Measuring Subjective Well-Being

SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING SCALE 1
Chapter I
Introduction
Well-being has been well researched by positive psychologists like Ed Deiner and
Martin Seligman . According to the World Health Organization (WHO) “well-being exists in
two dimensions, subjective and objective. It comprises an individual’s experiences of their
life as well as a comparison of life circumstances with social norms and values” (The
Relationship between Well-being and Health, 2014).
According to WHO, mental health is "a state of well-being in which the individual
realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work
productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community"
(WHO, 2014).
Jahoda (1958) developed a positive criterion of mental health giving forth, the
definition of well-being as the absence of illness. He opined that there are three consistent
qualities of well-being. The first quality is that of a positive charge, which implies a positive
concept imbibed by the individual. The second quality of well-being is the holistic outlook.
At the personal level it comprises of the connection between the mind, body and spirit. The
third concept is of the person-centred nature of well-being and that it is his/her own priorities
and perspectives.
A positive sense of well-being is one which enables an individual to be able to
function in society and meet the demands of everyday life; people in good mental health have
the ability to recover effectively from illness, change etc. (Mental Health Foundation, 2010).
The study of well-being and its psychological domains of cognition, emotion and
motivation have led to advancement of two different views. Well-being may be broadly
categorized into psychological well-being and subjective well-being;

Psychological well-being (PWB)
PWB involves perceived thriving in the face of existing challenges of life such as
pursuing meaningful goals, growing and developing as a person and establishing quality ties
to others (Ryff 1989; Ryff and Keyes 1995; Ryff and Singer 2008).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?" The psychological well-being (PWB) is mainly
inclined towards the eudemonic well-being, which means the fulfilment of human potential
and a meaningful life. In other words, psychological well-being refers to people’s evaluations
with respect to social norms and values.
Subjective well-being (SWB)
The subjective well-being (SWB) on the other hand, focuses on the hedonic aspect of
well-being which is the pursuit of happiness and a pleasant life. It usually involves the global
evaluations of affect and life quality (Diener 1984).
Subjective well-being (SWB) is the scientific term for happiness and life satisfaction.
The levels of subjective well-being of individuals are influenced by both internal factors,
such as personality and outlook, and external factors, such as the society in which they live.
Personality appears to be one of the strongest and most consistent predictors of SWB. The
personality traits of extroversion and neuroticism have been granted the most theoretical and
empirical attention, given that extroversion is strongly correlated with SWB and neuroticism
is strongly correlated with negative affect (Costa & McCrae, 1980; Watson & Clark, 1984;
Diener & Lucas, 1999).
Some of the major determinants of subjective well-being are a person’s inborn
temperament, the quality of their social relationships, the societies they live in, and their
ability to meet their basic needs. Over the course of their lives, people adapt to conditions to
some degree, so that over time certain unpredictable circumstances may not influence one’s
happiness as much as one might predict they would. In recent studies, researchers have
examined the outcomes of subjective well-being and have found that “happy” people are
more likely to be healthier and live longer, to have better social relationships, and to be more
productive at work. In other words, people high in subjective well-being seem to be healthier
and function more effectively compared to people who are chronically stressed, depressed, or
angry. Thus, subjective well-being does not just feel good, but it is good for people and for
those around them.
Subjective well-being is often assumed to be restricted to happiness while it is based
on the idea that how each person thinks and feels about his or her life is important. This idea
is developed specifically in a person’s culture. People base their own well-being in relation to
their environment and the lives of others around them. Well-being is also subject to how one
feels other people in their environment perceive them, whether it is in a positive or a negative
light. The subject matter in subjective well-being is the person’s own views of their life and
not the objective nature of it.
According to Ed Diener, an American psychologist, subjective well-being is
multidimensional and includes positive and negative emotions (e.g. the frequency, duration
and intensity of joy, pleasure, happiness but also anger, guilt, fear, depression, sadness), as
well as global life satisfaction, and satisfaction with different aspects of one’s life
(partnership, income, friends). Aspects of good psychological functioning (including feelings
of autonomy, competence and purpose) can also be seen as part of a person’s subjective well-
being.
Components of SWB relating to affect include positive affect (experiencing pleasant
emotions and moods) and negative affect (experiencing unpleasant, distressing emotions and
moods), as well as "overall affect" or "hedonic balance", defined as the overall equilibrium
between positive and negative effect, and usually measured as the difference between the
two.
Subjective well-being measures are designed to capture information about how people
experience their lives. They are essentially based on individuals’ self-reports, and common
measures include questions about whether people feel satisfied, content and fulfilled in their
lives overall, as well as a range of more day-to-day emotions, such as happiness, worry,
depression, and sadness. If applied and interpreted carefully, subjective well-being measures
can play an important role in complementing quality of life measures based on people’s
objective life circumstances. Subjective well-being indicators provide the kind of direct
measure of outcomes that is increasingly seen as a desirable way to evaluate and determine
policy. It is important to distinguish between subjective well-being (i.e., measures of how
people experience their lives), and the more general construct of well-being, which includes
both objective and subjective components. In a broad sense, well-being refers to the quality
of people’s lives. Measures of well-being can include people’s material conditions (such as
income and wealth, jobs, housing etc.) but usually go well beyond this, to include other
outcomes that also matter to people – such as their health, education, environment, personal
safety, social connections, and more. Subjective well-being measures can be a useful
complement too, but not a replacement for, these broader measures of people’s well-being.
Subjective well-being is influenced by the time perspective as well, which refers to an
individual’s orientation towards past, present, or future. The past reminds us of where we
have come from, the present acknowledges our current joys and sorrows, and the future
maintains promises of a continuing tomorrow and motivates us toward yet unrealised
goals.Time perspective is a psychological variable that differentially affects subjective well-
being and functions as a pervading cultural value. The effect of time on subjective well-being
is based on the shared cultural meaning of time. The learned meaning of time is a culturally
determined factor because it creates subconscious conventional social standards and goals
from which to live by. The accomplishment of culturally prescribed goals is positively related
to one’s subjective evaluation of their well-being (Markus & Kityama, 1994).

Culture provides an adaptive organisational framework for the member of any given
culture. Culture consists of social norms, roles, beliefs, values and social norms shared by
cultures. It has been referred to as a system which ensures survival of cultural groups
(Matsumoto, 2000). Culture is learned from older generations such as family, friends as well
as from other external influences such as academic and religious institutions (Ratzlaff,
Matsumoto, Kouznetsova, Raroque, & Ray, 2000).
Triandis, Bontempo, and Leung (1990) identify three levels of culture. Cultural and
demographic levels refer to groups of individuals who share different geographical
characteristics. The individual level reflects individual variation which may or may not have
shared cultural level differences. The individual level is useful in identifying heterogeneity
and homogeneity among people within the same culture. Changes in values at the individual
level are part of the process of acculturation. Time perspective is an individual level value
which differences across cultures and among members of the same culture. The acculturative
changes that occur at the individual level have implications for positive or negative
psychological well-being (Berry, 1994).
Subjective well-being has a multitude of factors influencing it. Although twin studies
have implicated genetic determinants of SWB, the major factors that influence SWB are
environmental, situational and cultural factors which have evidence through Diener’s studies.
SWB has been noted to differ substantially between the richest and poorest nation, which
refers to the factor of socio-economic status (SES). SWB also varies between the young and
old age, as perceptions change as one grows older and gains experiences. Overall, Diener
says that there are certain universal factors that impact subjective well-being such as social
relationships, positive emotions and such; while there are certain other individual factors that
are specific to people which apply uniquely to them (Ed & Larsen, 2008).
Numerous surveys done among varied parts of the world reveal that happiness is one
of the major goals in the life of human beings. A 2005 study showed that happy people are
more successful, social, active, and altruistic. They also have better conflict-resolution skills,
have strong immune systems andcan engage in creative thinking as a result of pleasant
moods. There is a wide range of differences in the predictors of SWB across nations based on
the income, individualism, human rights, etc. Studies have found that in poorer countries
financial satisfaction played the role of a major predictor of SWB, while in individualistic
nations emotions experienced by the people, self-esteem and such were the stronger
predictors of SWB.
The study of subjective well-being has also been of great interest for the government
and policy makers (Eid & Larsen, 2008). Subjective well-being is the central element of
quality of life and therefore helpful in informing policy making. It is relevant to have an
understanding of the well-being of citizens of a nation and their quality of living. For people
with better subjective well-being, live longer, are creative, contribute more to the country and
the government and are hence better citizens. Thus, it helps in choosing appropriate policy
makers who would do justice to their roles. In order to increase the clarity of the role of SWB
in public policy, Dolan, Layard, and Metcalfe (2011) distinguished three broad types of SWB
measures: (1) Evaluation – global assessments; (2) Experience – feelings over short periods
of time; and (3) Eudemonic – reports of purpose and meaning. These different types of SWB
measures correspond to different policy purposes, and could serve as a valuable tool in
informing the design of public policy in a particular country. For example, evidence shows
that life satisfaction measured with SWB measures is correlated with income, employment
status, marital status, health, personal characteristics, and major life events (Eid & Larsen,
2008, Dolan et al., 2011).
Theoretical Framework
Empirical research focusing on the field of subjective well-being has yielded two
theoretical frameworks that leans towards the establishment of a general theory of subjective
well-being: the PERMA Model by Martin Seligman (2011) and the 3P Model by Adoree
Durayappah(2010).There is no consensus around a single definition of well-being, but there
is general agreement that at minimum, well-being includes the presence of positive emotions
and moods (e.g., contentment, happiness), the absence of negative emotions (e.g., depression,
anxiety), and satisfaction with life, fulfilment and positive functioning. In simple terms, well-
being can be described as judging life positively and feeling good.
PERMA Model of Well-being by Martin Seligman (2011)
The PERMA model follows from the original Theory of Authentic Happiness
(Seligman, 2002). It states that happiness can be analysed on the basis of three different
elements namely positive emotion, engagement, and meaning.
Maymin criticized this theory saying– “The 2002 theory in the book Authentic
Happiness, is supposed to be a theory of what humans choose, but it has a huge hole in it: it
omits success and mastery. People try to achieve just for winning’s own sake,” (Martin
Seligman, 2011). This led Seligman to propose a structured framework model called the
PERMA Model, where P stands for Positive Emotions, E stands for Engagement, R stands for
Relationships, M stands for Meaning, and A stands for Accomplishment.
The goal of the new theory of Seligman was to increase flourishing in individuals by
increasing positive emotion, engagement, positive relationships, meaning and
accomplishment.
Seligman described five components that are present in those who say they are happy;
no one element defines well-being, but each contributes to it. Some aspects of these five
elements are measured subjectively by self-report, but other aspects are measured objectively.
The five components of PERMA model. The following are the five
components of the PERMA Model.
Positive Emotions. This element is said to be achieved through a heightened
experience of positive emotions with regard to the past, present and future. Being able to
focus on positive emotions is the ability to be optimistic and view the past, present, and future
in a positive perspective. This positive view of life can help us in relationships, work, and
inspire us to be more creative and take more chances. There are also many health benefits to
optimism and positivity. Individuals with high positive emotions are more likely to persevere
in the face of challenges, and spontaneously search for more creative solutions and
opportunities.
Engagement. This element refers to an increasing number of optimal experiences of
moments of flow through the use of personal strengths. Over a long period that individuals
who engage themselves in activities have a better chance at learning, growing and nurturing
their happiness. Each individual is unique and finds pleasure in different things. Individuals
participate in activities which are stimulating to them, which absorbs them into the present
moment, and helps them to immerse themselves in the task. This immersion is important to
challenge the intelligence, skills and emotional capabilities of the individuals, which in turn
helps them to grow.
Relationships. This refers to dedicating time to nourish relationships to have an
increased the feeling of support and company. This directly increases the perception of well-
being. One of the most important aspects of life is social connections and relationships.
Humans are known as social animals and seem to thrive on connection, love, intimacy and
find emotional support in emotional and physical interactions with other humans. Building
positive relationships with parents, siblings, peers, and friends is important to spread love and
joy. Strong relationships are also shown to have a positive effect on subjective well-being.
Meaning. This refers to the perception of meaning in life and working on goals that
transcend the self. An important distinction is to be made between purpose and meaning in
life. Purpose refers to having, as well as reaching objectives, while meaning is related to the
place and function we have on earth (Seligman, 2011). Sometimes people want instant
gratification, but most of the times individuals look for a purpose and meaning as to why
living a life is important. This importance gains its meaning through living a life of happiness
and fulfilment. To most people, there exists a reason beyond material wealth and physical
pleasure which helps them maintain a state of balance throughout and motivates them to fulfil
their purpose in life.

