Social Well-Being

Author(s): Corey Lee M. Keyes

Source: Social Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 61, No. 2 (Jun., 1998), pp. 121-140
Published by: American Sociological Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2787065
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 Social Psychology Quarterly
1998, Vol. 61, No. 2,121-140

Social Well-Being*
COREY LEE M. KEYES
Emory University

The proposal of five dimensions of social well-being, social integration, social

contribution, social coherence, social actualization, and social acceptance, is the-
oretically substantiated. The theoretical structure, construct validity, and the
social structural sources of the dimensions of social well-being are investigated in
two studies. Item and confirmatory factor analyses in both studies corroborate
the theoretical model of social well-being. The new scales correlate convergently
with measures of anomie, generativity, perceived social constraints, community
involvement and neighborhood quality. The new scales correlate discriminantly
with measures of dysphoria, global well-being, physical health and optimism.
Multivariate analyses in both studies substantiate the claim that social well-being
is an achievement, facilitated by educational attainment and age. The state and
direction of the study of adult functioning are discussed.

What is the nature of a well-lived life? gencies and information.

Does positive mental health include social Role theories and concepts delineate the
challenges and criteria? Inquiry into the strains and incongruities between personal
nature of well-being should embrace the and social expectations (Biddle 1986; Heiss
division of life into public and private tasks, 1981) or focus on the ways in which people
a distinction that has pervaded social psy- manage the incongruity between private and
chological theory. public life and images (Goffman 1959; also
The self, for example, is both a public see Shaw and Costanzo 1982).
process and a private product (James 1890; Finally, as adults age they purportedly
Mead 1934). Individual differences in neu- encounter tasks that force them to choose to
roticism and extraversion (Costa and adapt through private resignation or public
McCrea 1980), self-awareness (Duval and social involvement (i.e., generativity)
Wicklund 1972; Fenigstein, Scheier and Buss (Erikson 1950; also see Adler 1979). The pri-
1975), self-conception (Greenwald and vate and the public sides of life are two
Pratkanis 1984; Trafimow, Triandis and Goto potential sources of life's challenges, with
1991; Triandis 1989) and esteem (Luhtanen possibly distinct consequences for judging a
and Crocker 1992) characterize people as well-lived life.
either attentive to situational or internal exi- Despite the distinctions between public
and private life, the leading conceptions of
*This research was supported by the John D. and adult functioning portray well-being as a pri-
Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research marily private phenomenon. The clinical tra-
Network on Successful Midlife Development (MID-
dition tends to operationalize well-being
MAC), whose director is Dr. Orville Gilbert Brim.
Data for Study 1 are taken from a local study of
through measures of depression, distress,
Positive Social Functioning, supported by MIDMAC; anxiety, or substance abuse (see, e.g., Thoits
data for Study 2 come from MIDMAC's national 1992). Well-being therefore is the absence of
study. I am indebted to Hazel Rose Markus, Alice S. negative conditions and feelings, the result
Rossi, Dov Shmotkin, Richard Shweder, and
of adjustment and adaptation to a hazardous
Elizabeth J. Thomson for their support and feedback
on Study 1 and an earlier draft of this paper. The world. The psychological tradition opera-
feedback received from the SPQ reviewers and co- tionalizes well-being as the subjective evalu-
editor, Dr. Lynn Smith-Lovin, improved the paper ation of life via satisfaction and affect (e.g.,
measurably. Special thanks go to Jane Allyn Piliavin
Andrews and Withey 1976; Bradburn 1969;
and Carol D. Ryff for their indefatigable feedback
Campbell 1981; Campbell, Converse, and
and guidance. Direct correspondence to the
Department of Sociology, 1555 Pierce Drive, Rodgers 1976; Diener 1984; Gurin, Veroff,
Tarbutton Hall, Atlanta, GA 30322. and Feld 1960) orpersonal functioning (Ryff

121

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 122 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

1989; Ryff and Keyes 1995). According to neighborhood), as well as the degree to
this view, emotional well-being is an excess which they feel that they belong to their
of positive over negative feelings; personal communities and society. Social integration
psychological functioning is the presence of draws on conceptions of social cohesion
more positive than negative perceived self- (Durkheim), cultural estrangement and
attributes such as personal growth. Although social isolation (Seeman), and class con-
the existing models emphasize private fea- sciousness (Marx). In Durkheim's view,
tures of well-being, individuals remain social coordination and health reflect indi-
embedded in social structures and communi- viduals' connections to each other through
ties, and face countless social tasks and chal- norms and indicate their fondness for soci-
lenges. To understand optimal functioning ety. According to Seeman (1959, 1983, 1991;
and mental health, social scientists also also see Merton 1949), cultural estrange-
should investigate adults' social well-being ment is the cleavage of self from society.
(also see Larson 1992, 1996). Estrangement is the rejection of society or
The purpose of this study is to substanti- the realization that society does not reflect
ate and test a social model of well-being that one's own values and lifestyle. Social isola-
reflects positive social health. Therefore I dis- tion is the breakdown of personal relation-
cuss the social nature of life and its challenges, ships that provide meaning and support.
because such challenges might be criteria that Like Marx's conception of class conscious-
individuals use to assess the quality of their ness, social integration entails the construal
lives. I propose operational definitions and of collective membership and fate.
indicators of social well-being. In two repre- Social acceptance is the construal of soci-
sentative samples, I examine the theoretical ety through the character and qualities of
structure and validity of each scale, as well as other people as a generalized category.
some of the social structural origins of each Individuals who illustrate social acceptance
dimension of social well-being. trust others, think that others are capable of
kindness, and believe that people can be
industrious. Socially accepting people hold
Symptoms of Life's Social Challenges
favorable views of human nature (see
Social health, or at least its absence, is a Wrightsman 1991) and feel comfortable with
preeminent concern in classic sociological others (Horney 1945). Social acceptance is
theory. Despite the importance of anomie the social analogue to personal acceptance:
and alienation, Durkheim and Marx also dis- People who feel good about their personali-
cussed several dimensions of positive social ties and accept both the good and the bad
health. Among the potential benefits of pub- aspects of their lives exemplify good mental
lic life are social integration and cohesion, a health (Fey 1955; Ryff 1989). Therefore
sense of belonging and interdependence, and social acceptance of others might be the
a sense of shared consciousness and collec- social counterpart to self-acceptance.
tive fate (Durkheim 1951). The benefits of Social contribution is the evaluation of
social life provide a foundation for a global one's social value. It includes the belief that
definition of a social version of well-being. one is a vital member of society, with some-
Social well-being is the appraisal of thing of value to give to the world. Social
one's circumstance and functioning in soci- contribution resembles the concepts of effi-
ety. Below I propose and describe several cacy and responsibility. Self-efficacy is the
social challenges that constitute possible belief that one can perform certain behav-
dimensions of social wellness. iors (Bandura 1977) and can accomplish spe-
Social integration is the evaluation of the cific objectives (Gecas 1989). Social respon-
quality of one's relationship to society and sibility is the designation of personal obliga-
community. Healthy individuals feel that tions that ostensibly contribute to society.
they are a part of society. Integration is Social contribution reflects whether, and to
therefore the extent to which people feel what degree, people feel that whatever they
they have something in common with others do in the world is valued by society and con-
who constitute their social reality (e.g., their tributes to the commonweal. This construct

