Eudaimonic and hedonic well-being: An integrative perspective with linkages to sociodemographic factors and health

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of two prominent approaches to well-being, the hedonic and the eudaimonic, both with roots traceable to the ancient Greeks. We first examine the distant history of each approach and then describe scientific endeavors seeking to translate the ideas to empirical assessment tools. We then review how these two varieties of well-being are distributed in the general population by attending to their associations with major demographic factors (age, socioeconomic status, gender, race) as well as the interplay (intersectionality) of such factors. Such information contextualizes what is known about who reports they are or are not experiencing various aspects of well-being. The third section then examines how hedonic and eudaimonic well-being are linked with multiple indicators of health (self-reported, morbidity, mortality, biological systems). Although extensive research exists, there is a paucity of studies that have jointly examined both types of well-being. The fourth section draws attention to changing historical conditions and what that means for the future study of well-being and health.