Abstract
The goal of this chapter is to make a clear distinction of indicators of well-being from indicators of ill-being at several levels of analyses, namely the individual level, the community level, and the societal level. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is used as a theoretical backdrop to help make these distinctions. That is, indicators of ill-being reflect satisfaction (or lack of satisfaction) of basic needs (survival-related needs such as biological and safety-related needs), whereas indicators of well-being reflect satisfaction (or lack thereof) of growth needs (social, esteem, self-actualization, intellectual, and aesthetic-related needs). Well-being versus ill-being indicators are identified and clearly distinguished from one another, not only at different levels of analyses (individual, community, and societal) but also between outcome and action indicators. Outcome indicators reflect the desired end state, whereas action indicators reflect indicators of programs and policies designed to influence the outcome states. Such distinctions are important for policy-making.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
I make multiple references to “societal-level analysis” throughout the chapter. Societal in this context means country or state. To be distinguished from individual and community-level analyses.
References
Anderson, R. E. (2014). Human suffering and quality of life: Conceptualizing stories and statistics. Dordrecht: Springer.
Anderson, R. E. (2015). Implications of world suffering for human progress. In E. E. Anderson (Ed.), World suffering and quality of life (pp. 3–30). Dordrecht: Springer.
Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being: Americans’ perceptions of life quality. New York: Plenum Press.
Argyle, M. (1996). Subjective well-being. In A. Offer (Ed.), In pursuit of the quality of life (pp. 18–45). New York: Oxford University Press.
Bradburn, N. M. (1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago: Aldine.
Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. (1975). The quality of American life: Perceptions, evaluations, and satisfactions. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Chaaban, J., Irani, A., & Khoury, A. (2016). The Composite Global Well-Being Index (CGWBI): A new multi-dimensional measure of human development. Social Indicators Research, 129, 465–487.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.
Hagerty, M., Vogel, J., & Møeller, V. (Eds.). (2002). Assessing quality of life and living conditions: The state of the art. [Special issue]. Social Indicators Research, 58, 1–440.
Headey, B., Holmstrom, E., & Wearing, A. (1984). Well-being and ill-being: Different dimensions. Social Indicators Research, 14, 115–139.
Land, K. C., Lamb, V. L., & Fu, Q. (2015). Child well-being and child suffering. In E. E. Anderson (Ed.), World suffering and quality of life (pp. 173–186). Dordrecht: Springer.
Lee, W-S., & Oguzoglu, U. (2004). Well-being and ill-being: A bivariate panel data analysis (A discussion paper). http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1029914
Lloyd, K. M., & Auld, C. J. (2002). The role of leisure in determining quality of life: Issues of content and measurement. Social Indicators Research, 57, 43–71.
Maslow, A. H. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper.
Michalos, A. C. (Ed.). (2014). Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research. Dordrecht: Springer.
Michalos, A. C., & Zumbo, B. D. (2003). Leisure activities, health and the quality of life. In A. C. Michalos (Ed.), Essays on the quality of life (pp. 217–238). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Sirgy, M. J. (2011). Theoretical perspectives guiding QOL indicator projects. Social Indicators Research, 103, 1–22.
Sirgy, M. J. (2012). The psychology of quality of life: Hedonic well-being, life satisfaction, and eudaimonia (2nd ed.). Dordrechet: Springer.
Veenhoven, R. (1988). The utility of happiness? Social Indicators Research, 20, 334–354.
Veenhoven, R. (1991). Is happiness relative? Social Indicators Research, 24, 1–34.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sirgy, M.J. (2017). Distinguishing Indicators of Well-Being from Indicators of Ill-Being. In: Anderson, R. (eds) Alleviating World Suffering. Social Indicators Research Series, vol 67. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51391-1_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51391-1_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-51390-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-51391-1
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)