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 SOCIAL WELL-BEING 123

is consistent with Marx's thesis that people Social coherence is analogous to mean-
are naturally productive (Israel 1971). inglessness in life (Mirowsky and Ross 1989;
Alienation is the economic counterpart Seeman 1959, 1991), and involves appraisals
to the diminution of the perceived value of that society is discernable, sensible, and pre-
one's life and everyday activities. The devel- dictable. Psychologically, healthier individuals
opmental analogue of social contribution is see their personal lives as meaningful and
generative motives and behavior. Midlife, coherent (Ryff 1989). The sense of personal
according to Erikson (1950), is a period when coherence, according to Antonovsky (1994),
adults can act on their desire to contribute to may be a marker of health: individuals who
society by molding the next generation into have coherence attempt to maintain coher-
productive members of society (for example, ence when faced with unpredictable and trau-
by mentoring). matic life events.
Social actualization is the evaluation of In sum, perspectives rooted in philoso-
the potential and the trajectory of society. phy, social psychological theory and cultural
This is the belief in the evolution of society analysis argue cogently for emphasizing the
and the sense that society has potential which social equally with the personal nature of
is being realized through its institutions and well-being. Themes of integration, social
citizens. Healthier people are hopeful about involvement, and public consciousness in
the condition and future of society, and they classical sociological theory, which are reiter-
can recognize society's potential. Socially ated in social psychological conceptions of
healthier people can envision that they, and self in society, suggest the social challenges
people like them, are potential beneficiaries faced by adults.
of social growth. The evaluation of social
progress is consistent with Srole's- (1956)
Social Structural Sources of Social Well-Being
interpretation of anomie as the evaluation of
society's potential by the evaluation of the People do not begin or maintain the
character of society's custodians (for exam- quest for social well-being with the same
ple, public officials). Similarly, social actual- assets. Social structure should constrain or
ization resembles fatalisnm (Lefcourt 1982) facilitate individuals' ability and opportunity
and powerlessness (Seeman 1991). to respond successfully to the social chal-
Parallel to self-determination, social lenges of life. Social stratification and aging
actualization is the sense that society con- are prominent structural aspects of life and
trols its destiny. The focus on the realization have been the subject of prior research on the
of social potential also is similar to the sources of other dimensions of health and
theme of potential and its development as well-being. In particular, educational attain-
self-realization (Maslow 1968), eudaimonic ment and processes of aging generally affect
happiness (Waterman 1993), and personal instrumental resources and self-conceptions.
growth (Ryff 1989). Optimal functioning, in Educational attainment launches young
part, is openness to experience and the adults into specific occupations, affecting
desire and effort to grow continually. Social what they earn and the conditions and peo-
actualization captures these ideas of growth ple they encounter daily. Indirectly, through
and development. monetary sequelae, education determines
Social coherence is the perception of the the quality of one's housing and neighbor-
quality, organization, and operation of the hood (Karabel and Halsey 1977; Kohn 1969;
social world, and it includes a concern for Kohn and Schooler 1982; Sewell and Hauser
knowing about the world. Healthier people 1975). Lower socioeconomic status (SES)
not only care about the kind of world in has been linked consistently to diminished
which they live, but also feel that they can physical and mental health (N. Adler et al.
understand what is happening around them. 1994), partially because life at lower socioe-
Such people do not delude themselves that conomic levels appears to impair health-pro-
they live in a perfect world; they have main- moting self-conceptions (Mirowsky and
tained or promoted the desire to make sense Ross 1989).
of life. Whereas higher levels of education

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 124 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

should promote social well-being, the rela- (e.g., generativity) that measures how great-
tionship of age to social 'well-being is equiv- ly individuals perceive that they are valued
ocal. Aging and age differences include by others, are used as social resources (such
numerous aspects that are not always consis- as sources of advice), and contribute to oth-
tent. For example, despite the apparent con- ers' well-being.
striction of social positions and activity People who feel socially integrated,
(Carstensen 1995; Riley, Kahn, and Foner close to and deriving comfort from others in
1994), and the decline in physical health their community, should feel that they live in
with age, research illustrates how adults a vital and healthy neighborhood. Socially
seem to age successfully through several integrated individuals therefore should per-
mechanisms. (For a discussion of possible ceive their neighbors as trustworthy and
self-mechanisms, see Heidrich and Ryff their neighborhoods as safe. Adults integrat-
1996.) Moreover, while some self-concep- ed into society also should be likely to vol-
tions (such as personal control) apparently unteer to maintain their neighborhood, per-
decline with age (Mirowsky 1995), other haps because they feel their actions will be
studies find that adults, as they age, feel hap- valued by others and because they want to
pier and more satisfied with their lives and maintain the quality of their neighborhood.
report higher levels of some dimensions of
Finally, people who see life as socially
psychological well-being (Heidrich and Ryff
coherent should also feel that their private
1996; Ryff and Keyes 1995). The ability to
life is coherent. Therefore individuals with
age successfully suggests that some facets of
higher scores on the social coherence scale
social well-being, like psychological well-
should feel that their personal fives are more
being, may increase with age.
predicable, more controllable, and thus gen-
In the two probability samples I investi-
erally sensible and understandable.
gate the hypothesis of the social nature of
In short, insofar as the new scales mea-
well-being and the hypothesis of the social
sure social well-being, socially healthier indi-
structural sources of variation in social well-
viduals should not regard society and its cus-
being, and subject these hypotheses to the
todians as unsavory, should perceive them-
standard of replication. I operationalize the
selves as social resources, should care for
dimensions in a local probability sample and
and feel safe in their communities, and
replicate them in a larger, nationally repre-
should lead coherent personal lives.
sentative sample of adults. Confirmatory
Regression analysis of the disparities in
factor analyses permit assessment of the
social well-being, by education and age, per-
utility of the hypothesized five-factor model
mits investigation of the hypothesized struc-
of social well-being. I then correlate the new
tural sources of social well-being. Prior
scales with extant indicators and scales of
research on the structural sources of psycho-
constructs and processes that reflect individ-
uals' perceptions of positive social function- logical aspects of mental health suggests that