Accomplishment. Accomplishment is achieved through establishing and reaching
goals that motivate us. Seligman’s conceptualization of accomplishment is also sometimes
referred to as Achievement. Ambitions and goals help individuals achieve things which give
them a sense of accomplishment. Accomplishments are important to push the individual to
thrive and flourish.It helps to build self-esteem and provides a sense of achievement. It also
strengthens self-belief (Seligman, 2011).
Conceptual and Operational Definitions
Positive
Emotions
Achievement Engagement
Subjective
Well-Being
Meaning Relationships
Subjective Well-Being “Subjective well-being is a broad category of phenomena that
includes people’s emotional responses, domain specific satisfactions and global judgements
of life” (Seiner, Lucas, Such and Smith, 1999).
Positive Emotions Positive emotions can be referred to simply as feeling good or
pleasant feelings for a relatively long period of time. The terms such as fun, enjoyment, and
pleasure, come under the umbrella term of positive emotions.
Engagement "Engagement refers to a deep psychological connection, for example,
being interested, engaged and absorbed to a particular activity, organization, or cause" (Khaw
and Kern, 2015). Engagement can be with any aspect of life that makes one feel good.
Relationships “Relationships include feelings of integration with society or a
community, feelings of being cared for by loved ones, and being satisfied with one’s social
network.” (Khaw & Kern, 2015). Connection with people in terms of support, kindness,
caring, and cooperation, contribute to enhanced physical health as well as they predict
emotional well-being and growth (Catalino and Fredrickson 2011).
Meaning Meaning of life can be conceptualized as meeting four basic needs: purpose,
efficacy or control, value and justification, and self-worth (Baumeister, 1991). By having
better understanding of the relationship between meaning in life and subjective well-being a
person can achieve a greater sense of happiness and satisfaction in life.
Accomplishment Accomplishment, often referred to as ‘Achievement’, can be
referred to as reaching a desired goal by pursuing it. The idea of accomplishment is
subjective. Its meaning will be different for different people depending on the role in life,
personality, interest and even culture.
Rationale of the Study
Deiner, Lucas, Suh and Smith (1999) suggests that in collectivist cultures, the central
goal of a human being is to have a sense of belongingness rather than to distinguish
himself/herself from others. On the other hand, individualistic cultures are characterized by
individualism. It refers to the prioritization of, or emphasis on individuals over the entire
group. Most of the SWB measures aim at the western societies which are individualistic in
nature. Thus, the aim of developing a scale on subjective well-being in the Indian context, is
to measure the characteristics and needs of a collectivistic society, which takes into
consideration the identification with a group mentality.
In general, people’s own views about their lives, and the quality of their day-to-day
experiences, can play an important part in building up a picture of the well-being of the
population. There are several reasons why it can be helpful to use subjective well-being as a
complement to other more objective measures of life circumstances.

Progression towards the western culture and adaption of it in the Indian Context has
brought about several changes in not only lifestyle but also state of mind and emotional well-
being of the population. There are several scales on subjective well-being as a primary
concept; however, most of them were developed before circa 2000. The recent scales which
were developed were not studied in the Indian context, which is a collectivistic culture. This
gives scope to study the well-being of people in the Indian context.
People’s feelings about life, and their emotional states, can be seen as intrinsically
important for their quality of life. Someone who is deeply unsatisfied with their life, or who
feels that their life has no meaning or purpose, is unlikely to be viewed as having balance
subjective well-being. It is also clear that people regard subjective well-being as an important
outcome in its own right.
Subjective well-being measures seem to be able to capture aspects of life,that other
more conventional economic indicators can fail to highlight. For example, the importance of
mental health, the quality of a person’s relationships, and so on. Life satisfaction has also
been shown to help to explain the choices people make about moving between countries, over
and above the economic factors that drive migration, such as GDP per capita.
There is evidence to suggest that low subjective well-being can be a precursor to other
issues and problems in people’s lives, while high levels of subjective well-being have been
associated with a range of positive life outcomes. Subjective well-being has been
prospectively linked to objective well-being outcomes in fields such as health, experiences of
work, and aspects of social connections – as reviewed by De Neve, Diener, Tay and Xuereb
(2013); Diener and Chan (2011); Lyubomirsky, King and Diener (2005); and Pressman and
Cohen (2005).Khaw and Kern’s (2015) study on the cross cultural comparison of the
PERMA Model of well-being revealed that the PERMA Model did not apply as a five factor
model to the Malaysian culture as it applied to the US culture. A three factor model was then
found to be more applicable to the Malaysian culture than the proposed five factor model.
The three factors were positive emotions, engagement and accomplishment.

The PERMA Profiler was developed and validated by Butler & Kern (2014) for the
purpose of comprehensive measurement of the PERMA components. It measures the
PERMA as separate but correlated constructs. Although the PERMA Profiler has
demonstrated reliability and validity across a large international sample, how the measure
functions in specific cultures needs to be studied between individual countries (Khaw& Kern,
2014).Fiske (2002) opined that various aspects of the culture should be considered while
characterizing and contrasting cultures.
This scale is developed specifically for the Indian population, considering the cultural
and various other situational factors that could possibly influence subjective well-being.
Chapter II
Review of Literature
This chapter examines the review of related literature on Subjective well-being
(SWB). The chapter includes studies that support as well as contradict findings related to
subjective well-being have been discussed.
Diener, Diener, and Diener (2017) conducted a study on factors predicting the
subjective well-being of nations. Subjective well-being (SWB) of 55 nations was reported in
probability surveys and a large college student sample, was correlated with social, economic,
and cultural characteristics of the nations. The SWB surveys, representing nations that
include three fourths of the earth's population, showed strong convergence. Separate
measures of the predictor variables also converged and formed scales with high reliability,
with the exception of the comparison variables. High income, individualism, human rights,
and societal equality correlated strongly with each other and with SWB across surveys.
Income correlated with SWB even after basic need fulfilment was controlled. Only
individualism persistently correlated with SWB when other predictors were controlled.
Cultural homogeneity, income growth, and income comparison showed either low or
inconsistent relations with SWB.
An exploratory study was conducted by Zaidi (2016) to “determine whether the
participants’ understanding of happiness mirrored the five pathways of the PERMA model”
(Zaidi, 2016). The study was conducted in 54 Muslim Emirati nationals who were aged
between 16 and 31. The respondents were made to answer the questions like “What makes
you happier?” and “What does happiness mean to you?” and the responses were analysed by
the authors. The finding revealed that the majority of the respondents used relationship as the
pathway to happiness. The findings of the study suggested that preference of other factors
was in the order of positive emotions, accomplishment, meaning and engagement
respectively as means of happiness.

In a study conducted by Satici (2016), the mediating role of hope on the association
between psychological vulnerability, resilience, and subjective well-being was examined. The
sample was based on 332 undergraduates from two universities in Turkey. For the purpose of
data collection Psychological Vulnerability Scale, the Brief Resilience Scale, the
Dispositional Hope Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Positive and Negative
Affect Schedule (PANAS) were used. Results showed that hope fully mediated the impact of
resilience on subjective well-being and that hope partially mediated the impact of resilience
on subjective well-being. In addition, the findings show significant links from psychological
vulnerability and resilience to subjective well-being through hope.
Plagno (2016) conducted a study to explore whether personality traits moderately
relate between social comparison on Facebook and subjective well-being, measured as both
life satisfaction and eudemonic well-being. Data were collected via an online questionnaire
which measured Facebook use, social comparison behaviour and personality traits for 337
respondents. The results showed positive associations between Facebook intensity and both
measures of subjective well-being, and negative associations between Facebook social
comparison and both measures of subjective well-being. Personality traits were assessed
through reinforcement personality theory questionnaire showed that Reward Interest was
positively associated with eudemonic well-being, and Goal-Drive Persistence was positively
associated with both measures of subjective well-being. Impulsivity was negatively
associated with eudemonic well-being and the Behavioural Inhibition System was negatively
associated with both measures of subjective well-being. Interactions between personality
traits and social comparison on Facebook indicated that for respondents with high Goal-Drive
Persistence, it (Facebook social comparison) had a positive association with eudemonic well-
being, thus it confirms that some personality traits moderate the association between
Facebook social comparison and subjective well-being. The results highlight how individual
differences in personality may impact how social comparison on Facebook affects
individuals’ subjective well-being.

