Measuring Eudaimonic Well-Being

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief review of the concept of eudaimonia, explore the challenges associated with its measurement, and offer suggestions for researchers currently choosing measures of eudaimonia. In terms of measurement challenges, we consider the extent to which the heterogeneous conceptualizations of eudaimonia as the "ultimate good" might inherently make it difficult to measure. Also, even if we achieve consensus on a concept of eudaimonia, the concept may be difficult to measure because of issues related to measuring virtue. We posit that a defining factor in the measurement of eudaimonia that makes it different from the assessment of other related constructs, is the inclusion of the assessment of virtue. The lack of virtue measurement in a number of common assessments of eudaimonic well-being given Aristotle's definition is presented. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)