ing. In the single exception I correlate the social well-being should increase as the level

new scales with a scale of anomie, which of education rises. Aging, however, involves

measures the absence of social health. losses and the ability to adapt and age suc-
Insofar as all of the new scales measure cessfully. Therefore, although social well-
social wellness, they should correlate nega- being may increase with age, I explore the
tively with appraisals of anomie. possibility of a nonlinear relationship
In particular, social actualization and between age and social well-being. For
social acceptance should correlate strongly example, some dimensions of social well-
with anomie because the content of the being could increase more rapidly because
Srole anomie scale focuses on the perceived adults face the same social challenges that
quality of society (as does social actualiza- subside with age or adults adapt with age.
tion) and on the character of other people However, social well-being could increase
like public officials (as does social accep- less quickly with age because the social chal-
tance). Social contribution, on the other lenges of life that might intensify cannot be
hand, should correlate strongly with a scale offset by adults' attempts to age successfully.

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 SOCIAL WELL-BEING 125

METHODS the self-administered questionnaire phase, or

a combined response rate of 61 %.
Samples
Table 1 reports the demographic charac-
Study 1 is a random-digit-dialing sample teristics of each sample. The data from the
(Waksberg 1978) of adults age 18 or older national sample data are weighted to adjust
living in Dane County, Wisconsin. Madison for unequal probabilities of household selec-
is the seat of Dane County and the capital of tion and unequal probabilities of respondent
the state. All interviews, utilizing computer- selection within households. The sample
assisted technology, were conducted on the weight also poststratifies the sample to match
telephone by trained persons at the Letters the October 1995 Current Population Survey
and Science Survey Center at the University proportions of adults on the basis of gender,
of Wisconsin, Madison. After the pretesting age, race, education, and marital status, as well
and interviewer training, interviews were as the proportions of adults living in metro-
conducted between April and June 1994. politan (nonmetro) areas and various regions
When determining household composition, (northeast, midwest, south and west) of the
interviewers selected the household member United States. The mean age of the Dane
who had celebrated his or her birthday most County sample is 43.6 (SD = 15.9), compared
recently (see O'Rourke and Blair 1983). The with a mean age of 45.3 (SD = 13.5) in the
interview lasted 30 minutes on average. The national sample. In the Dane County sample,
sample includes 373 adults, for a response fewer respondents are married and more
rate of 63 %. have attained slightly higher levels of educa-
Study 2 is a random-digit-dialing sample tion. Moreover, the Dane County sample is
of noninstitutionalized English-speaking mostly Caucasian, and more households
adults age 25 to 74, living in the 48 contigu- report slightly higher household incomes
ous states, whose household included at least than in the national sample.
one telephone.1 In the first stage of the mul-
tistage sampling design, the investigators
Measures
selected households with equal probability
via telephone numbers. At the second stage, Social well-being. Theoretical concep-
they used disproportionate stratified sam- tions in Study 1 (Dane County) promoted
pling to select respondents. The sample was operational definitions that guided the cre-
stratified by age and sex; males between ation of indicators (Appendix A). On the
ages 65 and 74 were oversampled. basis of linguistic clarity and face validity, I
Field procedures were initiated in retained 10 items (five positive and five neg-
January 1995 and lasted approximately 13 ative) per scale and placed them in a ran-
months. The respondents were contacted by dom sequence. After six background ques-
professional personnel; those who agreed to tions were asked, the 50 items were adminis-
participate in the entire study took part in a tered at the beginning of the telephone
computer-assisted telephone interview lasting interview. Through the unfolding technique
30 minutes on average. Respondents then
(Groves 1989), respondents stated whether
were mailed two questionnaire booklets
they agreed or disagreed, and then judged
requiring about 1.5 hours on average to com-
how much (strongly, moderately, or slightly).
plete. As incentives for participation in the
The response options therefore range from
complete study, each respondent was offered
1, strongly disagree, to 7, strongly agree.
$20, a commemorative pen, periodic reports
Interviewers were trained to refrain from
of study findings, and a copy of a monograph
converting voluntary expressions of uncer-
on the study. The sample consists of 3,032
tainty (i.e., "don't know" and "neither agree
adults, with a 70% response rate for the tele-
nor disagree") into substantive answers. A
phone phase and an 87% response rate for
total of 87 respondents expressed uncertainty
at least once in response to the items.retained
1 This sample was assembled by MIDMAC, the
in Study 1. Expressions of "neither agree nor
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
Research Network on Successful Midlife disagree" are coded to the midpoint of the
Development. scale; "don't know't expressions are assigned

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 126 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

Table 1. Characteristics and Comparison of Specific Samples from

Successful Midlife (Percentages)

Study 1 Study 2
Dane County Sample National (Weighted)Sample
(N = 373) (N = 3,032)

Agea
Young 44.2 40.5
Midlife 38.9 40.3
Older 16.9 19.2
Gender
Male 41.2 43.5
Female 58.8 56.5
Marital Status
Married 51.5 68.1
Never married 27.9 8.6
Other 20.6 23.3
Race
Caucasian 92.2 83.8
African-American 3.0 11.4
Other 4.8 5.7
Education
Up to 12 years 30.0 51.5
13 to 15 years 30.5 25.5
16 years or more 39.4 23.0
Income
$14,999 or less 12.4 18.3
$15,000 to $24,999 19.3 16.3
$25,000 to $34,999 15.7 12.2
1$35,OOO to $49,999 16.0 19.5
$50,000 or more 36.6 33.6

aDane County sample: Young = 18

= 40-59; older = 60-74.

the mean of a respondent's existing items on a ticipation, social responsibility, and social
scale. In cases in which they agreed or dis- networks.
agreed but did not report the strength of their Validation criteria, Study 1. I measured
feelings, respondents are assigned the mean ofanomie (Srole 1956) with a scale consisting
the "agree" or "disagree" side of the response of three items used in the General Social
scale. Thus, for example, respondents who Survey (GSS) (Davis and Smith 1994).
agreed with an item but did not know how Respondents indicated whether they agree
strongly they felt were imputed the mean of or disagree that (1) "Most public officials are
the "agree" (strongly, moderately or slightly) not really interested in the problems of the
side of the response scale. average person," (2) "The lot of the average
Each scale in Study 2 consists of only person is getting worse, not better," and (3)
three items. (Because of concern about "It is not fair to bring children into the world
respondents' fatigue, I did not include all with the way things look for the future." The
items.) In keeping with the self-administered internal (alpha) consistency of the anomie
format, all pronouns are first person (in con- scale is .57, which is identical to the average
trast to second person in Study 1). The reliability (Ma = .57, SD = .04) of the same
response format ranges from 1, strongly dis- scale over six years of the GSS.2
agree, to 7, strongly agree. Respondents Two indicators measure aspects of global
were given a midpoint option labeled "don't psychological well-being. Respondents indi-
know." The social well-being items were cated whether they felt very, somewhat, a lit-
ordered randomly and embedded in a sec-
tion of questions inquiring about social par- 2 GSS data are taken from 1984, 1985, 1987,1988,
1989, and 1990.

