time. The activity should be a bit challenging but still possible.
Relationships: Good connections with others are very important for positive feelings. This includes family, friends, and even people you work with. As Dr. Christopher Peterson said, "Other people matter." We share and spread positivity through our relationships.
Meaning: This is about having a purpose in life. Finding a clear "why" helps put everything into perspective, from your work to your relationships. It means realizing there is something bigger than yourself. Having meaning helps people keep going even when things are tough.
Accomplishments: This is about working towards success and becoming good at something. Sometimes, people pursue accomplishments even if they don't immediately lead to positive emotions or relationships. However, achieving goals can bring feelings like pride. Accomplishments can be personal or group efforts, and they can be for fun or for work.

Biopsychosocial Model of Well-being

The biopsychosocial model looks at well-being by focusing on parts that can be changed. These include:

Healthy environments: Safe places to live, good social connections, and a stable economy.
Developmental skills: Having a healthy identity, managing emotions, good social skills, and problem-solving abilities.
Sense of belonging: Feeling connected to others.
Healthy behaviors: Getting enough sleep, eating well, exercising, and doing enjoyable activities.
Healthy coping: Dealing with stress in good ways.
Resilience: Knowing you can bounce back from challenges.
Treatment of illness: Getting help early for physical and mental health problems.

UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) Definition

The UK's ONS defines well-being using 10 main areas that matter most to people in the UK. These are:

The natural environment.
Personal well-being.
Our relationships.
Health.
What we do.
Where we live.
Personal finance.
The economy.
Education and skills.
How we are governed.

Personal well-being is a very important part. It means how satisfied we are with our lives, feeling that what we do is worthwhile, our daily feelings (happiness and worry), and our overall mental well-being.

Well-being as a Goal for Countries

Both the UK and New Zealand have started to focus on the well-being of their people as a goal for their governments.

Global Studies on Well-being

Research on positive psychology and well-being covers many areas, from biology to global issues. The World Happiness Report shares yearly updates on how people feel about their lives around the world. One global study looked at well-being in 166 countries and found that how people feel about their lives (subjective well-being) and how well they are functioning (eudaimonia) are both important for understanding mental well-being.

Gallup's research on workers worldwide found that about one-third of workers are thriving, while many others are struggling or suffering.