Tian, Zhao and Huebner (2015) conducted a studyon School-related social support
and subjective well-being in school among adolescents. The study aimed to examine a
moderated mediation model that would explain the link between school-related social support
(i.e., teacher support and classmate support) and optimal subjective well-being in school
among adolescents. The sample consisted of 1316 school going adolescents. Analyses
confirmed the hypothesized model that scholastic competence partially mediated the relations
between school-related social support and subjective well-being in school, and social
acceptance moderated the mediation process in the school-related social support; subjective
well-being in school path and in the scholastic competence subjective well-being in school
path. The results suggested that both social contextual factors and self-system factors are
crucial for adolescents’ optimal subjective well-being in school.
Bajaj and Pande (2015) in their research, attempted to investigate the potential
mediating role of resilience in the impact of mindfulness on life satisfaction and affect as
indices of subjective well-being. The sample included 327 undergraduate university students
in India. Data was collected by administering the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale
(MAAS), Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), the Satisfaction with Life Scale
(SWLS) and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) on the students. Structural
equation modelling (SEM) results showed that resilience partially mediated the relationship
between mindfulness and life satisfaction and affect. The findings further suggest that
resilience exerts an important influence on mindfulness. This study makes a contribution to
the potential mechanism of the association between mindfulness and subjective well-being.
Kern, Waters, Adler, and White (2014) conducted a study on a multidimensional
approach to measuring well-being in students by applying PERMA framework. Seligman
introduced the PERMA model with five core elements of psychological well-being: positive
emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. The study aimed at
empirically testing these multidimensional theories on 516 Australian male students aged 13–
18. After doing an extensive well-being assessment, they selected a subset of items
theoretically relevant to PERMA. They used factor analyses and recovered four of the five
PERMA elements, and two ill-being factors (depression and anxiety). Then they explored the
nomological net surrounding each factor by examining cross-sectional associations with
aspects like life satisfaction, hope, gratitude, school engagement, growth mind set,
spirituality, physical vitality, physical activity, somatic symptoms, and stressful life events.
Findings show that factors differentially related to these correlates, offering support for the
multidimensional approach to measuring well-being. This study concluded stating that
directly assessing subjective well-being across multiple domains offers the potential for
schools to more systematically understand and promote well-being.
Montasem, Brown, and Harris (2014) conducted a study on subjective well-being in
dentists: the role of intrinsic aspirations. It was an approach to find one’s ideas using self-
determination theory associated with both professional and the subjective well-being. The
sample of 583 dentists in England provided data on the subjective importance of their
intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations and their perceived likelihood of achieving those
aspirations. The findings showed the perceived likelihood of achieving intrinsic aspirations
was uniquely related to job life satisfaction and positive affect, and the perceived likelihood
of achieving extrinsic aspirations was uniquely related to life satisfaction. No aspiration
variables significantly predicted negative affect.
Anic and Toncic (2013) conducted a study to compare subjective well-being, life
goals and self-control of people with different profiles of orientations to happiness. The study
was conducted on 484 female students and 278 male students who were grouped into four:
students who highly endorse hedonic and eudemonic orientation, those who do not endorse
either of them, those who live eudemonic and those who live hedonic life. The research found
that people who live a full life are the happiest, while those who lead empty life have low
wellbeing and they value extrinsic and intrinsic life goals less than other people and have low
self-control.
Bradshow, Martorano, Natali, De Neubourg, (2013) conducted a study on Children’s

subjective wellbeing in rich countries. This paper is based on background information
collected through UNICEF on child well-being in rich countries. There were several
indicators drawn from the Health behaviour of school aged children (HBSC) this included
life satisfaction, relationships with family and friends, well-being at school, subjective health.
This gave rise to a new domain index of subjective well-being. Changed during the last
decades between 2001/2002- 2009/2010 were analysed. Further they explored the
relationship between subjective well-being and structural indicators. They concluded saying
that subjective wellbeing should be included in comparative studied of well- being but not
necessarily as just another domain with in a general deprivation count. Subjective well-being
is related to but not a part of child deprivation.
Santos, Magramo Jr., Oguan Jr., Paat and Barnachea (2012) conducted a research on
meaning in life and subjective well-being. The aim of the study was to determine the
relationship of meaning in life and subjective well-being among Filipino college students in
both private and public institutions. The hypothesis of the study stated that meaning in life
and subjective well-being has a positive relationship. Three measures, namely, the Meaning
in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Positive Affect
and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) were administered to 969 college students in
different schools in the Philippines. They used descriptive-predictive design to measure the
correlations between the variables. The Pearson Correlation was used to assess the
relationship of meaning in life and subjective well-being. Results of the study show that
meaning in life and subjective well-being has a positive relationship. A better understanding
of the relationship between meaning in life and subjective well-being has implications
relative to developing and/or achieving a greater sense of happiness and satisfaction in living.
This could be developed by tapping emotional resources to diminish negative affective
conditions and optimizing meaningful life situations.
A study by Cramm (2012) study used multi-level regression analysis to identify
individual- and neighbourhood-level factors that figure out individual-level subjective well-
being in Rhini, a deprived suburb of Graham’s town in the Eastern Cape province of South
Africa. The Townsend index and Gini coefficient were used to investigate neighbourhood-
level differences in socioeconomic status determined individual-level subjective well-being.
Crime experience, health status, social capital, and demographic variables were assessed at
the individual level. The indicators of subjective well-being were estimated with a two-level
random-intercepts and fixed slopes model. Social capital, health and marital status
(all p < .001), followed by income level (p < .01) and the Townsend score (p < .05) were
significantly related to individual-level subjective well-being outcomes. Result showed that
individual-level subjective well-being is influenced by neighbourhood-level socioeconomic
status as measured by the Townsend deprivation score. Individuals reported higher levels of
subjective well-being in less deprived neighbourhoods. It wishes to highlight the role of
context for subjective well-being, and to suggest that subjective well-being outcomes may
also be defined in ecological terms. Findings are useful for implementing programs and
interventions designed to achieve greater subjective well-being for people living in deprived
areas.
Doğan, Sapmaz, and Tenizel (2012) conducted a study on Meaning in Life and
Subjective Well-Being among Turkish University Students. The study investigated the
relationship between meaning in life and subjective well-being. It was done on 232 university
students out of which 171 were females and 61 males. The positive-negative affect scale and
the meaning in life questionnaire were used for data collection. Pearson correlation
coefficients and multiple regression analysis were used in data analysis. The results showed
that the presence of meaning in life and search for meaning in life significantly predicted
subjective well-being. According to the findings, meaning in life accounts for 34% of the
variance within subjective well-being.
Stumblingbear-Riddle and Romans’ (2012) study, the role of culture, self-esteem,
subjective well-being, and social support in resilience among the urban American-Indian
adolescents were explored. 196 American-Indian (AI) adolescent participants were taken to
study the effects of enculturation, self-esteem, subjective well-being and social support on
resilience. The age range of the sample was 14-18 years. 58.2 % of the sample was females
and 41.8 % were males. 34 % of the variance in resilience was contributed by enculturation,
subjective well-being, and social support. However, the results showed that social support
from friends was the strongest predictor of resilience.
Shrira, Palgi, Ben-Ezra and Shmotkin (2011) conducted a research to study the
interaction between subjective well-being and meaning in life in the hostile world. The aim of
the study was to investigate the interaction between subjective well-being (SWB) and
meaning in life (MIL) self-perceptions of actual or potential threats to one's physical and
mental integrity, hereby defined as the hostile-world scenario (HWS). Study 1 (N = 608)
showed that the relationship between SWB and MIL strengthened as the HWS increased.
Study 2 (N = 1665) similarly showed that SWB and MIL were strongly linked as lifetime
cumulative adversity, the ultimate realization of the HWS, increased. Study 2 further showed
that when one construct (whether SWB or MIL) was low, the other construct acted as a
moderator of the effect of cumulative adversity on functioning. In conclusion, although SWB
and MIL are more strongly linked under adverse circumstances, they are likely to compensate
for each other, perhaps due to their unique operations.
Wei, Yu-Hsin, Ku, Shaffer (2011) conducted a study that examined whether the
association between attachment anxiety and subjective well-being was mediated by Neff's
concept of self-compassion and also examined empathy toward others as a mediator in the
association between attachment avoidance and subjective well-being. The first study was
conducted 195 college students completed self-report surveys and the second Study was
conducted 136 community adults provided a cross-validation of the results. The Result
revealed that self-compassion enhanced the association between attachment anxiety and
subjective well-being, and emotional empathy toward others mediated the association
between attachment avoidance and subjective well-being.
Anne-Marie and Sinder (2011) conducted a study in on youth suicide, subjective

