Chapter 3

SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING

Mariano, Gilo, Estares

What is Subjective Well-Being?
Subjective well-being

→ is the scientific term for happiness and life

satisfaction.
(thinking and feeling that your life is going well, not badly).
→ What does it mean to be happy?
→ Is it possible to increase one’s level of happiness?
→ Is it even important to be happy?
 These are questions taken up by researchers
in the area of subjective well-being, who have
tended to link subjective well-being with scores
on three variables: happiness, satisfaction with
life, and neuroticism.
 When researchers ask people about their happiness, the
focus is on their emotional state: how they feel about their
world and themselves.

Questions about person’s satisfaction with life address a

more global judgment about the “rightness” of their lives; they
need to weigh their outcome in life against alternative outcomes
and assess whether they’re satisfied with the result.
In addition, a third factor—low neuroticism

Neuroticism → is a fairly general term that refers to

chronic problems with anxiety, worry, mild
depression, and low self-esteem.
Measurement Of Subjective
Well-Being
Among the main obstacles that held back research on
happiness was how to measure it. Researchers reasoned
that because evaluations of happiness are subjective
phenomena, they should be measured with subjective
reports.
 That is, early investigations of subjective well-being
found that people who reported higher levels of happiness
and life satisfaction also tended to behave as if they were
indeed happier and more satisfied.
Therefore, researchers found it empirically acceptable
simply to ask people about their perceived happiness and life
satisfaction.
Self-Report Measures of Subjective Well-Being

Research on how to measure well-being has expanded

rapidly since the founding of positive psychology.
Although the specific questions posed varied slightly,
they were all based on two assumptions. First, all assumed
that the amount of happiness or satisfaction that a person
experiences can be meaningfully translated into a
numerical scale.
 In this way, if one scored a 6 on a test of happiness
before getting married and an 8 on the same test
subsequent to getting married, then it was
scientifically justifiable to say that his or her
happiness had increased after marriage.
 For example, if one person was super-rich and
lived on the French Riviera and the other was a
New York City taxi driver, but both scored an 8 on
the same test of happiness, then they were about
equally happy.
Stability of Subjective Well-Being

The other question is whether scores on

measures of subjective well-being represented stable
aspects or were temporary reactions to ongoing
events, that is, mere fluctuations in mood.
● Fortunately for researchers, the scientific evidence has
supported the notion that one’s average level of happiness
and life satisfaction are both relatively stable.

● Positive personality traits have been found to be stable

for up to 30 years.
 In a clever study related to the stability of happiness,
Harker and Keltner found that positive emotion in high
school was significantly related to well-being 30 years later.
That is, investigators asked women to bring in their high
school yearbooks and the researchers then measured the
intensity of their smiles in the yearbook photos.
 A genuinely felt smile is called a “Duchenne” smile, and
it involves one’s entire face including the muscles around the
eyes. Harker and Keltner found that the intensity of
women’s smiles in high school yearbook photos was
significantly related to well-being and quality of marital
relationships 30 years later.
 Although self-reports of subjective well-being
appear stable over time, it is nevertheless possible that
this finding exists only because the social
environments were stable because nothing traumatic
or intensely stressful happened to the “happy” people.
 These measurement strategies did not completely
solve all the issues. Some studies still find people may
complete the questionnaires in a way that makes them
“look good,” which is a type of response bias called
desirability bias.
 Self-reports of happiness do not show a perfect
match with other indicators of well-being. Life events,
moods, and other daily fluctuations definitely impact
how people evaluate their subjective well-being on a
daily basis.
Why Is Happiness Important?

● People who reported feeling happier and more satisfied

with life tended to be successful in a wide range of life
domains.

● In addition, feeling positive emotion may help students to

learn more effectively , may reduce racial bias , and may
help people process visual information more accurately.
 In other words, higher subjective well-being is related
to a large array of elements that most people associate
with having a better life.
Are people’s lives functioning well
because they’re happy, or are they happy
because their lives are functioning well?