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 SOCIAL WELL-BEING 127

tle, to not at all, satisfied with their lives right sometimes feel I am being pushed around in
now. On the same scale, respondents were my life." The internal (alpha) reliability of
instructed to pretend for a moment that they the perceived constraint scale is .86.
knew their life would end next week, and Twelve items measured the experience of
then to indicate how happy they felt about dysphoric symptoms. Respondents indicated
the life they had been able to live. Finally, how often, during the past 30 days, they expe-
respondents indicated whether they had ever rienced each symptom: "none of the time," "a
worked with other people in their community little of the tine," "some of the time," "most of
to solve a problem in their community. the time," or "all of the time." The symptoms
Respondents who had been involved then are feeling (1) "so sad nothing could cheer
indicated whether their community activity you up," (2) "nervous," (3) "restless or fid-
occurred during the past 12 months. gety," (4) "hopeless," (5) "that everything was
Validation criteria, Study 2. Respondents an effort," (6) "worthless," (7) "cheerful," (8)
indicated whether six indicators of genera- "in good spirits," (9) "extremely happy," (10)
tivity described them a lot, somewhat, a lit- "calm and peaceful," (11) "satisfied," and (12)
tle, or not at all. The internal (alpha) reliabil- "full of life." The internal (alpha) reliability of
ity of the modified Loyola Generativity the dysphoria scale is .92; a higher score indi-
Scale (based on McAdams and de St. Aubin cates the experience of more negative and less
1992) is .84. Higher scores reveal individuals positive symptoms.
who feel that they have made contributions Finally, during the telephone interview,
to society, have imparted skills or advice to respondents indicated their physical health
others, like to teach things to others, have as poor, fair, good, very good, or excellent.
had a good influence on others, and feel Also during the telephone interview, respon-
needed by others. A scale measuring per- dents indicated whether "being optimistic"
ceived neighborhood health consists of four described them a lot, somewhat, a little, or
indicators intended to measure feelings of not at all.
neighborhood trust and safety. Respondents
indicated whether the following statements
RESULTS
describe their situations a lot, some, a little,
or not at all: (1) "I feel safe being out alone In Study 1 1 retained items with a correct-
in my neighborhood during the daytime," (2) ed item-to-scale correlation of .30 or higher
"I feel safe being out alone in my neighbor- as indicators of their respective constructs.
hood during the night," (3) "I could call on a Similarly, in Study 2 I retained items (three
neighbor for help if I needed it," and (4) per scale) that did not suppress the internal
"People in my neighborhood trust each reliability estimate as indicators of the latent
othe'r." The internal (alpha) reliability of the construct. One indicator of social coherence
neighborhood health scale is .66; a higher in Study 2 suppressed the scale internal con-
score indicates a stronger feeling of neigh- sistency; therefore I omitted it from further
borhood trust and safety. analysis. The retained items functioned as
Respondents also completed a scale indicators of their respective latent constructs
measuring perceived constraints, which in confirmatory factor-analytic models exam-
reflects how much individuals perceive ining the relative explanatory power of the
obstacles and unpredictable contingencies in theoretical model of social well-being. I used
their lives (see Lachman and Weaver PRELIS 2 (Joreskog and Sorbom 1993a) to
Forthcoming). Respondents indicated create the variance and covariance matrix,
whether they agree or disagree (strongly, and I estimated the parameters and indices of
somewhat, or a little) with eight self-descrip- fit of the measurement models using LISREL
tive statements, including the following as 8 (Joreskog and Sorbom 1993b).
examples: (1) "There is little I can do to To assess indicator-to-construct overlap
change the important things in my life," (2) in Study 1, I fitted the five-factor theoretical
"What happens in my life is often beyond model to the variance-covariance matrix and
my control," (3) "There are many things that observed the completely standardized modi-
interfere with what I want to do," and (4) "I fication index (CSMI). When each indicator

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 128 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