well-being and the role of place in New Zealand. The purpose of this study is to document
major shifts in social structure over the last 50 years which has been a switch in the relative
well-being positions of young and old. The purpose of this study is to document this change
and explore it .findings were not only does dissatisfaction with life (unhappiness and other
measures of subjective well-being)rise as teenagers approach adulthood, but that it peaks in
the 30s and declines slowly thereafter in a pattern reflective of the prevailing pattern of
suicide.
Schueller and Seligman (2010) investigated the relationship between the pursuit of
pleasure, engagement, meaning and measures of subjective and objective well-being. The
study was conducted on 13,565 participants who were asked to complete a measure about
their orientation towards pleasure, engagement and meaning as a pathway to happiness. They
also completed measures of objective well-being (OWB) and subjective well-being (SWB).
The correlation between pursuit of each of these pathways and well-being were explored.
Although all the three pathways were highly correlated with the SWB, pursuing engagement
and meaning were strongly correlated with SWB than pursuing pleasure. The study
concluded that although the results were merely correlational, engagement and meaning have
stronger influences than pleasure on well-being.
Joyce (2008) conducted a study on Promoting Subjective Well-Being at work. The
study aimed at showing if subjective well-being was directly related to greater work
performance. The sample consisted of the researchers and practitioners. The finding showed
the relationship between subjective well-being and work performance, even though there was
debate over the causality of that relationship (i.e., does subjective well-being cause higher
work performance or does greater work performance lead to subjective well-being).
Regardless, researchers and practitioners have agreed that having employees who are
productive and have high subjective well-being is valuable. The purpose of this article is to
review research in this area and to discuss strategies for promoting well-being at the
workplace.
Froh, Sefick, and Emmons (2007) studied that the effects of a grateful outlook on
subjective well-being and other outcomes of positive psychological functioning. The study
was conducted on 221 early teenagers. Eleven classes were randomly assigned to a gratitude,
hassles, or control condition. The Results showed that counting blessings was associated with
self-reported gratitude, life satisfaction, and the outcomes have decreased negative affect.
Ben-Zur (2003) conducted a study on associations of personal and parental factors
with subjective well-being in adolescents on the basis of 2 studies. The first study included 97
university students and 185 adolescents who measuring perceived mastery, dispositional
optimism, and affect used as a measure of SWB. The statistical analysis showed mastery and
optimism to be negatively associated with negative affect and positively associated with
positive affect. The second study sample was conducted in 121 adolescents and their parents
and completed questionnaires measuring mastery, optimism. The Result shows that Positive
correlations were found between the adolescents and their parents SWB, but no significant
associations were observed between adolescents' and parents' mastery and optimism. In
addition adolescents' mastery and optimism were related to positive relationships with
parents.
In a study done by Ahuvia (2002) the relationship between consumption and
subjective well-being was explored. Previous research has revealed that SWB scores are
significantly higher for people in rich countries than people in poor countries. This research
evidence meant that there was a strong link between consumption and SWB. However, above
the level at which basic needs were met, this link between consumption and SWB did not
hold well when individuals within the same country were compared. Thus, excluding the
cases in which basic needs were not met, consumption did not significantly have an impact
on SWB within a country. The researcher suggested that economic development by building
an individualistic culture that encourages individuals to pursue personal happiness rather than
meet social obligations would lead to higher levels of national average of SWB. In
conclusion, it depends on the cultural values of the person making the judgment whether the
suggested way would be a positive social development.
In another study conducted by Pinquart and Sorenson (2000), meta-analysis was used
to synthesise the findings from the sample i.e., 286 empirical studies. The elaborative study
drew an association between Socio-Economic Status (SES), Social Network, Competence
and Subjective Well-being. The results indicated that SES, Social Network and Competence
positively correlated with Subjective Well-being. It was observed in the study that Income
(SES) correlated more strongly with Subjective Well-being than Education did. With respect
to Social Contacts, it was concluded from the results that the quality of social contacts
effected subjective well-being positively when compared to the quantity of social contacts.
Diener, Gohm, Suh and Oishi (2000) conducted a study in which similarities were
found between marital status and subjective well-being. The sample of 59169 was drawn
from over 40 nations in the world. In terms of life satisfaction, people who were married
scored higher than those who cohabited in collectivist nations. Positive Emotions depended
on whether the nations were collectivist or individualist. Collectivist nations scored
comparatively lower in positive emotions than individualist nations. The nations which had a
higher tolerance for divorce scored higher in negative emotions. The authors of this study
concluded that cultural variables played a small effect. It was concluded from the results that
relationship between marital status and SWB are similar across the world.
Diener, Lucas, Smith and Suh (1999) gave elaborate discussion on modern theories
that define SWB in terms of personality, goals, adaptation and coping strategies. It was seen
that high aspirations lead to lower happiness because of the discrepancy between the current
position and the goal position of the individual. At the same time, people who have high
aspirations but making adequate progress are satisfied. It is not the achievement of the goal,
but the rate of progress in attaining the goal which is more related to SWB. Another finding
related to achievement and SWB is that possibility of attaining intrinsic motivations
contributed to subjective wellbeing whereas the possibility of achieving extrinsic motivation
hampered SWB.
Fredrickson and Levenson (1998) did two studies which tested the hypothesis that
certain positive emotions speed recovery from the cardiovascular sequelae of negative
emotions. In the first study, 60 subjects viewed an initial fear-eliciting film, and were
randomly assigned to view a secondary film that elicited emotions such as contentment,
amusement, neutrality or sadness. Compared to initial study who viewed the neutral and sad
secondary films, those who viewed the positive films exhibited more rapid returns to pre-film
levels of cardiovascular activation. In second study, 72 subjects viewed a film known to elicit
sadness. Fifty subjects spontaneously smiled at least once while viewing this film. Compared
to subjects who did not smile, those who smiled exhibited more rapid returns to pre-film
levels of cardiovascular activation. The finding suggests that positive emotions shorten the
duration of cardiovascular arousal produced by negative emotions suggests a potential for
lessening the exposure of the cardiovascular system to these damaging effects. It is likely that
positive emotions function to provide a momentary interruption in emerging
pathophysiological processes which slows the incremental progression toward disease, and
thus function in the promotion of health.
Another study conducted by Diener, Sandvik, Seidlitz, and Diener (1993) was based
on the idea that impact of income or other resources depends on changeable standards such as
those derived from expectancies, habituation levels, and social comparisons. Two studies
which empirically examine these positions are presented in which modest but significant
correlations were found in the U.S. with income and well-being, but the cross-country
correlations were larger. No evidence for the influence of relative standards on income was
found: (1) Income change did not produce effects beyond the effect of income level per se,
(2) African-Americans and the poorly educated did not derive greater happiness from specific
levels of income, (3) Income produced the same levels of happiness in poorer and richer areas
of the U.S., and (4) Affluence correlated with subjective well-being both across countries and
within the U.S. Income appeared to produce lesser increases in subjective well-being at
higher income levels in the U.S., but this pattern was not evident across countries. Conceptual
and empirical questions about the universe needs position are noted.
Heady, Veenhoven and Wearing (1991) tried to understand the causal direction
between subjective wellbeing and six domain satisfactions-marriage, work, leisure, standard
of living, friendship and health. “Bottom-up causation is where particular variables cause
SWB and top-down causation is where SWB produces certain outcomes.” (Heady,
Veenhoven, Wearing, 1991). It was found that marriage and SWB have two-way causation,
work, leisure and standard of living have top-down causation and relationship of health
satisfaction and friendship with SWB appear to be superficial.
Zautra and Hempel (1984) conducted a study on Subjective Well-Being and Physical
Health. The study reviewed the findings of eighty-one studies that have tested the relationship
between health status and subjective well-being. Support was found for an association
between health and well-being, although the source and extent of that relationship could not
be clearly delineated given the numerous measurement problems and methodological
inconsistencies found among the studies. The result showed that objective indices of health
tended to have lower correlations with subjective well-being than with self-reports,
suggesting that various report biases may account for some, but probably not all, of the
relationships obtained. Problems in study design and health measurements were noted.
Starc, Ramovš and Ramovš (n.d.) conducted a study on satisfaction and happiness in
relation to the achievement of life purpose in people of fifty years or more in Slovenia. 1047
people were interviewed and the questionnaire 'the standpoints, needs and potentials of
Slovenian population aged 50+' was administered. 70% of the participants were reported to
be satisfied, 49.2% were happy, 44.3% were satisfied and happy and 25.7% reported to be
satisfied, but not happy. Around half of the happy and satisfied participants reported to have
achieved their life purpose whereas the majority of the satisfied but not happy claimed to be
have partially achieved their life purpose.
From the existing review of literature it was found that well-being, and particularly
subjective well-being, is a recently trending area of interest as seen from the vast researches
and studies conducted on it. This may be due to the fact that from the inception of
globalisation, people have become more aware of the state of well-being, in terms of their
positive emotional experiences. However, since subjective well-being is an individual’s
evaluation of his/her experiences in varied situations, it is influenced to some extent by
cultural differences. Therefore, our scale on subjective well-being follows the PERMA
Model as proposed by Martin Seligman, and focuses on the cultural influence on subjective
well-being in the Indian context.

Chapter III
Methodology
Aim
To develop a scale to measure the subjective well-being of young adults.
Objectives
1. To develop a scale on subjective well-being following the tenets and steps of
Psychometric Scale Development;
2. To construct a theoretical framework for developing a psychometric scale identifying
the manifest and latent constructs with the domains under which it can be studied;
3. To develop a pool of items for completing the process of Item Generation;
4. To follow the rigour of Item Analysis constituting Phase 1 of Exploratory Factor
Analysis establishing inter item reliability and factor loadings;
5. To perform Confirmatory Factor Analysis (Phase 2) and establish the factor structure
confirming the theoretical framework;
6. To establish a relationship between the manifest and latent variables identified in the
theoretical framework;
7. To establish the reliability, validity and norms of the scale being developed.
Sampling Design
The sample of the present study was chosen from all over India. The age group ranges
from 20 to 40 (Papalia, Olds and Feldman, 2004) year old, including young adults. For the
pilot study the proposed sample was 300, and the sample for the final study was 316.
Inclusion Criteria
1. Young adults (aged 20 - 40 years)
2. Indian Citizen
3. Literates who can read and write English.