??????????????
 Researchers found an
interesting evidence that
suggests being happier
came first and was
partially responsible for
the other positive outcomes
in life.
Top-Down and Bottom-Up Theories

● In general, there are two ways to approach the

question of how to calculate our well-being.
The first approach advocates that we create an overall
measure of our current well-being by examining how
satisfied we are with domains of life and then combine the
various satisfactions into a totality of current well-being.
 That is, we might assess the quality of our marriage or
friendships, how satisfying our job is, our yearly income, as
well as several other areas of life, and thereby create a
summary statement of our overall “satisfaction.” This
perspective is known as the bottom-up theory
 According to the other approach, our subjective
well-being is derived from overall evaluations that reflect
how we evaluate and interpret our experiences. From this
perspective, we bring our tendencies toward positive
interpretations to situations we encounter in life. This
approach is known as the top-down theory.
 Often this approach has
been measured by looking
at personality traits,
attitudes, and cognitions,
that is, what goes on
“inside” the person.
 Note that if the bottom-up
perspective is correct, then
interventions should focus on
changing the environments and
situations that one experiences—
such as providing better jobs,
safer neighborhoods, and higher
after-tax income, to enumerate a
few options.
 But if the top-down
model is correct, then
interventions to increase
happiness should focus on
changing people’s attitudes,
beliefs, perceptions, or
personality traits.
 In support of the bottom-up theory, research shows
that poverty is associated with lower levels of subjective
well-being and that certain negative life events can have a
lasting impact on happiness . That is, external
circumstances do matter. The top-down theory is
supported by studies that find certain attitudes,
self-perceptions, and personality traits are highly
correlated with subjective well-being
Top-Down Predictors Of Subjective
Well-Being
Cognition: Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty?

Cognitive theories of
subjective well-being argue
that the causes of high
subjective well-being are not
necessarily due to external
events in our lives but rather
to how we interpret those
events.
 Theorists who support
the cognitive model would
also contend that people
who are happier and more
satisfied with life choose to
view the world and their
own future in positive
ways.
● Years of research support the conception that how we
feel is often determined by how we think about and
interpret the events of our lives.

● That is, having a positive mood seems to lead us to

interpret events in positive ways—which then become
encoded as positive memories.
Construal theory of happiness → happiness as a function
of how people construe and interpret their experiences of
the world.

Evaluation theory → well-being is determined by how we

evaluate the constant flow of incoming information.
Self-Esteem

● Self-esteem is how we value and perceive ourselves.

● As might be expected, the first trait identified as
important for both happiness and life satisfaction is
positive self-esteem.
● Indeed, it is difficult to imagine anyone with
chronically low self-esteem who feels happy or
satisfied with life.
High self-esteem seems to be composed of at least four
components:
1) feeling that one is accepted by others,
2) being the recipient of positive evaluations from others,
3) believing that one compares favorably to other people
or to one’s ideal self, and
4) believing that one can initiate effective action in the
world
Optimism and Hope

Generally, people who are more optimistic about the future

and more hopeful are happier and enjoy greater life
satisfaction than others.

As compared with pessimists, optimists engage in more

effective coping behavior, have better physical health, and
experience better relationships with other people
 Expectations for positive outcomes in the future not
only enhance mood but also foster better coping
strategies concerning stress. That is, when faced with
stress and challenges, optimists tend to use
problem-focused coping, realistic acceptance of their
situation, humor, and positive reframing
 Optimists also possess greater
self-confidence and perseverance
when faced with challenges.

For example, an optimist who

loses her job might say, “This will
spur me to get a better, more
satisfying position” instead of
sinking into depressive self-pity.
 Optimism has been conceptualized in two major ways .

First, it can be viewed as dispositional optimism, or

the global expectation that events will turn out well in the
future .

Second, optimism has been defined as an explanatory

style, or a way in which people interpret the causes of
past events in their lives.
 That is, if they believe that their past failures are due
to transient causes, then the future may seem bright
because the causes for failure are no longer applicable.

Learned optimism → people could learn to be more

optimistic by paying attention to how they explain life
events to themselves.
Realistic optimism → is an honest
recognition that there may be
opportunities for positive growth or
learning experiences in even the
most challenging situations.
Hope → a feeling of
expectation and desire for a
certain thing to happen.

From this perspective, hope

is an optimistic belief that
desired goals can be
attained.
 Hope therapy is based on
the premise that hope drives the
emotions that define well-being.
Hope therapy attempts to help
people conceptualize clearer
goals, conceive numerous
paths to them, and summon the
energy and commitment to
reach those goals.
 Hope training tells us to focus on more concrete and
immediate goals that will lead to greater happiness
(e.g., express your gratefulness to someone you love).
Hope training can also prevent people from falling
victim to the false hope syndrome.
 False hope syndrome occurs when people believe that
behavioral change is easy and the results will be obvious in
a short period of time. Such overconfidence can breed false
hope, which will eventually undermine one’s efforts to
change when unrealistic expectations are not quickly
fulfilled.
Sense of Control and Self-Efficacy