and latent construct is standardized, the fit and the descriptive indices of fit of a series
CSMI is the predicted correlation of each of models fitted to the variance-covariance
indicator with a latent construct other than matrices from Study 1 and Study 2. As a rule
its own. An indicator with a CSMI of .40 or of thumb, values of goodness of fit and
higher ig a potentially overlapping item. adjusted goodness of fit indices at .90 or
Next I refitted the theoretical model higher signify models that fit the data very
estimating the effect of the unrelated con- closely. The critical N estimates the sample
struct on the potentially overlapping item to size needed to reject the null hypothesis for a
the variance-covariance matrix. One item given model at a given level of alpha (.05)
purportedly indicating social actualization (see Bollen 1989). Critical Ns exceeding 200
overlapped (.40, or > completely standard- represent adequate models; increasingly larg-
ized loading); therefore I omitted it. er Critical Ns represent even better-fitting
Examination of higher-order sample models. I do not entertain theories about
moments revealed univariate and multivariate measurement error correlations; that is, mea-
skewness and kurtosis in both Study 1 and surement error is presumed to be random.
Study 2. Because of the small sample size in Models 1 through 3 serve as null
proportion to the number of indicators in hypotheses. Model 1 asserts that there are as
Study 1, I identified item-distribution trans- many latent constructs as indicators (i.e.,
formations that minimized the value of indicators are not correlated). In contrast,
Mardia's multivariate test of skewness and Model 2 postulates that the relationship
kurtosis (see Bollen 1989:423). The conclu- among indicators is the result of a single fac-
sions were the same regardless of item trans- tor, which means that all indicators intercor-
formations, but the transformations slightly relate at about the same level. Model 3,
enhanced the fit of each model. Consequently, however, posits that the relationship among
I show the results of maximum likelihood indicators is explained by a negative-item
(ML) estimation based on the exponential and a positive-item factor. Model 3 is artifac-
transformation, which caused the greatest tual, because it posits that people respond
reduction in multivariate skew and kurtosis. not to the content but to the valence of the
Because the sample in Study 2 was large scale items, agreeing with all positively
enough, I derived parameter estimates phrased items and disagreeing with all nega-
through weighted least squares (WLS). Using tively phrased items.
PRELIS 2 to estimate the asymptotic vari- Models 4 through 7 represent tests of
ance-covariance matrix, I then employed whether some of the proposed dimensions of
WLS to weight the variance-covariance social well-being are distinct. Model 4 posits
matrix by the inverse of the asymptotic vari- two latent constructs: One causes the indica-
ance-covariance. As a result, I achieved (in tors of social integration and social contribu-
tion, and the other causes the indicators of
theory) distribution-free, asymptotically unbi-
social coherence, social acceptance and social
ased, efficient parameter estimates. In other
words, WLS produces more accurate esti- actualization.3 Model 5 posits three latent
mates than ML as sample size increases, espe- constructs to test the distinctness of social
cially when the indicator distributions are coherence indicators from social acceptance
highly nonnormal (see Bollen 1989; Browne and social actualization indicators. Thus one
1984). Because of the large sample size, the of these constructs still causes social integra-
multivariate skew of the indicator distribu- tion and social contribution, but another
tions proved highly influential. The fit of all causes only social coherence, while the third
models was substantially better with WLS construct causes social acceptance and social
actualization. Model 6 posits four latent con-
than with ML, although these estimators pro-
structs to test the theory that social integra-
duced identical conclusions. Therefore I show
only the estimates based on WLS.
3 The reduced theoretical models do not exhaust
all possible combinations. The reduced theoretical
Validation: Structure models, based on conceptual similarity, are the best
theoretical hunches about what constructs might not
Table 2 presents the chi-square index of be distinct.

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 SOCIAL WELL-BEING 129

Table 2. Fit Estimates of Alternative and Theoretical Confirmatory Models of Social Well-Being

Study 1: Dane County Sample

Telephone Interview
(N= 373)
Maximum Likelihooda

Chi-
Model Square df GFI (AGFI) CN

1. Independence 3,747 464 .36 (.27) 54

2. Single Factor 1,556 464 .73 (.69) 130
3. Two-Factor Artifacts 1,521 463 .73 (.69) 132
4. Two-Factor Reduced Theory 1,259 463 .79 (.76) 160
5. Three-Factor Reduced Theory 1,178 461 .81 (.78) 170
6. Four-Factor Reduced Theory 1,044 458 .84 (.81) 190
7. Five-Factor Theory 914 454 .86 (.84) 216

Study 2: National (Unweighted) Sample

Self-Administered Questionnaire
(N = 2,887)
Weighted Least Squares

Chi-
Model Square df GFI (AGFI) CN

1. Independence 3,372 77 .76 (.67) 94

2. Single Factor 1,677 77 .88 (.84) 188
3. Two-Factor Artifact 1,446 76 .90 (.86) 216
4. Two-Factor Reduced Theory 1,211 76 .91 (.88) 257
5. Three-Factor Reduced Theory 1,002 74 .93 (.90) 304
6. Four-Factor Reduced Theory 740 71 .95 (.92) 396
7. Five-Factor Theory 705 67 .95 (.92) 397

Note: GFI(AGFI) = Goodness of fit index (adjusted goodness of fit index); CN = critical N.
Analyses in both samples are based on imputation of mean from a respondent's own extant items.
aAnalysis based on exponential transformation of item distribution.

tion is a latent construct distinct from social indices of fit suggest that the theoretical
contribution. Model 7 investigates whether five-factor model in Study 1 fits the data
social acceptance and social actualization are only adequately. Simulation studies, howev-
distinct latent constructs. In other words, er, suggest that the average values of many
Model 7 is the proposed five-factor theoreti- descriptive indices decrease as sample size
cal model of social well-being. decreases and as the number of indicators
To examine how well a model fits the increases (see Bollen 1989:277). The theoret-
data, I compared each model with the imme- ical model in Study 1 therefore fits well
diately preceding model, using the chi-square despite the smaller sample size (N = 373)
contrast. The difference in chi-square values and the large number of indicators (32).
between models is distributed approximately Study 2 replicates the superior fit of the
chi-square; degrees of freedom are equal to theoretical five-factor model. Again, chi-
the difference in the degrees of freedom square contrasts illustrate that each successive
between models. and more complex model fits the data more
In Study 1, all chi-square contrasts show closely. In the end, the theoretical five-factor
that each successive and more complex model provides an excellent fit to the data.
model provides a better fit to the data. In The chi-square contrast in the theoretical
fact, the theoretical Model 7 is the best-fit- model, in comparison with Model 6, is 8.75 (
ting model, with a chi-square contrast of 32.5 < .005). Moreover, the goodness of fit indices
(p < .001) to Model 6. The descriptive exceed .90 and the Critical N is nearly 400.

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 130 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