Exclusion Criteria
1. Indians who are living abroad or overseas.
2. Foreigners living in India.
3. Physically and mentally disabled individuals.
Sampling Method
Purposive and Snowball sampling methods which are types of non-probability
sampling have been employed for the purpose of data collection. Purposive sampling, also
known as judgmental sampling, is a type of non-probability sampling technique. This non-
probability sampling method is one where the researcher relies on his or her own judgment
when choosing members of population to participate in the study. Purposive sampling
techniques involve selecting certain units or cases “based on a specific purpose rather than
randomly” (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 2003).
The development of this scale on subjective well-being, is based on non-probability
sampling techniques as the alternative use of probability sampling is not considered due to
limited time and resources. Therefore, the samples are selected on the basis of knowledge,
connection, and judgment of the researchers.
In addition, the snowball sampling method was used as a non-probability technique of
sampling where existing study subjects recruit future subjects from among their
acquaintances. This sampling method involves primary data sources nominating another
potential primary data sources to be used as part of the representative sample. In other words,
snowball sampling method is based on referrals from initial subjects to generate additional
subjects.
Procedure
The core project team discussed and brainstormed on the topic of Well-being. With
the help of the technique of focus group discussion, extensive literature review and expert
guidance, the team finalized the topic for the purpose of scale development as ‘Subjective
Well-being’.
Construct definition and content domains
For the purpose of the present study, subjective well-being (SWB) has been selected
as the construct, with five domains including: Positive Emotions, Engagement, Relationships,
Meaning, and Accomplishments.
Subjective Well-Being. Subjective well-being explains the way people evaluate their
lives. According to Ed Deiner, an American psychologist, subjective well-being is
multidimensional and includes positive and negative emotions (e.g. the frequency, duration
and intensity of joy, pleasure, happiness but also anger, guilt, fear, depression, sadness), as
well as global life satisfaction, and satisfaction with different aspects of one’s life
(partnership, income, friends). Aspects of good psychological functioning (including feelings
of autonomy, competence and purpose) can also be seen as part of a person’s subjective well-
being.
Positive emotions. Positive emotions can be referred to simply as feeling good or
pleasant feelings for a relatively long period of time. Positive emotions are experienced and
achieved through a heightened experience of positive emotions with regards to the past,
present and future.
Engagement. Engagement may be defined as developing an increasing number of
optimal experiences of moments of flow through the use of personal strengths.Over a long
period that individuals who engage themselves in activities have a better chance at learning,
growing and nurturing their happiness. Individuals find it stimulating to participate in
activities which help them ‘live the moment’ or absorbs them into the present moment,
immersing themselves in the task. This immersion is important to challenge the intelligence,
skills and emotional capabilities of the individuals that help them grow.
Relationships. Dedicating time to nourish relationships increases the feeling of
support and company which directly increases the perception of well-being. One of the most
important aspects of life is social connections ad relationships.Building positive relationships
with parents, siblings, peers, and friends are important to spread love and joy. Strong
relationships are also shown to have a positive effect on well-being.
Meaning. Meaning refers to the perception of meaning in life and working on goals
that transcend the self. An important distinction is to be made between purpose and meaning
in life, purpose referring to having and reaching objectives while meaning is related to the
place and function we have on earth. To most people, there exists a reason beyond material
wealth and physical pleasure which helps them maintain a state of balance throughout and
motivates them to fulfil their purpose in life.
Accomplishment. Accomplishment is also interchangeably referred to as
“Achievement”. It refers to establishing and reaching goals that motivate us. Ambitions and
goals help individuals achieve things which give a sense of accomplishment. Making realistic
goals is ideal as they can be met by putting in the effort to achieve goals that can give
satisfaction when achieved. Individuals experience pride and fulfilment as the goal is
reached.Accomplishments are important to push the individual to thrive and flourish.
Generating and judging items.
Item writing was done based on prior groundwork from the theoretical base. Every
domain of the construct was taken up by the few members of the core project team. Members
among themselves brainstormed about possible statements and came up with the items for the
initial pool of items. The whole group again discussed together about the items of
everydomain. The ambiguous and inadequate statements were omitted. This was followed by
face validity of the items, which was judged by a panel of teachers. Consequently, items for
the first pilot study were finalised, with an item pool of 40 items.
Designing and conducting studies.
Pilot Study – Phase 1. After the finalising of the items in each domain, the process of
the first pilot study was initiated. Google forms and hard copies of the forms were created.
They were distributed in the samples of age 20 – 40 years. Purposive sampling and snowball
sampling was used to generate the sample from the population. The first pilot study included
a proposed sample of 300, where the obtained sample was 320.
Reliability Analysis. The Cronbach’s Alpha was used to test the internal consistency
of the test.
Exploratory Factor Analysis. Exploratory Factor Analysis was done to identify the
underlined relationships between measured items.
The revised scale had 25 items with a minimum of 3 items in each domain. The same
was used to carry out the second phase.
Finalizing the Scale
After the phase 1 of the study and its statistical analysis, the revised scale with 25
items was administered for the phase 2 to confirm the results and finalize the scale.
The second phase (CFA) with a revised item pool constituting 25 items, was
administered on a sample of 316 participants.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis The statistical analysis of the data entailed establishing
the factor structure using AMOS software. The Structural Equation Modelling technique was
used to develop a model path diagram and the required model fit values were considered to
confirm the items with respect to its dimensions.
Reliability and Validity Analysis Using the values obtained through the confirmatory
factor analysis the Composite Reliability, Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the scale
were tested. The Internal consistency of the scale was found using Cronbach’s Alpha method.
Establishing Norms Norms are standardised scores that indicate the individual test
takers’ relative standing in a normative sample, and thus permit evaluation of their
performance in reference to others in the normative sample. In the current project the norms
are developed based on descriptive statistics and normal probability distribution.
Applying Generalizability Theory Generalizability theory is a statistical theory by
Cronbach, L.J., Nageswari, R., and Glesser, G.C. (1963) to indicate the sources of
measurement error for evaluating the reliability of the scale being developed.
Ethical Considerations
1. Informed consent was taken from the participant
2. The participants were free to withdraw from the study at any point of time.
3. Confidentiality and anonymity of the sample and the collected data were
maintained.
4. Participants were not harmed or forced to participate in the study.
5. The data were used only for academic and research purpose.
Chapter IV
Results and Discussion
This chapter details the results of Factor Analysis followed by the Norms
development results. Factor Analysis includes Item Analysis in two phases: Phase 1 of Factor
analysis entails Exploratory Factor Analysis, and Confirmatory Factor Analysis as Phase 2.
The chapter has two major sections; the first section explains the results of Reliability
Analysis in Phase 1, i.e. the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) using the data obtained from
the first pilot study. The second section deals with the Confirmatory Factor Analysis,
Reliability and Validity Analysis, Norms Development and Applying Generalizability Theory
based on the data obtained from the second pilot study.
Objective 1 - To develop a scale for subjective well-being following the tenets and steps of
Psychometric Scale Development;
The Tenets and Steps of Psychometric Scale Development

Construct Definition & Content Domain
Generating & Judging Items
Domain Sampling
Generating Item Pools
Judging Items and Face Validity
Designing & Conducting Studies
Pilot Study
Reliability
Exploratory Factor Analysis
Finalizing Scale
Final Study
Reliability
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Validity
Establishing Norms
Applying Generalizability Theory
Ethical consideration
Objective 2 - To construct a theoretical framework for developing a psychometric scale
identifying the manifest and latent constructs with the domains under which it can be studied;
Positive
Emotions
Achievement Engagement
Subjective
Well Being
Meaning Relationships
Figure 4.1 – Conceptual Framework Based on Seligman’s PERMA Model
Objective 3 – To develop a pool of items for completing the process of Item Generation;
Item Pool 1
1. I am optimistic about my life.
2. I feel pleasant most of the days.
3. I never feel worried about the future.
4. I never regret about my past experiences.
5. I like to have positive thoughts always.
6. I enjoy learning from new experiences in my life.
7. I constantly strive to improve my abilities and talents.
8. I am happy being myself.
9. I am happy with my surroundings.
10. I often find myself completely involved in the activity I am doing.
11. I immerse myself in any activity that I undertake.
12. I lose track of time while engaging myself in an activity I love.
13. I am actively involved in everyday activities.

14. I enjoy engaging in activities that allow me to experience new things.
15. I take part in activities and programmes that cater to my interests.
16. I have a good relationship with my friends.
17. I have a satisfactory relationship with people around me.
18. I like to spend time with my friends.
19. I have a strong bond with my siblings.
20. I have a strong bond with my parents.
21. I trust the people I spend time with.
22. I feel comfortable having intimate relationships.
23. I can deal with conflicts that may arise in my relationships.
24. My relationships are my support system.
25. I am comfortable getting close to others.
26. I feel loved and cared for in my relationships.
27. I have decisive goals for my life.
28. I believe I will achieve my goals in this lifetime.
29. I believe every life should have a purpose.
30. I believe every experience is leading to a larger purpose in life.
31. I think my existence has a purpose and meaning.
32. I feel satisfied about what I have achieved in life.
33. I set a goal and work towards achieving the same.
34. I do not give up until I have achieved the goals I have set.
35. I feel I give my best while working towards a goal.
36. I set smaller goals to achieve larger goals.
37. I feel confident when I am assigned a task.
38. I feel more involved when I am in a group than working alone.
39. I feel encouraged when I am rewarded for my achievement.
40. Failure does not stop me from achieving further goals.

Reliability & Exploratory Factor Analysis
Objective 4 - To follow the rigour of Item Analysis constituting Phase 1 of Exploratory
Factor Analysis, establishing inter item reliability and factor loadings;
The following section illustrates and describes the tables and interpretation that
pertained to the Internal Consistency Reliability Analysis through the Cronbach’s Alpha
Method and Exploratory Factor Analysis through Principal Axis Factoring Method based for
the Item Pool 1.
Reliability Analysis
Table 4.1
Reliability Statistics for Item Pool 1
N (Cases) Cronbach's Cronbach's N of

Alpha Alpha Based Items
on
Standardized
Items
316 .896 .899 40
Table 4.2
Item-Total Statisticsfor Item Pool 2 and Reliability if Item Deleted
Scale Mean Scale Corrected Cronbach's

if Item Variance if Item-Total Alpha if Item
Deleted Item Deleted Correlation Deleted
1. I am optimistic about my life. 70.83 140.411 .435 .893
2. I feel pleasant most of the days. 70.54 139.500 .417 .893
3. I never feel worried about the
69.90 139.689 .302 .896
future.
4. I never regret about my past
70.16 140.316 .258 .897
experiences.
5. I like to have positive thoughts
70.89 139.752 .374 .894
always.
6. I enjoy learning from new
71.11 140.806 .414 .894
experiences in my life.
7. I constantly strive to improve my
70.90 139.117 .449 .893
abilities and talents.
8. I am happy being myself. 70.99 138.730 .512 .892
9. I am happy with my surroundings. 70.67 137.486 .513 .892
10. I often find myself completely

70.74 137.602 .530 .892
involved in the activity I am doing.
11. I immerse myself in any activity
70.70 138.884 .438 .893
that I undertake.
12. I lose track of time while
70.65 141.186 .255 .896
engaging myself in an activity I love.
13. I am actively involved in
70.54 137.576 .513 .892
everyday activities.
14. I enjoy engaging in activities that
70.91 140.189 .429 .893
allow me to experience new things.
15. I take part in activities and
programmes that cater to my 70.82 139.856 .405 .894
interests.
16. I have a good relationship with
71.04 140.278 .397 .894
my friends.
17. I have a satisfactory relationship
70.73 138.166 .486 .892
with people around me.
18. I like to spend time with my
71.00 141.083 .339 .894
friends.
19. I have a strong bond with my
70.94 139.942 .352 .894
siblings.
71.06 140.670 .325 .895
parents.
21. I trust the people I spend time
70.88 140.754 .326 .895
with.
22. I feel comfortable having intimate
70.50 140.289 .306 .895
relationships.
23. I can deal with conflicts that may
70.76 139.877 .408 .894
arise in my relationships.
24. My relationships are my support
70.75 138.853 .398 .894
system.
25. I am comfortable getting close to
70.42 139.552 .351 .894
others.
26. I feel loved and cared for in my
70.76 138.982 .426 .893
relationships.
27. I have decisive goals for my life. 70.72 138.693 .428 .893
28. I believe I will achieve my goals
70.91 138.379 .492 .892
in this lifetime.
29. I believe every life should have a
71.07 140.678 .368 .894
purpose.
30. I believe every experience is
71.04 142.887 .223 .896
leading to a larger purpose in life.
31. I think my existence has a
71.02 140.206 .403 .894
purpose and meaning.
32. I feel satisfied about what I have
70.52 137.463 .459 .893
achieved in life.
33. I set a goal and work towards