● A sense of having personal control refers to the belief

that a person has the capacity to obtain desired
outcomes and to avoid undesirable ones.
● Having a sense of control also helps a person
maintain emotional stability and negotiate difficulties
in life
 In the past, this particular predictor has usually been
measured as locus of control.
A person with a strong internal locus of control tends
to attribute outcomes to self-directed efforts.
An external locus of control is the belief that outcomes
in one’s life are due to factors outside of the person’s
immediate control.
Self-efficacy is a concept with
strong associations to control
and hope. It involves the belief
that one has the “capabilities
to produce desired effects by
their own actions”
A Sense of Meaning in Life

Having a sense of meaning and purpose in life is also an

important predictor of higher subjective well-being.

Evidence suggests that the relationship may be

reciprocal, insofar as having a greater sense of meaning in
life increases well-being, and feeling more positive emotions
induces people to feel that their lives are meaningful.
 In subjective well-being studies, a sense of meaning
in life has often been assessed with measures of
religiosity
For instance, research found that when people were
actively engaged in pursuing a variety of goals that
were personally meaningful, their well-being increased.
Decision-Making and Self-Reflection

The cognitive processes used by

people who report being happy
extend to decision-making.
Studies have shown that happier
people tend to report more
satisfaction with all of their
options when making decisions.
 In this way, they tend to remain
satisfied with whatever choice they
eventually make. Interestingly, happier
people also tend to accept a choice that
is “good enough” rather than feeling
the need to maximize their decisions.
Happier people are “satisficers”
rather than “maximizers.”
Self-reflection can also involve simply
allowing thoughts to wander or to
daydream.
A study on mind wandering found
that people were less happy when
their minds were wandering and they
were thinking randomly about
matters unrelated to what they were
doing
Comments on the Cognitive Predictors

● It is clear that all cognitive predictors of happiness and life

satisfaction involve beliefs, interpretations of events, or
expectations.

● It is also clear that these judgments and expectations need

not be entirely accurate to increase happiness or life
satisfaction.
 Indeed, some provocative
research has suggested that
happiness is often related to
inaccurate perceptions of reality
—a phenomenon known as having
positive illusions
● Studies show that positive illusions about self, optimism,
and control are related to higher self-reported well-being

● Some people who score high on well-being scales are

actually suffering from an illusion of mental health. Their
high scores on self-report scales are due to defensive
reactions that deny their negative emotions; they are
“defensive deniers.”
 Social and cultural standards of behavior provide us with
both a context for comparisons and the actual standards we use
to make judgments; the results determine our feelings of value
and self-worth. This concept is described as that involving
social comparison processes.
 A second way to evaluate our
well-being is to compare ourselves
with other people. In such a
comparison, we ask ourselves
whether other people seem happier,
more satisfied, more talented, or more
successful than we are. But exactly
which people?
 That is, we can reference those whom we regard as
similar to ourselves (i.e., lateral social comparisons), those
we regard as better on some dimension (i.e., upward social
comparisons), or those we view as less fortunate (i.e.,
downward social comparisons).
 Earlier studies found that happier people often use
downward social comparisons.
If you choose persons whom you believe are getting more
out of life than you are, then you will feel less satisfied with
your own life. But if you recognize that others have more
difficult lives than you—if you feel grateful for what you
have even if it isn’t all that you hoped for—then you’ll tend
to feel more satisfied with your life.
 Happier people are also less impacted by social comparisons
with others that turn out negative. One of the ways happy
people do this is by not expecting the best possible life at all
times. Rather, happier people tend to expect a “good enough”
life, and therefore, social comparisons that result in feeling
their life is good enough are acceptable.
Positive Relationships With Other People

Among the strongest and

most important predictors
of subjective well-being is
the presence of positive
social relationships
● The perception that one is embedded in supportive social
relationships has been related to higher self-esteem,
successful coping, better physical health, and fewer
psychological problems.

● It is interesting to note that the impact of other

predictors of subjective well-being is increased if people
have good social support.
 That is, when individuals feel they have social support,
there are enhanced effects on subjective well-being from
positive self-esteem, optimism, and perceived control.
Positive social support helps to create a “rising tide” that
increases the effects of all the other predictors.
Having people around us who
validate and support us can
have a powerful effect on how
we feel.
 One might wonder whether people seek companionship
when they’re happy or when they’re sad. One study found
that people most wanted companionship when they were
happy . That is, feeling happy increases social contact.
Personality Traits
● The association of personality traits
with well-being has been a consistent
theme in research over many years.

