Measuring Well-Being

This edited volume focuses on both conceptual and practical challenges in measuring well-being. Leveraging insights across diverse disciplines, including psychology, economics, sociology, statistics, public health, theology, and philosophy, contributors consider the philosophical and
theological traditions on happiness, well-being and the good life, as well as recent empirical research on well-being and its measurement. The chapters review what is known empirically about how different measures of well-being relate to each other and considers various arguments for and against use
of specific measures of well-being in different contexts. Further, the volume includes discussion of how a synthesis of existing research helps us make sense of the proliferation of different measures and concepts within the field, while also foregrounding the insights gained by investigations and
conceptual thinking occurring across diverse disciplines.

"This edited volume explores conceptual and practical challenges in measuring well-being. Given the bewildering array of measures available, and ambiguity regarding when and how to measure particular aspects of well-being, knowledge in the field can be difficult to reconcile. Representing numerous disciplines including psychology, economics, sociology, statistics, public health, theology, and philosophy, contributors consider the philosophical and theological traditions on happiness, well-being and the good life, as well as recent empirical research on well-being and its measurement. Leveraging insights across diverse disciplines, they explore how research can help make sense of the proliferation of different measures and concepts, while also proposing new ideas to advance the field. Some chapters engage with philosophical and theological traditions on happiness, well-being and the good life, some evaluate recent empirical research on well-being and consider how measurement requirements may vary by context and purpose, and others more explicitly integrate methods and synthesize knowledge across disciplines. The final section offers a lively dialogue about a set of recommendations for measuring well-being derived from a consensus of the contributors. Collectively, the chapters provide insight into how scholars might engage beyond disciplinary boundaries and contribute to advances in conceptualizing and measuring well-being. Bringing together work from across often siloed disciplines will provide important insight regarding how people can transcend unhealthy patterns of both individual behavior and social organization in order to pursue the good life and build better societies"--

"Measuring Well-Being represents a tremendous advance in discussions of wellbeing. Bringing together diverse disciplines and perspectives into dialog, this book provides critical historical and conceptual background for understanding the complexities and challenges in measuring well-being.
Importantly, this book also provides practical guidance for selecting tools and implementing assessment across a range of contexts." -- Crystal Park, Professor of Psychological Sciences, University of Connecticut, co-author of Trauma, Meaning, and Spirituality and co-editor of The Handbook of
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality

"This interesting volume has something for everyone. It brings together the down-to-earth empiricism of the World Happiness Report with a wide range of philosophical and theological perspectives. And miraculously they produce agreed recommendations. A very thought-provoking read." -- Richard Layard,
Programme Director of the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics, Co-editor of the World Happiness Report, and author of Can We Be Happier? Evidence and Ethics

"Measuring Well-Being: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Social Sciences and the Humanities, edited by Matthew Lee, Laura Kubzansky, and Tyler VanderWeele, is easily one of the most creative syntheses of past, present, and future research on well-being that exists. It is not often that a panel
of such original and cooperative scholars--from disciplines such as psychology, psychiatry, philosophy, theology, economics, public health, political science, and policy--can be assembled. If you have an inquisitive mind and a creative motivation, this is a great read." -- Everett L. Worthington Jr.,
Commonwealth Professor of Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University, co-editor of Handbook of Humility: Theory, Research and Applications, and author of Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Theory and Application