70.73 137.919 .528 .892
achieving the same.
34. I do not give up until I have
70.70 137.449 .497 .892
achieved the goals I have set.
35. I feel I give my best while
70.83 137.820 .556 .892
working towards a goal.
36. I set smaller goals to achieve
70.66 139.114 .416 .893
larger goals.
37. I feel confident when I am
70.75 137.707 .525 .892
assigned a task.
38. I feel more involved when I am in
70.50 140.340 .256 .897
a group than working alone.
39. I feel encouraged when I am
71.02 142.428 .235 .896
rewarded for my achievement.
40. Failure does not stop me from
70.96 139.738 .424 .893
achieving further goals.
Interpretation
The table 4.2 shows the reliability statistics of item pool 2. The total number of
sample is 320, Cronbach’s Alpha value is 0.896 which is > 0.8 which indicates that the scale
has a good reliability.
The table showing Item-total statistics also shows the Reliability if items are deleted. Thus,
the ‘Cronbach Alpha if item deleted’ “values” of all items are equal or smaller than 0.749, it
means that the deletion of any items will not increase the reliability of the level of the
instrument.
Exploratory Factor Analysis
Table 4.3
Descriptive Statistics
Mean Std. Analysis

Deviation N
1. I am optimistic about my life. 1.75 .548 316
2. I feel pleasant most of the days. 2.03 .654 316
3. I never feel worried about the future. 2.68 .838 316
4. I never regret about my past experiences. 2.42 .868 316
5. I like to have positive thoughts always. 1.69 .693 316
6. I enjoy learning from new experiences in my life. 1.47 .536 316
7. I constantly strive to improve my abilities and talents. 1.68 .645 316
8. I am happy being myself. 1.59 .602 316

9. I am happy with my surroundings. 1.91 .698 316
10. I often find myself completely involved in the activity I am doing. 1.84 .668 316
11. I immerse myself in any activity that I undertake. 1.88 .679 316
12. I lose track of time while engaging myself in an activity I love. 1.93 .759 316
13. I am actively involved in everyday activities. 2.04 .691 316
14. I enjoy engaging in activities that allow me to experience new things. 1.67 .575 316
15. I take part in activities and programmes that cater to my interests. 1.76 .637 316
16. I have a good relationship with my friends. 1.54 .608 316
17. I have a satisfactory relationship with people around me. 1.85 .678 316
18. I like to spend time with my friends. 1.58 .609 316
19. I have a strong bond with my siblings. 1.64 .710 316
20. I have a strong bond with my parents. 1.52 .678 316
21. I trust the people I spend time with. 1.70 .668 316
22. I feel comfortable having intimate relationships. 2.08 .758 316
23. I can deal with conflicts that may arise in my relationships. 1.82 .631 316
24. My relationships are my support system. 1.83 .742 316
25. I am comfortable getting close to others. 2.16 .753 316
26. I feel loved and cared for in my relationships. 1.82 .689 316
27. I have decisive goals for my life. 1.86 .711 316
28. I believe I will achieve my goals in this lifetime. 1.67 .652 316
29. I believe every life should have a purpose. 1.51 .609 316
30. I believe every experience is leading to a larger purpose in life. 1.54 .587 316
31. I think my existence has a purpose and meaning. 1.56 .607 316
32. I feel satisfied about what I have achieved in life. 2.06 .772 316
33. I set a goal and work towards achieving the same. 1.85 .647 316
34. I do not give up until I have achieved the goals I have set. 1.88 .720 316
35. I feel I give my best while working towards a goal. 1.75 .624 316
36. I set smaller goals to achieve larger goals. 1.92 .690 316
37. I feel confident when I am assigned a task. 1.83 .667 316
38. I feel more involved when I am in a group than working alone. 2.08 .869 316
39. I feel encouraged when I am rewarded for my achievement. 1.56 .632 316
40. Failure does not stop me from achieving further goals. 1.62 .623 316
Table 4.4
Sample Adequacy using KMO Measures and Bartlett's Test
KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. .855
Approx. Chi-Square 3803.895
Bartlett's Test of Sphericity Df 780
Sig. .000
Table 4.5
Total Variance Explained and the Number of Factors Extracted
Factor Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared
Loadings Loadings
Total % of Cumulative Total % of Cumulative Total % of Cumulative
Variance % Variance % Variance %
1 8.452 21.130 21.130 7.983 19.958 19.958 1.752 4.380 4.380
2 2.464 6.160 27.290 1.996 4.989 24.947 1.734 4.335 8.716
3 2.239 5.598 32.888 1.761 4.401 29.348 1.731 4.328 13.044
4 1.711 4.278 37.166 1.239 3.097 32.445 1.673 4.183 17.227
5 1.388 3.471 40.637 .971 2.428 34.873 1.655 4.138 21.364
6 1.376 3.439 44.076 .934 2.334 37.207 1.549 3.873 25.238
7 1.334 3.335 47.411 .896 2.241 39.448 1.489 3.722 28.960
8 1.212 3.030 50.442 .771 1.927 41.375 1.479 3.696 32.656
9 1.139 2.847 53.288 .643 1.608 42.983 1.289 3.222 35.879
10 1.128 2.820 56.108 .626 1.564 44.547 1.033 2.582 38.460
11 1.060 2.649 58.757 .565 1.413 45.961 .971 2.428 40.888
12 .984 2.459 61.216 .501 1.252 47.212 .901 2.253 43.142
13 .966 2.415 63.631 .481 1.202 48.415 .889 2.224 45.365
14 .917 2.292 65.924 .423 1.057 49.472 .797 1.992 47.357
15 .857 2.143 68.066 .373 .934 50.406 .793 1.982 49.339
16 .846 2.115 70.181 .357 .892 51.298 .783 1.959 51.298
17 .790 1.975 72.155
18 .767 1.919 74.074
19 .726 1.815 75.889
20 .700 1.749 77.638
21 .647 1.618 79.256
22 .630 1.576 80.832
23 .610 1.526 82.358
24 .573 1.432 83.790
25 .558 1.395 85.186
26 .538 1.346 86.531
27 .516 1.290 87.822
28 .497 1.243 89.064
29 .482 1.205 90.270
30 .433 1.082 91.352
31 .428 1.069 92.421
32 .415 1.038 93.459
33 .384 .960 94.419
34 .377 .942 95.361
35 .347 .868 96.229
36 .342 .856 97.085
37 .330 .825 97.910
38 .307 .768 98.677
39 .283 .707 99.384
40 .246 .616 100.000
Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring.
Table 4.6
Rotated Factor Matrix for Item Pool 1
Rotated Factor Matrixa

Factor
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
2. I feel pleasant most of the days. .747
3. I never feel worried about the
.485
future.
1. I am optimistic about my life. .455
15. I take part in activities and
programmes that cater to my .610
interests.
14. I enjoy engaging in activities
that allow me to experience new .510
things.
6. I enjoy learning from new
.433
experiences in my life.
40. Failure does not stop me from
.341
achieving further goals.
12. I lose track of time while
engaging myself in an activity I .291
love.
37. I feel confident when I am
.267
assigned a task.
30. I believe every experience is
.752
leading to a larger purpose in life.
29. I believe every life should
.615
have a purpose.
31. I think my existence has a
.484
purpose and meaning.
39. I feel encouraged when I am
.424
rewarded for my achievement.
16. I have a good relationship
.655
with my friends.
18. I like to spend time with my
.626
friends.
17. I have a satisfactory
relationship with people around .520
me.
21. I trust the people I spend time
.350
with.
11. I immerse myself in any
.658
activity that I undertake.
10. I often find myself completely
involved in the activity I am .647
doing.
7. I constantly strive to improve
.353
my abilities and talents.
13. I am actively involved in
.346
everyday activities.
28. I believe I will achieve my
.672
goals in this lifetime.
27. I have decisive goals for my
.609
life.
36. I set smaller goals to achieve
.709
larger goals.
32. I feel satisfied about what I
.492
have achieved in life.
33. I set a goal and work towards
.463
achieving the same.
24. My relationships are my
.708
support system.
26. I feel loved and cared for in
.604
my relationships.
23. I can deal with conflicts that
.303
may arise in my relationships.
.855
siblings.
.501
parents.
25. I am comfortable getting close
.673
to others.
22. I feel comfortable having
.379
intimate relationships.
34. I do not give up until I have
.711
achieved the goals I have set.
4. I never regret about my past
.551
experiences.
5. I like to have positive thoughts

.589
always.
35. I feel I give my best while
. .621
working towards a goal.
38. I feel more involved when I
.738
am in a group than working alone.
9. I am happy with my
.515
surroundings.
8. I am happy being myself. .370
Extraction Method: Principal Axis Factoring.
Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in 11 iterations.
Interpretation
The table 4.4 shows the results of KMO and Barlett’s test. The KMO value is 0.855
which indicates that the sample size is adequate and significant (p = 0.000).
Table 4.5, which is the Total Variance Explained, shows the Eigen values associated
with each linear factor before extraction, after extraction and after rotation. After the
extraction, 16 factors are obtained using Varimax Rotation Method and 51.298%of the
variance is explained. After the rotation, the factor structure is optimized and equalized the
percentage of variance for 16 factors consequently. Table 4.6, the Rotated Component
Matrix, shows the factor loadings for each item onto each of the 16 factors and the items are
listed in the order of the size of their factor loadings.
Discussion
From reliability statistics it can be seen that the Cronbach’s Alpha for 316 sample’s
data was 0.896 which indicates that the scale has a good level of reliability. On the basis of
the result obtained from Sphericity780, Item total statistics and Reliability if item deleted, the
items those have Cronbach’s Alpha if item deleted value greater than 0.749, supposed to be
deleted to increase the level of reliability. After factor loading, the items that had factor
loadings less than 0.5 were discarded and more than the same were retained. The deleted
items were with the serial numbers 1, 3, 6, 7, 12, 13, 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33, 37, 39, 40.
Table 4.4 shows the adequate sample size for exploratory factor analysis based on
KMO measures of sample adequacy and Barlett’s test of for 316 samples, and was significant
(p=0.000). After the extraction using SPSS, 16 factors are opted using Varimax Rotation
Method and 51.298% variance was explained. The table 4.6, Rotated Component Matrix
shows the factor loading for each item onto each of the 16 factors, and items are listed in the
order of factor loadings. The detailed analysis of each factor and respective items fall under
the same. The core project team selected 16 factors with its items for the item pool 3. The
factors or domains selected for the item pool 3 after EFA were Positive Emotions,
Engagement, Relationship, Meaning in life and Accomplishment with 25 items. On hindsight
the research team felt that this particular domain could be of assistance in supporting the
theoretical framework if studied qualitatively. The item pool arrived based on the results
obtained from reliability and EFA is given below.
Exploratory factor analysis was performed and items with factor loadings less 0.5
were discarded. There were 25 items selected for second pilot study which are (Item pool 2)
as follows;
Item pool 2
1. I feel pleasant most of the days.