● In addition, because some personality

traits are remarkably stable over the
years, results may be important
concerning the issue of the stability of
well-being.
Extraversion
Extraverted persons are
interested in things outside
themselves, such as the
physical and social
environment. In contrast,
introverts are interested more
in their own thoughts and
feelings and less interested in
social situations.
● Many studies have found
extraversion to be a leading
predictor of subjective
well-being

● In addition, extraversion has

been shown to predict levels of
happiness for up to 30 years
in the future
Agreeableness and Conscientiousness
● Agreeableness refers to being honest, trustworthy, modest,
compliant (as opposed to oppositional), tender-minded, and
altruistic.

● People high in conscientiousness tend to be orderly,

self-disciplined, achievement striving, deliberate, dutiful, and
competent.
It would seem that persons
high on both agreeableness
and conscientiousness would
be able to navigate social and
vocational situations far
more successfully than those
low on both traits.
Neuroticism
● Researchers have argued that among the most effective ways
to increase happiness and life satisfaction is to focus on
eliminating neuroticism.

● One facet of neuroticism is the most crucial for subjective

well-being: depression. Although low levels of anxiety, anger,
or self-consciousness are important for mental health, the
greatest impact on life satisfaction comes from the absence
of depression.
Comments on Personality Traits and Well-Being

Research on personality traits

and well-being has consistently
shown that personality impacts
both positive and negative
emotionality.
● Several studies have found age
effects such that traits have a
different impact on well-being
at different ages.

● Other research finds that

traits interact with life events.
 Therefore, well-being is not simply the result of
possessing certain traits, even basic traits like extraversion;
rather, well-being results from an interaction between one’s
traits and the life events he or she encounters over time.
Bottom-Up Predictors Of Subjective
Well-Being
 Stem from evaluations of
various life domains such as
income and marital status.
We examine demographic
factors such as income,
gender, and race as well.
Money, Income, and Wealth

● The assumption that money will bring happiness and

satisfaction is one of the most persistent messages of
many societies (Myers, 2000).

● Studies within countries have also found that higher

income is associated with greater self-reported
happiness (Diener et al., 2003).
● Such research seems to suggest that the aspects of 1)
living in a wealthier country and 2) having more money
within it tend to increase happiness.

● As you might expect, possessing disposable income can

provide a buffer against stress, offer access to better
health care, and result in less chronic worry about daily
necessities.
Livability Theory

● Suggests that access to the

social and economic benefits
found in wealthier countries
might account for
differences in well-being
among countries
(Veenhoven, 1999).
- Diener and Biswas-Diener
(2002) suggested that being
happier can facilitate higher
income partially because the
personality factors associated
with high subjective well-being
would certainly be assets in the
workplace.
Diminishing marginal utility

● Essentially, money matters

more if you have little of it,
but money matters less
when you have more of it.
- This phenomenon says that happiness increases more
quickly as income goes up only for those who have less
income to begin with (Ma & Zhang, 2014). Once a
certain point of income is reached, then happiness
changes little and aspects essential to life satisfaction
become more important.
Tipping point
- Below which money is important to well-being and above
which point money is less important.
Satiation points
● The amount of income needed before well-being no longer
raises with income.
- It would seem that income loses its effect on happiness
sooner than it does on life satisfaction.
- In addition, they found that income matters more for
well-being in wealthier countries.
- Although they found no gender differences, they did find
that satiation levels rose with education level.
● A study by Ng and Diener (2014) found that
materialistic satisfaction had a stronger impact on
well-being in poorer countries, whereas satisfying one’s
needs for autonomy, respect, and sociability had a
stronger impact in affluent countries.
● Studies conducted in the United
States indicate that levels of
happiness have not risen
dramatically from 1946 to the
present—a lengthy period in
which personal income has
risen substantially (see Figure
3.3).
● In addition, people who choose a
“voluntary simplicity” or
“environmentally friendly”
lifestyle often achieve a high
level of subjective well-being
despite their low income (Brown
& Kasser, 2005; Jacob &
Brinkerhoff, 1999).
● Last, some studies suggest that the higher subjective
well-being of people in the highest income brackets may
be the result of snob appeal. That is, researchers in
Britain and Wales found that having more income
enhanced happiness only if the extra income increased
their social status (Boyce, Brown, & Moore, 2010).
Hedonic treadmill

