Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being. Ryff (1989) critiqued research on SWB for its poor theoretical basis. She found that SWB research was not designed to define the basic structure of psychological well-being. Drawing ideas from Maslow, Jung, Rogers, Allport, Erickson, Buhler, Neurgartens, and Jahoda, Ryff suggested a multidimensional model of PWB that distilled six psychological dimensions of challenged thriving. The six subscales were: Autonomy: it was found that in sustaining individuality within a larger social context, people seek a sense of self-determination and personal authority/autonomy.
Ryff equates autonomy with self-determination, independence, internal locus of control, individuation, and internal regulation of behavior. (b) Environmental mastery: It is the ability to shape their environment so as to meet personal need and desires or to “choose or create environments suitable to his or her psychic conditions” (Ryff, 1989). (c) Positive relations with others: People seek to develop and maintain warm and trusting interpersonal relationship.
Ryff defined positive relations with others as warm, trusting interpersonal relations and strong feelings of empathy and affection. (d) Purpose in life: There is a vital endeavor in persons to find meaning in one’s efforts and challenges. It is the clear comprehension of life’s purpose, a sense of directedness, and intentionality. (e) Personal Growth: Making the most of one’s talents and capacities is central to PWB. Ryff (1989) defined personal growth as the continuing ability to “develop one’s potential, to grow and expand as a person” (p.
1071). (f) Selfacceptance: Ryff maintained that holding positive attitudes toward oneself as a central characteristic of positive psychological functioning. Holistic Wellness Model. Myers, Sweeny, and Witmer (2000) translated many of the wellness theoretical and research concepts in to a Holistic Wellness model. The developmental underpinnings of this model came from the theoretical constructs and empirical research in the field of psychology, anthropology, sociology, religion, education, and behavioral science (Witmer & Sweeny, 1992).
Their original model consisted of 16 dimensions later categorized into five major life tasks based on Adler’s theory of life tasks (Witmer & Sweeny, 1992): (a) spirituality, which is a profound appreciation for life; (b) self-regulation; (c) work, recreation, and leisure (ability to integrate a lifestyle); (d) friendship; and (e) love (recognition of social interdependence). They also developed the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (WEL: Myers, Sweeny & Witmer, 2000).
Using WEL and Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH), Hermon and Hazler (1999) found that there is a significant relationship between the five dimension of wellness and state (affective component) and trait (quality of life) aspects of psychological well-being. A major strength of these two models is that they include a wider range of factors contributing to holistic wellness than other models and provides measurement instrument to assess these factors.