2. I never regret about my past experiences.
3. I like to have positive thoughts always.
4. I am happy with my surroundings.
6. I immerse myself in any activity that I undertake.
7. I enjoy engaging in activities that allow me to experience new things.
8. I take part in activities and programmes that cater to my interests.
9. I have a good relationship with my friends.
10. I have a satisfactory relationship with people around me.
11. I like to spend time with my friends.
12. I have a strong bond with my siblings.
13. I have a strong bond with my parents.
14. My relationships are my support system.
15. I am comfortable getting close to others.
16. I feel loved and cared for in my relationships.
17. I have decisive goals for my life.
18. I believe I will achieve my goals in this lifetime.
19. I believe every life should have a purpose.

20. I believe every experience is leading to a larger purpose in life.
21. I feel satisfied about what I have achieved in life.
22. I do not give up until I have achieved the goals I have set.
23. I feel I give my best while working towards a goal.
24. I set smaller goals to achieve larger goals.
25. I feel more involved when I am in a group than working alone.
Objective 5 - To perform Confirmatory Factor Analysis (Phase 2) and establish the factor
structure confirming the theoretical framework;
Objective 6 - To establish a relationship between the manifest and latent variables identified
in the theoretical framework;
After completing the Phase 2 of Data collection consisting of a sample size: 320 the
obtained data was analysed to confirm the factor structure, confirming the theoretical
framework adopted to develop the scale. The following section illustrates and displays the
tables and interpretation pertaining to Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Reliability and
Validity Analysis of the scale. The data were analysed with AMOS software.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Figure 4.2
- Path Diagram of Subjective Wellbeing
Output of CAF Analysis

Chi-square( χ2) = 424.712, Degrees of freedom = 254, Probability level = .000
Table 4.7
Model Fit Summary of Subjective Well Being
Model Fit Criterion Obtained Value for SWB Interpretation
Absolute Fit Measures
Chi Square/df (cmin/df)

1.672 Good
RMSEA (Root Mean Squared

Error of Approximation) .046 (p=.789) Good fit
GFI (Goodness of Fit) .905 Good & Close to fit

Incremental Fit Index
CFI (Comparative Fit Index) .892 Sometimes Permissible
Parsimony Fit Index

AGFI (Adjusted GFI) .878 Acceptable
Table 4.8
Standardized Regression Weights
Items P E R M A
P4 .486***
P3 .514***
P2 .368***
P1 .563***
E4 .368***
E3 .418***
E2 .501***
E1 .570***
R8 .726***
R7 .344***
R6 .664***
R5 .318***
R4 .261***
R3 .405***
R2 .497***
R1 .491***
M4 .387***
M3 .475***
M2 .688***
M1 .596***
A5 .211***
A4 .470**
A3 .657**
A2 .730***
A1 .354**
*** significant at .001 level and ** significant at .01 level
Table 4.9
Variance Extracted
Items P E R M A
P4 .308***
P3 .321***
P2 .510***
P1 .245***
E4 .290***
E3 .313***
E2 .281***
E1 .283***
R8 .183***
R7 .435***
R6 .258***
R5 .321***
R4 .474***
R3 .295***
R2 .292***
R1 .277***
M4 .322***
M3 .267***
M2 .224***
M1 .256***
A5 .736***
A4 .309***
A3 .234***
A2 .227***
A1 .501***
*** significant at .001 level
Table 4.10
Squared Multiple Correlations
Items P E R M A
A1 .126
A2 .533
A3 .432
A4 .221
A5 .045
M1 .355
M2 .474
M3 .226
M4 .149
R1 .241
R2 .247
R3 .164
R4 .068
R5 .101
R6 .441
R7 .119
R8 .528
E1 .325
E2 .251
E3 .174
E4 .136
P1 .317
P2 .136
P3 .265
P4 .237
Table 4.11
SWB Construct Correlation Matrix
P E R M A
P
E 0.258**
R .101** .055**
M 0.27** 0.433** -.006**
A 0.374** 0.367** .065** 0.498**
** Significant at .01 level
Interpretation
The CFA results support the measurement model. The χ 2 statistic is significant at .01
level, which is not unusual given a total sample size of 316. The model fit indices χ2 /df or
cmin/df, RMSEA, GFI, CFI and AGFI appear good. Overall the fit statistics suggests that the
estimated model reproduces the sample covariance matrix reasonably well.
Reliability & Validity Analysis and Norms Development
Objective 7 - To establish the reliability, validity and norms of the scale being developed.
The CFA was completed and the scale was tested for reliability and validity.
Obtained Value for

Reliability Criterion Trifactor Motivation Interpretation
Chronbach’s Alpha Reliability
(Internal Consistency Method) 0.824 Good
P - .587 1 dimension has good
E - .549 Composite Reliability &
Composite Reliability (CR) R - .715 4 dimensions have
M - .611 average Composite
A - .662 Reliability
Validity Criteria P E R M A Interpretation

Composite
Reliability 0.587 0.549 0.715 0.611 0.662
Convergent Average Variance
Validity Extracted 0.238 0.222 0.238 0.301 0.307 Satisfactory
Discriminant Maximum Shared 0.14 0.187 0.01 0.248 0.248 Satisfactory
Validity Variance
Average Shared
Variance 0.072 0.098 0.004 0.127 0.132
Average Variance
Extracted 0.238 0.222 0.238 0.301 0.307
Square Root of
AVE 0.488 0.471 0.488 0.549 0.554
P↔E E↔P R↔E M↔E A↔E
(.258) (.258) (.055) (.433) (.367)
P↔R E↔R R↔P M↔R A↔R
(.101) (.055) (.101) (.-.006) (.065)
P↔M E↔M R↔M M↔P A↔M
(.270) (.433) (.-.006) (.270) (.498)
Inter Construct P↔A E↔A R↔A M↔A A↔P
Correlation (.374) (.367) (.065) (.498) (.374)
Interpretation
Cronbach’s Alpha value is 0.824 (N=316) which is > 0.8 and indicates that the scale
has a good reliability. Further the evidence of reliability shows that 1 dimension has good
Composite Reliability and remaining 4 dimension has average Composite Reliability. The
evidence for validity shows that both convergent and discriminant validity are satisfactory.
However, a minimum level of convergent validity issues and discriminant validity issues are
found with current analysis. Further studies and analysis is required to overcome these issues.
Establishing Norms
Norms can be defined as performance on a particular test based on a standard sample.
Norms mean standardized score. Scores are interpreted with reference to norms that represent
the test performance standardized on a chosen sample. The purpose of norms is to indicate
the individual test takers’ relative standing in the normative sample and thus permit
evaluation of his/her performance in reference to others in the normative sample.
Norms
The sample target group for obtaining data consequentially resulting in the
development of norms for the Subjective Well-being Scale was collected from 316
individuals between the age range of 20-40 years across India. The norms proposed here for
this scale are based on the Age, Percentile and National Identity of the representative sample.
Table 4.12
Descriptive Statistics for Scoring
Statistics
SWB
Valid 316
N
Missing 0
Mean 45.56
Median 45.00
Mode 46
Std. Deviation 7.195
Skewness .147
Std. Error of Skewness .137
Kurtosis .197
Std. Error of Kurtosis .273
Minimum 26
Maximum 69
25 41.00
Percentiles 50 45.00
75 50.75
Based on the descriptive – mean, median and mode, minimum and maximum scores,
results obtained from the table number 4.8 for a total sample 316, M=45.00,SD= 7.195,
Skewness= 0.147, Kurtosis=0.197, Minimum=26, Maximum=69 and percentiles (quartiles)
41, 45 and 50, the following range and scoring pattern were established.
Table 4.13
Shows the Final Range of Scores
Range Interpretation
25-40 High Subjective Well-being
41-51 Moderate Subjective Well-being
52-100 Low Subjective Well-being

Instructions for Administering the Scale
The scale can be administered to men and women within the age range of 20-40 of
any marital status. The scale uses a series of questions to which the respondent needs to
choose among the given options. Response pattern is based on Likert scale which allows the
individual to express on a 4-point scale ranging between strongly agree, agree, disagree and
strongly disagree. Scoring is done based on the weightage given to the response. Strongly
agree is scored as 1 point, Agree as 2 points, Disagree as 3 points and Strongly Disagree as 4
points. After the scoring, the sum total gives the level of subjective well-being of the
individual. Higher the score lower will be the subjective well-being of the individual.
Chapter V
Conclusion
The present study proposes a scale for Subjective Well-being to assess the level of
subjective well-being among young adults (20-40 years) across India. This scale was
subjected to the rigour of scale development and the results indicate a high internal
consistency among the final pool of items. The scale underwent two phases of pilot study
which can be generalized to the population ranging between 20 years and 40 years residing in
India.
This scale has reached a constructive stage and has reiterated the reliability of the
factors. The research process being time bound is by default subject to limitations. A suitable
sampling design is prerequisite. In the present study the design could be widened to reduce
the unequal distribution between first, the working population and non-working population
pertaining to the chosen age group and second, reducing the unequal representation of the
two genders. The scale cannot be administered to people who do not have a command over
English. It is limited to the age group of 20-40 though subjective well –being is an important
aspect of healthirrespectiveof the age.
Scale development requires validation of the scale with a new sample. The present
study ends with this futuristic assumption that the scale developed for Subjective Well-being
will fill the gap created by the lackof a scale on subjective well-being in the Indian context in
the recent years, with standardized norms.

