Diverse Life-Styles and Psychological Well-Being in Adult Women

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the effects of diverse life-style factors in adult women (age 25-65) on multidimensional psychological well-being. In Study 1, a theoretically grounded scale was constructed to measure psychological well-being ; its reliability and validity were supported. Originally proposed by Ryff, the scale consists of 6 dimensions : self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. In Study 2, life-style factors were investigated in relation to these dimensions of psychological well-being. The main results are as follows : (1) Participation in work and social activities affected psychological well-being in differentiated ways. Especially, social activity, which is rarely emphasized in the empirical literature, has an important effect on women's psychological well-being throughout adulthood. (2) Attainment of role performance (e.g., as wife, mother, worker, or social activist) was related differently to psychological well-being, depending on the age of the participant. Therefore, the quality of each role is important across each life cycle of adult women.