The hierarchical structure of well-being.
Theories of hedonic, eudaimonic, and social well-being provide 3 extensively studied models for explaining flourishing mental health. Few studies have examined whether these models can be integrated into a comprehensive structure of well-being. The present study builds upon previous theoretical and empirical work to determine the complex relationships among these 3 models of well-being. Confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used to test a series of models in order to (a) confirm the proposed latent structures of hedonic, eudaimonic, and social well-being and (b) examine whether these models could be successfully integrated into a hierarchical structure of well-being. In 2 large samples, results supported the proposed latent structures of hedonic, eudaimonic, and social well-being and indicated that the various components of well-being could be represented most parsimoniously with 3 oblique second-order constructs of hedonic, eudaimonic, and social well-being.
Gallagher
Matthew W
MW
University of Kansas, Department of Psychology, Fraser 426, Lawrence, KS 66045-7556, USA. mwg@ku.edu
Lopez
Shane J
SJ
Preacher
Kristopher J
KJ
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment