(Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-7zAkwAOYg)

 

Well-being refers to the state of mind of happiness and stability when an individual’s needs are fulfilled. Differ from happiness, well-being is more long-lasting but more difficult to attain. It is a subjective feeling and is from the bottom of our heart. The definition of love varies from person to person. For some, simply spending time with family can be deemed as well-being.

 

Waldinger’s research (2015) about well-being suggested that healthy relationships can maintain happiness and health. Concerning relationship, Waldinger pointed out that those who are socially active are generally happier, healthier and have longer life span. Compared to quantity, quality of relationship plays a more integral role in influencing our health. Healthy relationship is of paramount importance to our health, especially to our brain. Interpersonal relationship is inferential in affecting both our mental and physical heathy and the pursuit of happiness, particularly social well-being.

 

Social well-being is also related to how we get along with others in a group, community or society, including respect for others and their needs, being compassionate and empathic, and authentic interaction. On top of that, social well-being is also the antidote to racism, stigma, violence and crime (The UK’s Faculty of Public Health, 2010). Keyes (1998) proposed the 5 components contributing to social well-being, including social integration, social acceptance, social contribution, social actualization and social coherence.

 

Social integration is obtained when an individual feels like he is part of the society. Through connecting with other members of the society, a sense of belonging is developed, while social acceptance refers to trust in others and complements on others like describing others as benevolent and upright. social contribution suggests individual will evaluate his/her own socail value, believing one is an essential member of the community, and will contribute to the society; social actualization is related to the evaluation of society’s potential, which one believes the evolution of society and institutions and citizens can involve in actualizing such potential . Last, social coherence raises the idea that people will consider their lives as meaningful and coherent (Keyes, 1998).

 

Belongingness Hypothesis suggests individuals generally have the motivation to form and maintain a stable and positive relationship (Baumeister & Leary, 1995), and a good relationship is one of the most important factors in attaining social well-being. Therefore, although well-being seems to be an abstract concept, it is not only the ultimate goal of everyone, but also a pivotal driving force in our lives. Our society would like to take this precious opportunity to explore interpersonal relationships we must experience, namely family, friends and romance, from the perspective of Psychology. In an attempt, to highlight the essence of interpersonal relationships and avenues to improvement of relationships, hence, boost social well-being among general public.

 

References

Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as

a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497-529.

 

Keyes, C. (1998). Social Well-Being. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61(2), 121–140.

 

The UK’s Faculty of Public Health. (2010). Concepts of mental and social wellbeing. Retrieved

January 14, 2015, from

http://www.fph.org.uk/concepts_of_mental_and_social_wellbeing

 

Waldinger, R. (2015). The Good Life| Robert Waldinger |TEDxBeaconStreet. Retrieved January

15, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-7zAkwAOYg