Ryff and Keyes (1995) investigated this multidimensional model of well-being through a sample that was representative of the United States population. In addition, their study considered the links between three widely held standards of conventional psychology and their own theory-based standards of well-being. These widely held standards (happiness, depression and life satisfaction) have already been discussed above. Ryff and Keyes’ research yielded an outcome that favored their six-dimensional model of well-being.
Their examination of the links between the three popular standards and their own six standards led them to conclude that there are profound relationships between two sets of values. The first closely associated values are self-acceptance and environmental mastery. The second set of values with close associations are single and multi-item scales of happiness, depression and life satisfaction. The other four standards that Ryff proposed, however, had mixed or weak associations with the three popular standards. The Wheel of Wellness: A Holistic Model of Wellness and Prevention.
The concept of the Wheel of Wellness, which offers a new approach to achieving both mental and physical health, was first introduced by Sweeney and Witmer (1991), who based the Wheel on a host of theoretical frameworks from different disciplines. Sweeney and Witmer advocated the Wheel of Wellness as an improvement on the conventional model of health. The traditional model focuses on the eradication of disease, while the Wheel of Wellness’ holistic perspective gives more importance to the promotion of health.
In the framework of this model, wellness is considered to be “a way of life oriented toward optimal health and well-being in which body, mind, and spirit are integrated by the individual to live more fully within the human and natural community” (Myers, Sweeney, & Witmer, 2000, p. 252). There are five specific elements in the Wheel of Wellness: spirituality, work, self-regulation, friendship and love. These five life tasks may be said to be the “spokes” of the Wheel. The first spoke of the Wheel is the life task of work. This includes both the traditional concept of work and the concept of leisure.
The second spoke of the Wheel is self-regulation or self-direction, a complex life task that encompasses twelve subtasks: a sense of worth, a sense of control, emotional awareness and coping, realistic beliefs, a sense of humor, problem solving and creativity, exercise, nutrition, stress management, self-care, gender identity, and cultural identity. These subtasks are interrelated and are key factors that determine an individual’s interactions with external forces such as family, community, government, business, religion, education, and media.
Changes in any one of these tasks of wellness create a ripple effect and cause changes in other tasks of wellness. These changes may be either positive or negative in nature. The Wheel of Wellness has been used by psychologies to aid clients in their self-evaluations of well-being. By assessing how well one has performed in each life task, patients gain a better understanding of themselves, which will aid them in setting new goals in their lifelong journey towards subjective well-being. Theories of Subjective Well-Being There are several theoretical frameworks available to characterize the concept of subjective well-being.
The general tendency for theories is to become more complex and detailed over time. Psychologists had previously concentrated on simply discovering the traits of happy people. Today, this approach has lost favor with researchers. Most studies now concentrate on analyzing the underlying factors that determine a person’s level of life satisfaction and subjective well-being (Diener & Biswas-Diener, 2000). This section of the paper will briefly present some of the contemporary theoretical frameworks on subjective well-being.