The descriptive statistics of the indicators and In Study 1, all new scales correlate nega-
the scales also reveal the quality of the theo- tively with anomie, but social actualization
retical model. Only one estimate of the corre- and social acceptance correlate more strong-
lation of the indicator with its standardized ly, as predicted, with the scale of anomie. As
latent construct (i.e., validity coefficient) fails
the evaluation of the quality of society,
to satisfy the .40 rule of thumb (see Appendix anomie relates to those dimensions of social
B). Whereas the confirmatory factor analyses well-being which indicate the evolution and
supported the theory of five distinct latent potential of society and the perception of the
factors, the descriptive statistics for the character and qualities of generalized others.
observed scales displayed in Table 3 show Feelings of social integration and social con-
that all scales intercorrelate positively. tribution in Study 1 are higher among indi-
Moreover, nearly all scales, even the reduced- viduals who have recently been involved in
item scales in Study 2, exhibit relatively high their communities (i.e., in community action)
internal consistency. The scale of social coher- than among people who have never been
ence exhibits lower internal reliability in involved. As expected, integration is associat-
Study 1 but relatively higher reliability in ed with maintaining recent prosocial ties in
Study 2. On the other hand, the scale of social one's community.
acceptance was internally consistent in Study An unanticipated finding was the
1 but the set of items did not cohere well in strength of the association of recent commu-
Study 2. These lower internal consistencies nity action with social contribution. Viewed
may be lower because of sampling variation in retrospect, attempting to solve a problem
and because I added a new item to the scale in one's community also could Jie considered
of social acceptance in Study 2 to achieve bal- productive activity that should be connected
ance between negative and positive items with a sense of contribution. Study 2, howev-
er, reveals the distinction between integra-
Validation: Correlations tion and contribution. As expected, social
contribution correlates strongly with genera-
Table 4 displays the correlations of the tivity: People who feel that they are socially
new scales with validition criteria. I use the z- valued also feel that they possess the person-
statistic to assess whether a particular scale of al resources and qualities needed to guide
social well-being correlates more strongly, as others. Social integration, on the other hand,
hypothesized, with a validation criterion. correlates more strongly with the perceived
When I employ the average sample size health of one's neighborhood. Thus people
across all correlations in Study 1 (Mn = 360), who feel close to others in their community
the standard deviation is .075; therefore the also feel that their neighborhoods are safe
difference between two z-transformed coeffi- and that their neighbors are trustworthy.
cients in Study 1 must be at least .15 to be sta- Finally, social coherence correlates strong-
tistically significant at the .05 alpha level.4 In ly, as predicted, with the scale of perceived
Study 2, the standard deviation of the z-statis- constraints. Individuals who find the social
tic is .026; the z-ratio therefore must meet or world more unpredictable, more complex, and
exceed .052 to be statistically significant at more incoherent also tend to view their own
the .05 alpha level. In the discussion of lives as complex affairs, full of insurmountable
results, I focus only on whether the hypothe- obstacles and unpredictable contingencies.5
sized validation correlations are confirmed.
5 Some new scales in Study 1 are unbalanced. The
imbalance, however, does not appear to systematical-
4 Sample size varies for the correlations of com- ly influence the correlations. Social coherence is the
munity action with the scales of social wellness. most imbalanced scale, consisting of only one positive
Particularly interesting is the correlation of recent item; the anomie scale, for example, consists of three
community action, in which adults who were involved negatively phrased items. Social actualization, a bal-
in their communities during the past month (N = 128) anced scale, correlates more strongly, however, than
are contrasted with adults who have never been social coherence with the scale of anomie. Recall, too,
involved (N = 167). As a result, the standard devia- that the confirmatory two-factor artifact model (neg-
tion of the z-statistic is .082, and the z-ratio must ative and positive) did poorly in explaining the rela-
equal or exceed .164 to be statistically significant at tionship between the items, compared with the series
the .05 alpha level. of theoretical models of social well-being.

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 SOCIAL WELL-BEING 131

Table 3. Descriptive Statistics (Study 1 in Upper Diagonal, Study 2 in Lower Diagonal)

1 2 3 4 5

1. Social Coherence .45 .25 .42 .45

2. Social Actualization .45 .41 .40 .53
3. Social Integration .23 .33 - .57 .42
4. Social Contribution .35 .31 .42 - .20
5. Social Acceptance .23 .48 .35 .23

Study 1: Dane County Sample

M 25.0 32.1 33.0 30.3 28.3
SD 4.1 5.7 6.2 5.2 6.4
Number of Items 5 7 7 6 7
Alpha Reliability .57 .69 .81 .75 .77

Study 2: National Sample

M 8.9 11.8 14.0 15.5 13.0
SD 3.3 4.3 4.4 3.8 3.5
Numberof Items 2 3 3 3 3
Alpha Reliability .64 .64 .73 .66 .41

Note: For all rs, p < .01 (two-tailed)

The scales of social well-being correlate, Validation: Social Structural Sources

but do not appear to overlap, with-extant
Table 5 presents the regressions of each
measures reflecting psychological concep-
scale of social well-being on age and educa-
tions of mental health. The social well-being
scales correlate positively and modestly with tion. Each model estimates a quadratic (and
the indicators of life satisfaction and life linear) parameter for age to investigate the
happiness in Study 1. possible acceleration or deceleration in the
In Study 2, these scales exhibit consistent- predicted increase of social well-being with
ly modest and positive correlations with the age. (Only the statistically significant effects

scale of dysphoria. Because of the sample size shown, however.) All models also adjust for
and statistical efficiency of Study 2, social inte- gender, race, and marital status, which could
gration correlates slightly stronger with dys- structure educational outcomes and possibly
phoria than does any other scale of social social well-being. The remaining background
well-being. On the other hand, although dys- variables (e.g., income) either follow from
education or explain the hypothesized age dif-
phoria correlates relatively strongly with
ferences, and therefore are omitted from
physical health, all scales of social well-being
these models. The intercept represents the
display small but positive correlations with
the indicator of subjective physical health. The predicted level of social well-being for the
new scales of social wellness therefore appear average 18-year-old (Study 1) or 25-year-old

to measure aspects of mental health and life (Study 2).7

quality related to, but distinct from, depressive

feelings and physical health. small correlations with the social well-being scales
may reflect, in part, the mode of administration as
None of the social well-being scales cor-
well as the effect of the time lag between the tele-
relates very strongly with the perception of phone interview and the self-administered question-
oneself as optimistic (range of r = .17 to .23). naire.
This finding suggests that appraisals of social 7 In Study 2, I show the multivariate analyses
well-being are not unduly influenced by based on unweighted data because the results are the
same regardless of sample weighting. The compo-
optimism or possibly the tendency to exag-
nents of the sample weights in Study 2 are not func-
gerate positive qualities.6 tions of the outcomes in this study. Therefore multi-
variate models based on the unweighted data should
6 Because physical health and optimism are ascer- therefore be unbiased and efficient if the model is
tained during the initial telephone interview, the specified correctly (see Winship and Radbil 1994).