- In which one keeps setting

higher and higher goals in
hopes of finally becoming
“really happy” (Brickman &
Campbell, 1971).
● The evidence is clear that people who place a high value
on money for personal happiness are less satisfied with
their lives than others (Kasser, 2016).
● In fact, R. Wang, Liu, Jiang, and Song (2017) found that
materialism impairs a person ability to satisfy needs
important to well-being, and Soto and Luhmann (2012)
found that income predicted well-being more strongly for
neurotic individuals than for their more emotionally
stable peers.
● Therefore, on a daily basis higher income is related to
more anger, tension, hostility, and anxiety (Landsford,
2018).
● The hedonic treadmill may also push people to
persistently monitor their level of happiness, and such
constant self-attention actually impairs the ability to
achieve greater well-being (Ford & Mauss, 2014).
● In addition, researchers have found that when people
worked toward goals involving wealth, fame, or beauty,
their well-being actually decreased (Niemiec, Ryan, &
Deci 2009). Finally, a study by Kushlev, Dunn, and
Lucas (2015) found that income decreased daily sadness
but exerted little impact on daily happiness.
How Money Can Increase Subjective Well-Being

● First, the evidence is that happiness may come from what

people do with the money they have; specifically, some
researchers have distinguished between spending money on
“material purchases” (that is, material goods) versus
spending money on “experiential purchases” (that is,
experiences shared with family and friends, such as a family
vacation, or to help fulfill personal goals).
- That is, money may be associated with happiness if we
use it to foster relationships with family and friends,
enhance our competence in a skill or hobby, gain
autonomy (Niemiec et al., 2009), or practice
“inconspicuous consumption” rather than “conspicuous
consumption” (Frank, 2007).
- Using money to help fulfill
psychological needs, such as
learning new skills and gaining
respect or autonomy, can
increase positive emotions
(Diener et al., 2009).
● It may be that the challenge of the hedonic treadmill can
be overcome by using wealth in ways that reflect our core
values or that stimulate factors known to be related to
greater well-being. Or as Rabbi Hyman Schachtel
cogently said, “happiness is not having what you want
but wanting what you have.”
● Mohanty (2014) concluded that a positive attitude was
more important to well-being than income.

● Ma and Zhang (2014) stated, “There is certainly a causal

relationship between happiness and income, but it is
almost impossible to quantify it accurately”
● Similarly, Blanchflower and Oswald (2017), two of the
leading researchers on this topic, concluded that “there
are just too many factors—beyond sheer money—that go
to make up a happy human being; income is not a
sufficient statistic for happiness”.
 Gender: Are Men or Women Happier?

● When studies attempt to

answer the question “Who is
happier, men or women?” the
answers vary by the country
that people inhabit, the
psychological measurements
used for well-being, and other
factors.
● More specifically, studies have found that men’s
happiness has changed little over the years, but women’s
happiness has shown a steady decline since about 1972
(see Zuckerman et al., 2017). This association was found
regardless of such factors as marital status, number of
children, chronological age, or income level.
● Women report they experience and express all
emotions—pleasant and unpleasant—more frequently and
more intensely than men and they also report a greater
capacity for joy (Fujita, Diener, & Sandvik, 1991).
● Although women report more
emotionality than men, studies
also find no gender differences in
the frequency, intensity, or
impact of emotions (Simon,
2014). That is, the old
stereotype of women being
“more emotional” than men is
not supported by the research.
Differences in Women and Men

How they express and cope with emotions:

❖ Women tend to use expressive coping styles and seek
emotional support more than men.

❖ Men use an inexpressive coping style that requires

suppression of emotions or the release of aggression.
How they calculate their well-being:

❖ Women generally enhance their well-being through

positive self-esteem, greater harmony and closeness in
their relationships, passive leisure, and religion.

❖ Men primarily use positive self-esteem, active leisure,

and greater mental control.
● Researchers have found that women score higher on
well-being than men in countries that are more
traditional, less urbanized, and less technologically and
economically developed.
● Most studies have found that the problem for women in
modern societies is the different socialization patterns
applied to women and men (Simon, 2014). Several
studies have found that women who live in modern
societies experience more diverse types of stress than
men.
● Also, the multitasking
demands on many women
result in less time for
activities that could
increase well-being
(Sweet & Kanaroglou,
2016).
● Although women’s well-being initially fell when societies
moved from traditional to modern social and economic
conditions, the most recent research suggests that as
societal conditions continue to evolve women gain an
advantage over men in their well-being.
● In summary, the factors
that increase well-being are
complex, and nothing
indicates that either gender
is inevitably doomed to be
less happy than the other.
Attractiveness, Climate, and Other Predictors

● A substantial body of research has found that most

people tend to automatically attribute a variety of positive
qualities to good-looking people (Feingold, 1992).
- Appearing better looking may be simpler than undergoing
costly and potentially dangerous cosmetic surgery.
● Climate does have an
impact on mood.