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Appendices
Initial Item Pool
POSITIVE EMOTIONS
1. I feel optimistic about my experiences in life.
2. I am satisfied with past my past experiences.
3. I feel pleasant about today.
4. I feel worried about the future.
5. I feel regretful about my past experiences.
6. I am happy with what I am now.
7. I have no sadness or guilt feeling on my past experiences.
8. I feel hopeless about my future.
9. I prefer not to use negative words like No, Cant, Wont, in my language.
10. I feel happy when I learn from my new experience/things in my life.
11. I keep myself engaged in activities to develop myself/knowledge.
12. I constantly strive to improve my abilities and talents.
13. I give excuses for all the mistakes i have done
14. I feel I am important to myself.
15. I feel I am important to the people around me.
16. I feel record of my success.
17. I am grateful for the things i have with me.
18. I am happy/satisfies/content of the surroundings i live in
19. I am disappointed about my abilities.
20. I am able to recover from my past misfortunate quickly.
21. I am able to cope of my anger in short time/quickly.
22. I do not hold grudges against anybody.
23. I feel frustrated about my present.
24. I feel doubtful/ hopeless about my future

ENGAGEMENT
2. I am associated with a body/ organization that let me immerse myself in an activity I like.
3. I often forget other things when engaged in something.
4. I find myself deeply absorbed while doing something I am passionate about.
5. I often find myself extremely engrossed and losing track of time when involved in doing
what I love.
6. I enter a trance like state while doing something that I find interesting.
7. Sometimes, I lose track of time while engaging myself in an activity I love.
8. I lose in touch with any kind of thoughts or feelings and just completely allow myself to
immerse in the activity I do.
9. I love letting myself fully engage in the activity I do even if I lose track of time.
10. I know activities that allow me to be completely absorbed in it and lose track of time.
11. I enjoy engaging myself completely into some activity I love.
12. I let myself be absorbed fully in anything I do.
13. I am actively involved in day to day activities.
14. I enjoy being engaged with my day to day activity.
15. Engaging in activities has helped me grow.
16. I feel good after doing any activity
17. I am often engaged in self pampering activity.
18. I enjoy engaging in activities that allow me to experience new things
19. I am comfortable doing activities with others as a team.
20. I feel good in initiating new events and activities for myself.
21. I feel good in initiating new events and activities for others.
22. I believe taking part in activities and programs will help me become a better person.
23. Taking part in activities make me feel alive.

24. I take part in activities and programs that cater to my desires only.
RELATIONSHIPS
1. I am comfortable with my friends
2. I have a great relationship with my friends
3. I am comfortable with sharing secrets with my parents
4. I love going out with my friends
5. I have a strong relationship with my siblings
6. I regularly spend time with my parents
7. My sibling and I share a lot of secrets
8. I feel like my family cares about me
9. I never felt alone during hard times
10. I feel happy when I am with my family
11. I believe that things I learn at my home will help me in my future life
12 I believe that my friends keep my secrets safe
13. I am comfortable with working on my relationships
14 .I accept my family parents short comings
15. I feel good about my relationship with my family
16 .I feel confident I can deal with whatever problems might come up in my relationship
17. I am not able to function well in my life while I am in relationship with my partner or
family
18.Iam not comfortable with working only relationships
19.I am comfortable getting close to others

20.I feel loved and cared for in the relationship with my partner/parents
MEANING IN LIFE
1. I like to help others in their time of need.
2. I feel at peace when I do something for others.
3. I do not believe that being altruistic will benefit me to be successful.
4. I do not think I have the capability to reach my goal.
5. When I face some obstacles, I feel more resilient to overcome it.
6. Sometimes I feel I have no greater purpose in life.
7. I think I have grown as a person with all the exposures I have experienced.
8. I feel obligated to share my things with others when they are in need.
9. I do not acknowledge in a social gathering.
10. I feel life is rewarding.
11. I feel content with my life.
12. I feel life is meaningful.
13. I have a purpose in life.
14. I am looking for something that makes my life meaningful.
15. I always think about purpose of my life.
16. I love my life.
17. I think about my existence in this world.
18. I have a goal in my life.
19. I feel confident.
20. I am satisfied with my life.
21. I think life is worth living.
ACCOMPLISHMENT
1. I feel satisfied about what I've achieved in life
2. I always stayed committed to my goals.

3. I feel encouraged to achieve a goal
4. I don't give up after setting a goal.
5. I try to give my best while working towards a goal.
6. I always attain the goals I set for myself.
7. I feel more motivated when I set my own goals.
8. I enjoy working towards a goal.
9. Accomplishing something motivates me to have more of it.
10. I enjoy learning and doing new things.
11. It upsets me when others progress.
12. I keep trying until I feel I've perfected it.
13. I feel confident when I'm assigned a task.
14. I don't set unattainable goals.
15. Fear of failure does not bother me.
16. I get easily discouraged when I fail to achieve a goal
17. It feel encouraged when I'm externally rewarded for an achievement.
18. I help others in achieving their goals.
19. I feel stressed when it is difficult to achieve a goal.
20. I feel that I usually do much more than I intended to do.
21. I believe that I use all my abilities and skills in any job.
22. I believe that success in life depends on one's luck.
23. I feel more motivated to complete a task when I'm in a group than working alone.
Indian Institute of Psychology and Research, Bangalore 560096
Informed Consent Form
Information to Participants:
The present study titled “Subjective Well-being”is being carried out as part of the academic
requirements of Post Graduate course in Psychology.
Undertaking by the Researcher
I,………………………………………………………………….................., Student of IIPR,
Bangalore, will be carrying out the above mentioned research project under the guidance of
faculty supervisors of IIPR.
You are hereby requested to give your voluntary consent to participate in this study. Any
information collected from you during the process would be kept confidential and will be
used strictly for research purposes only. You are free to withdraw from the study at any point
of time without any prejudice.
Date: ……………………. Signature of the Research
Investigator
Statement of Consent by the Research Participant:
I ………………………………………………………… have read the above information
carefully and I give my consent to participate in the study.
Date: ……………………. Signature of the Research
Participant
SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
(Fields with * are to be compulsorily filled.)
1. Name (Initials)*:
2. Contact Details:
Email:
Phone Number (Optional):
2. Age* :
3. Gender * : Male Female
4.Marital Status* : Married Unmarried Divorced Separated Remarried
5. Income of family: (Per Annum) *:
<100000 100000-300000 300000-500000 >500000
6. Number of members in the family*:
7. Educational Qualification*:
High School 10th 12th Graduate Post Graduate
8. Place of Living*:
9. Current Location*: Urban Semi-Urban Rural
10. Occupation*: Student Working Not Working

Measuring Subjective Well-Being

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SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING SCALE 1

two dimensions, subjective and objective. It comprises an individual’s experiences of their

Relationship between Well-being and Health, 2014).

A positive sense of well-being is one which enables an individual to be able to

categorized into psychological well-being and subjective well-being;

Psychological well-being (PWB)

Carol Ryff. In her seminal paper, "Happiness is everything, or is it explorations on the

meaning of psychological well-being?" The psychological well-being (PWB) is mainly

with respect to social norms and values.

Subjective well-being (SWB)

evaluations of affect and life quality (Diener 1984).

Diener & Lucas, 1999).

Some of the major determinants of subjective well-being are a person’s inborn

those around them.

Subjective well-being is often assumed to be restricted to happiness while it is based

not the objective nature of it.

According to Ed Diener, an American psychologist, subjective well-being is

(partnership, income, friends). Aspects of good psychological functioning (including feelings

Components of SWB relating to affect include positive affect (experiencing pleasant

policy. It is important to distinguish between subjective well-being (i.e., measures of how

Subjective well-being is influenced by the time perspective as well, which refers to an

maintains promises of a continuing tomorrow and motivates us toward yet unrealised

goals.Time perspective is a psychological variable that differentially affects subjective well-

to one’s subjective evaluation of their well-being (Markus & Kityama, 1994).

Matsumoto, Kouznetsova, Raroque, & Ray, 2000).

demographic levels refer to groups of individuals who share different geographical

psychological well-being (Berry, 1994).

2008, Dolan et al., 2011).

Durayappah(2010).There is no consensus around a single definition of well-being, but there

being can be described as judging life positively and feeling good.

PERMA Model of Well-being by Martin Seligman (2011)

elements namely positive emotion, engagement, and meaning.

Relationships, M stands for Meaning, and A stands for Accomplishment.

increasing positive emotion, engagement, positive relationships, meaning and

components of the PERMA Model.

Positive Emotions. This element is said to be achieved through a heightened

Engagement. This element refers to an increasing number of optimal experiences of

helps them to grow.

Relationships. This refers to dedicating time to nourish relationships to have an

their purpose in life.

Accomplishment. Accomplishment is achieved through establishing and reaching

goals that motivate us. Seligman’s conceptualization of accomplishment is also sometimes

them a sense of accomplishment. Accomplishments are important to push the individual to

strengthens self-belief (Seligman, 2011).

Conceptual and Operational Definitions

Subjective Well-Being “Subjective well-being is a broad category of phenomena that

of life” (Seiner, Lucas, Such and Smith, 1999).

Positive Emotions Positive emotions can be referred to simply as feeling good or

pleasure, come under the umbrella term of positive emotions.

Engagement "Engagement refers to a deep psychological connection, for example,

Relationships “Relationships include feelings of integration with society or a

emotional well-being and growth (Catalino and Fredrickson 2011).

person can achieve a greater sense of happiness and satisfaction in life.

Accomplishment Accomplishment, often referred to as ‘Achievement’, can be

referred to as reaching a desired goal by pursuing it. The idea of accomplishment is

personality, interest and even culture.

Rationale of the Study

goal of a human being is to have a sense of belongingness rather than to distinguish

consideration the identification with a group mentality.

complement to other more objective measures of life circumstances.

gives scope to study the well-being of people in the Indian context.

outcome in its own right.