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 132 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

Table 4. Product-Moment Correlations of Social Well-Being Scales with Validation Criteria

1 2 3 4 5 6

Study 1: Dane County Sample

1. Anomie Scale -.21 -.04ns -.18 -.16

2. Recent Community Action (Never=0) 0.0 .27 .08ns
3. Community Action in Past (Never=0) .04ns -.06ns
4. Global Life Satisfaction .46
5. Global Happiness with Life
6. Social Actualization -.55 .20 .OSns .26 .16
7. Social Acceptance -.49 .1Sa .05ns .21 .14
8. Social Integration -.33 .41 .14a .32 .31
9. Social Contribution -.28 .46 .22 .27 .20
10. Social Coherence -.28 .24 .02ns .20 .16

M 1.2 .43 .32 3.4 3.5

SD 1.1 .50 .47 .74 .67

Study 2: National Sample

1. Generativity Scale .14 -.23 .17 .10 .24

2. Health of Neighborhood Scale -.21 -.24 .16 .14
3. Perceived Constraints Scale .49 -.28 -.30
4. Dysphoria Symptoms Scale -.40 -.30
5. Subjective Physical Health .15
6. Self-Described Optimistic
7. Social Actualization .17 .21 -.32 -.25 .16 .18
8. Social Acceptance .12 .24 -.22 -.22 .13 .17
9. Social Integration .28 .39 -.26 -.33 .19 .23
10. Social Contribution .49 .16 -.36 -.22 .15 .16
11. Social Coherence .18 .13 -.41 -.28 .15 .21

M 17.0 13.6 18.7 24.9 3.5 3.3

SD 3.8 2.2 8.0 7.1 1.0 .77

Notes: For all rs, p < .01 (t

recently in community action, 78 engaged in community action in the past, and 167 never engaged in commu-
nity action.
ap < .05; ns = not significant at alpha = .05.

The replication of age and educational older adults, younger adults may find the
differences in social well-being strongly sug- world coherent because they can view a
gests that social well-being is shaped by world that tends to reflect their own popular
prominent social forces. For the average culture. Insofar as age has a nonlinear rela-
adult, acquisition of education evidently tionship to social well-being, the evidence
paves the way for successful responses to
favors the "deceleration viewpoint":
social challenges of life. With more educa-
Although social actualization and contribu-
tion, each dimension of social well-being
tion increase with age, the increase deceler-
increases. Thus social weliness, like all other
ates with each added year of life in both
aspects of health (N. Adler et al. 1994), is
Study 1 and Study 2. In other words, social
graded by processes of social stratification.
well-being is heterogeneous across ages. This
Each dimension of social well-being also
is distributed by age. Four dimensions finding is consistent with studies showing

increase with age. Social coherence, howev- the diversity of psychological well-being

er, decreases with age, perhaps in part across age groups. For example, older adults
because the intelligibility of the world in report more environmental mastery but less
American society is skewed toward the cele- purpose in life than younger adults (Ryff
bration of youthful culture. Compared with and Keyes 1995).

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 SOCIAL WELL-BEING 133

DISCUSSION link, but do not overlap, with extant mea-

sures of mental health, which tend to reflect
Life is purportedly divided into private
a psychological conception of well-being.
and public sides, each making its own
Each scale of social well-being, even social
demands and producing its own conse-
actualization, which emphasizes society's
quences. Although we recognize the public
potential and progress, correlates only mini-
demands on individuals, social psychologists
mally with self-defined optimism. In short,
have not always translated social challenges
this study suggests that life includes numer-
into criteria that individuals use to evaluate
ous social challenges; therefore well-being
their well-being. We have conceived of social
includes social dimensions such as coher-
health less as the presence of positive crite-
ence, integration, actualization, contribution,
ria than as the absence of negative condi-
and acceptance.
tions such as anomie and alienation.
Society, too, is a source of variation in
Moreover, the emphasis on social structure
social wellness. Social structural profiles cor-
may skew attention toward the public side of
roborate the theory that social wellness is an
life as a source of variation in social health
accomplishment. Social well-being increases
rather than inspiring us to explore the social
with education and, in general, with age.
nature of the meaning of health. Ultimately,
Like other measures of mental health and
current research relies on and possibly
well-being, it is graded by socioeconomic
reflects a bias toward psychological concep-
standing. It remains to be seen, however,
tions of well-being. Researchers either focus
whether the same processes (e.g., self-con-
on clinical symptomatology such as depres-
ception) and dimensions (e.g., agency)
sion or use global measures of life satisfac-
explain how each aspect of social structure
tion and happiness. Multidimensional mod-
affects each type of mental health and well-
els (Ryff 1989) emerge from classic person-
being.
ality theories that conceive of the self as pri-
marily private. The relatively strong association of
The studies reported here present evi- prosocial community involvement with

dence giving credibility to the theory that aspects of social well-being also supports the
well-being includes social dimensions. I posited achievement of a well-lived life.
operationalized and validated five dimen- Individuals involved in their communities
sions of social well-being grounded in classic during the past 12 months, but not people
sociological theory and current social psy- involved more than 12 months previously,
chological perspectives. Data from two stud- reported feeling more socially integrated
ies involving cross-sections of adults and uti- and socially contributive than people who
lizing different modes of administration had never been involved.
(telephone and self-administration) provide Despite the unity of measures of social
strong evidence for the replicability of the wellness, it is also clear that social well-
latent structure of the new scales and the being, like psychological well-being, is relat-
social structural profiles of dimensions of ed to age in diverse ways. Some aspects of
social well-being. social well-being decrease linearly; others
Confirmatory factor analysis showed increase linearly; still others increase, but at
that the hypothesized five-factor model of a decelerating rate. The results therefore
social wellness fits the data best in both suggest that the resources, skills, and experi-
studies. The findings suggest that putative ence gained through education and its
social challenges are manifold and distinct. sequelae, as well as through aging processes,
The new scales in Study 1 correlate conver- are instrumental to negotiating the chal-
gently with anomie and community involve- lenges of social life.
ment. In Study 2, the new scales correlate According to Nisbet (1953:15), and as
convergently with generativity, neighbor- quoted by Seeman (1959), the various syn-
hood health, and perceived constraints. In onyms for alienation testify to the impor-
both studies, these scales correlate with glob- tance of the construct of alienation. The
al indicators of life satisfaction, happiness, social scientific conception of a well-lived
and dysphoria. Thus the new scales clearly life also relies on the image of the isolated

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 134 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

Table 5. OLS Regressions of Social Well-Being Scales on Age and Education

Study 1 Study 2
(N = 368) (N = 2,977)
Dane County Sample National (Unweighted) Sample

b f b f

Social Actualization
Age .17* .49 .06** .19
Age2 -.003** -.58 -.001** -.18
Up to 12 years education
13 to 15 years education 2.2** .18 .73** .08
16 or more years education 3.1** .27 1.7** .19
Alpha 29.0 10.5
Social Acceptance
Age .21* .52 .04** .16
Age2 -.003* -.43 .00 .00
Up to 12 years education
13 to 15 years education 2.2* .16 .50** .07
16 or more years education 2.5** .19 1.2** .15
Alpha 24.9 12.0
Social Integration
Age .07** .19 .06** .17
Up to 12 years education
13 to 15 years education 2.3** .17 .26 .03
16 or more years education 3.2** .25 1.3** .14
Alpha 30.7 12.9
Social Contribution
Age .14* .49 .05* .17
Age2 -.003* -.49 -.002** -.26
Up to 12 years education - - -
13 to 15 years education 1.8** .16 1.1** .14
16 or more years education 3.4** .32 2.9** .35
Alpha 27.6 14.3
Social Coherence
Age -.03* -.13 -.03** -.09
Up to 12 years education
13 to 15 years education 1.3** .15 .90** .13
16 or more years education 2.5** .30 1.9** .26
Alpha 24.7 8.0

