Psychological well-being refers to both a theory and measurement scales designed and advocated primarily by Carol Ryff. In her seminal paper, "Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being." she contrasts this with subjective well-being or hedonic well-being. Ryff attempted to combine different conceptions of well-being from the ancient Greek to the modern psychological such as theories of Individuation from Carl Jung, Self-actualization from Abraham Maslow and others.
Contents
Components
- Self-acceptance
- Personal growth
- Purpose in life
- Environmental mastery
- Autonomy
- Positive relations with others
Heritability
Individual differences in both overall Eudaimonia, identified loosely with self-control and in the facets of eudaimonia are heritable. Evidence from one study supports 5 independent genetic mechanisms underlying the Ryff facets of this trait, leading to a genetic construct of eudaimonia in terms of general self-control, and four subsidiary biological mechanisms enabling the psychological capabilities of purpose, agency, growth, and positive social relations.