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Toward a Resolution of the Tripartite Structure of Subjective Well‐Being
Author(s) -
Busseri Michael A.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/jopy.12116
Subject(s) - psychology , resolution (logic) , social psychology , cognitive psychology , artificial intelligence , computer science
D iener (1984) introduced the concept of “subjective well‐being” ( SWB ) as comprising three primary components: life satisfaction ( LS ), positive affect ( PA ), and negative affect ( NA ). B usseri and S adava (2011) identified multiple competing conceptualizations of the tripartite structure of SWB and delineated problems with this ambiguity with respect to defining, operationalizing, analyzing, and synthesizing information concerning SWB . The present work provides an empirical evaluation of four competing structural approaches in which SWB is conceptualized variously as three separate components (Model 1), a hierarchical construct (Model 2), a causal system (Model 3), and a composite (Model 4). Data from a longitudinal study of middle‐aged Americans (N = 3,707; 20–75 years old, 55% female, 94% Caucasian) were used to examine the relatedness versus independence of the three SWB components within and across time, as well as predictive effects on SWB . The various structural models differ in how adequately they accommodate the joint relatedness/independence of the SWB components and lead to different conclusions concerning predictive effects on SWB . Conceptual and empirical considerations are considered within and across models. Implications and next steps for further understanding the tripartite structure of SWB are discussed.