Note: Age = Age - lower age bound (age 18 in Study 1; age 25 in Study 2). All estimates adjusted by gender,
race, and marital status.
* p < .05; ** p < .01 (two-tailed).

individual. That is, the paragons of the good only the conceptual territory of social well-
life are happy and satisfied with their private being that measures society's trajectory and
lives, and they possess personal qualities potential (social actualization) and the char-
indicative of psychological well-being. We acter of society through people's character
are left to wonder, however, about the quali- (social acceptance). As Nisbet states, life is a
ty of such individuals' lives as lived with and quest to belong. The quest for the good life,
for other people and for society. By opera- however, has many meanings, some of which
tionalizing well-being through satisfaction in are represented in the proposed five-factor
domains of life such as family and work, model of social well-being.
sociologists have implicitly questioned the In addition to exploring life for more
conception of the individual as a disconnect- social dimensions of well-being, future
ed social entity, but have not transformed researchers on positive mental health and
this notion. Even anomie, the classic concep- well-being face numerous tasks. An immedi-
tion of the absence of social health, covers ate task is to investigate the relationships

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 SOCIAL WELL-BEING 135

between measures of mental health and well- 37:62-83.

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Corey Lee M. Keyes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and the Rollins
School of Public Health (Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education). He is an
associate of the MacArthur Foundation MIDMAC research network. He also is a recent
inductee into a research network on "Positive Psychology" organized and led by APA
President Martin Seligman and Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi to build and promote a field of
social-scientific inquiry into Positive Health. His research explores the social psychology of
health and well-being and successful aging.

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 138 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

Appendix A. Indicators of Social Well-Being Constructs

Social Integration
Study 1
2. Y6u don't feel you belong to anything you'd call a community (-).
14. You feel like you're an important part of your community (+).
17. If you had something to say, you believe people in your community would listen to you (+).
27. You feel close to other people in your community (+).
30. You see your community as a source of comfort (+).
44. If you had something to say, you don't think your community would take you
seriously (-).
50. You believe other people in society value you as a person (+).
Study 2
2. I don't feel I belong to anything I'd call a community (-).
6. I feel close to other people in my community (+).
11. My community is a source of comfort (+).

Social Acceptance
Study 1
7. You think that other people are unreliable (-).
9. You believe that people are kind (+).
18. You believe that people are self-centered (-).
26. You feel that people are not trustworthy (-).
33. You think that people live only for themselves (-).
41. You believe that people are more and more dishonest these days (-).
46. You think that people care about other people's problems (+).
Study 2:
3. People who do a favor expect nothing in return (+).
10. People do not care about other people's problems (-).
14. I believe that people are kind (+).

Social Contribution
Study 1
4. Your behavior has some impact on other people in your community (+).
5. You think you have something valuable to give to the world (+).
37. Your daily activities do not produce anything worthwhile for your community (-).
40. You don't have the time or energy to give anything to your community (-).
42. You think that your work provides an important product for society (+).
49. You feel you have nothing important to contribute to society (-).
Study 2
4. I have something valuable to give to the world (+).
7. My daily activities do not produce anything worthwhile for my community (-).
15. I have nothing important to contribute to society (-).

Social Actualization
Study 1
6. You believe that society has stopped making progress (-).
8. Society isn't improving for people like you (-).
19. You don't think social institutions like law and government make your life better (-).
21. You see society as continually evolving (+).
25. You think our society is a productive place for people to live in (+).
38. For you there's no such thing as social progress (-).
45. You think the world is becoming a better place for everyone (+).
Study 2
5. The world is becoming a better place for everyone (+).
9. Society has stopped making progress (-).
13. Society isn't improving for people like me (-).

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 SOCIAL WELL-BEING 139

Social Coherence
Study 1
3. The world is too complex for you (-).
10. Scientists are the only people who can understand how the world works (-).
13. You cannot make sense of what's going on in the world (-).
15. Most cultures are so strange that you cannot understand them (-).
20. You think it's worthwhile to understand the world you live in (+).
29. You find it hard to predict what will happen next in society (-).
Study 2
1. The world is too complex for me (-).
8. I cannot make sense of what's going on in the world (-).
12. I find it easy to predict what will happen next in society (+).

Notes: A negative sign in parentheses indicates that the item is reverse scored, where response
options range from strongly, moderately, or slightly disagree to slightly, moderately, or strongly
agree. (2) The item numbers correspond to the item numbers and their measurement qualities
reported in Table 2 (Appendix). In study 2, item 12 that indicates Social Coherence was omitted
from Study 1 because it suppressed the internal reliability of the scale.

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 140 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY QUARTERLY

Appendix B. Estimates of Parameters of Theoretical Social Well-Being Measurement Model

Dane County Sample National (Unweighted) Sample

Metric Validity Metric Validity

Construct Item Loading Coefficient Loading Coefficient

Social 6 fl.0 .56 1.8 .46

Actualization 8 1.0 .62 1.4 .78
45 .54 .48 fl.0 .62
19 .74 .46
21 .75 .47
25 .89 .57
38 1.0 .62

Social 7 fl.0 .56

Acceptance 9 .99 .58 1.8 .41
46 .84 .60 4.3 .70
18 .62 .51
26 1.1 .68
33 1.1 .60
41 .80 .58
43a fl.0 .18

Social 2 fl.0 .46 fl.0 .59

Integration 27 1.2 .66 1.2 .78
30 1.1 .57 1.1 .74
14 1.3 .65
17 1.2 .66
44 1.2 .64
50 1.1 .65

Social 5 fl.0 .59 fl.0 .58

Contribution 37 1.2 .65 1.3 .57
49 1.2 .74 1.5 .80
40 1.1 .64
42 1.2 .60
4 .86 .49

Social 3 fl.0 .43 fl.0 .61

Coherence 13 1.2 .47 1.3 .77
15 1.3 .55
10 .90 .44
20 .92 .46

Notes: fl.0 = indicator is used

the item in the 50-item pool i
aThe indicator used to set th
in Study 2 in an attempt to achieve a more balanced scale.

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