- Studies have found that

pleasant warm weather
does improve mood, but
only in the spring (Keller et
al., 2005)
- On the other hand, a recent study found that people living
in areas with more clement temperature (i.e., 72 ° F/22
° C average temperature) scored higher on personality
traits related to sociability, emotional stability, and
personal growth (Wei et al., 2017).
● Deaton and Arora (2009) found that people taller than
average reported more enjoyment of life and less pain and
sadness than others. However, taller individuals also
reported more stress and for women, more worry.
Impact of Discrimination on Subjective Well-Being

● We have seen that several bottom-up predictors can

influence general well-being in a positive way. But there
are also bottom-up predictors that exert a detrimental
effect on well-being.
● A meta-analysis by Schmitt, Postmes, Branscombe, and
Garcia (2014) looked at a variety of studies that
investigated perceived discrimination and well-being or
the “consequences of the subjective perception that one
faces discrimination”
Perceived discrimination has a negative impact on well-being:

● Held for all types of discrimination they investigated—

concerning race, gender, sexual orientation, HIV+
status, mental illness, physical disability, and obesity

● Held for all types of well-being: positive affect, life

satisfaction, and self-esteem.
● Being the personal target of discrimination had a more
negative impact than being a member of a discriminated
group.

● In summary, discrimination hurts all types of well-being,

and the negative effects begin in childhood and can
continue throughout life.
Factors that helped to diminish the impact of discrimination:

❖ Positive social support- an important factor in

moderating the impact of discrimination

❖ Engagement-type coping strategies- attempts to alter

the situation or one’s reaction to it; more effective than
disengagement coping
❖ Positive group identification- appeared to be important
for higher well-being; resulted in self-esteem being less
impacted by discrimination than either happiness or life
satisfaction.
❖ “The consequences of perceiving discrimination are not
exclusively negative”- discrimination can help a person
form an accurate understanding of the world
❖ Accurate knowledge can lead to collective resistance to
fight discrimination
Race and Subjective Well-Being

● Recent surveys find higher

scores on happiness,
optimism, and other
markers of well-being for
African Americans than
for Whites
● In a study of African Americans, significant predictors of
happiness and life satisfaction included being older, being
married, having more income, attending religious
services, having good health, and having friends with
whom to discuss important issues. These predictors were
almost identical to significant predictors for other racial
groups.
● It is also important to note that individuals from
multiracial backgrounds can face unique discrimination
challenges (Snyder, 2016).
Factors that help to increase well-being in spite of discrimination:

❖ Positive group identification

❖ Religious commitment and less need for revenge

❖ Taking into account factors such as income, education

level, and occupational level within a society
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

● Negative consequences exist

for all types of
discrimination, including
discrimination based on
sexual orientation, gender
identity, or sexual
preferences.
● Kyle Bandermann and Dawn Szymanski (2014)
investigated “heterosexist oppression” and found that the
consequences for LGBT people can be serious enough to
meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD).
Factors that can help minimize the impact of discrimination:

● Positive well-being among LGBT people has been

associated with greater social support

● “Come out” or to be public about their sexuality- one of

the unique coping strategies for LGBT people; well-being
was associated with positive interpersonal relationships
● Greater education about LGBT
issues and advocacy for LGBT
rights- associated with
commitments to social justice
and greater self-awareness
Gender-confirming surgery

- A study by Prunas, Anzani, and Di Sarno (2017) found

greater self-acceptance and higher eudaimonic well-being
after gender-confirming surgery for both trans men and
trans women.
Bottom-Up Predictors and the “Happiest Man in America”

- Bottom-up predictors such as gender, income, race, and

marital status interact in relatively complex ways
throughout the lifespan to influence levels of subjective
well-being. However, none of these factors need dictate
our happiness and well-being.
“Happiest man in America”

- Mr. Alvin Wong of Honolulu, Hawaii, a 69-year-old

Chinese American who is 5’10” tall, has been married for
over 35 years, has two children, owns his own business,
and is a kosher-observing Jew.