Individual well-being: resources, success, and values
stmm. 2026 (2): 79-95
DOI
Full text:
SERHII DEMBITSKYI, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Deputy Director of the Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)
sociotest.solutions@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7958-3557
SCOPUS ID: 57189518563
OLGA BUROVA, PhD in Sociology, Head of the Sector of Sociological Monitoring, Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)
olga.burova@i-soc.org.ua
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4149-8859
OLEKSII VIEDROV, PhD in Philosophy, Research Fellow at the Sector of Sociological Monitoring, Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)
ovedrov@i-soc.org.ua
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6176-8173
RUSLANA MOSKOTINA, PhD in Sociology, Research Fellow at the Sector of Sociological Monitoring, Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)
rmoskotina@ukr.net
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2195-3121
The article attempts to integrate a number of concepts related to individual well-being into a single research approach. The authors define individual well-being as the level and features of satisfaction of various significant needs, which can be both subjectively relevant to it and objectively important for successful functioning in various fields of individual life.
The integral approach generalizes concepts from classical and modern works: subjective well-being, psychological well-being, social well-being, physical well-being, and material well-being.
As a key proposed category of resourcefulness — a dynamic state determined by the effectiveness of managing four key types of resources (physical, psychological, material, social) and the subjective assessment of the achieved results. In this context, two ideal models of the deployment of the dynamic state of resourcefulness are described: 1) the hedonic model, in which successful resource management leads to self-assessment of life achievements and the ultimate goal — life for one's own satisfaction; 2) the eudaemonic model, in which resources are directed toward the implementation of a "greater goal" that may conflict with personal comfort and involves a willingness to make sacrifices.
Special attention is paid to vitality as a cross-cutting, energy-motivational basis of both models, linking objective vital forces with subjective value orientations. Also, the role of the value component and the hierarchy of life priorities in determining a specific life trajectory is emphasized.
The work is programmatic in nature and lays the conceptual foundations for further empirical study of indicators of individual well-being in Ukrainian society during the war and the post-war period, while offering universal theoretical provisions applicable across diverse social contexts.
Keywords: individual well-being, resourcefulness, vitality, life success, individual values
References:
Bakewell, S. (2025). Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Enquiry and Hope. [In Ukrainian]. Vivat. [=Бейквелл, С. (2025). Людині під силу. Сімсот років гуманістичного вільнодумства, пошуку та надії. Vivat].
Bostic, T.J., McGartland Rubio, D., & Hood, M. (2000). A validation of the subjective vitality scale using structural equation modeling. Social Indicators Research, 52(3), 313–324.
Bury, M. (1982). Chronic illness as biographical disruption. Sociology of Health & Illness, 4(2), 167–182.
Carrington, P.J., Scott, J., & Wasserman, S. (Eds.). (2005). Models and Methods in Social Network Analysis (Vol. 28). Cambridge University Press.
Couto, N., Antunes, R., Monteiro, D., Moutгo, J., Marinho, D., & Cid, L. (2017). Validation of the Subjective Vitality Scale and study of the vitality of elderly people according to their physical activity. Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria & Desempenho Humano, 19, 261–269.
Cunningham-Burley, S. & Backett-Milburn, K. (1998). The body, health and self in the middle years. In: The Body in Everyday Life (pp. 142–160). Routledge.
Dembitskyi, S. (2024). The Individual Value of Physical Health: Interpretation and Research Findings. [In Ukrainian]. Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Retrieved from: https://isnasu.org.ua/popsci/008_Dembitskiy_-_Cinnist_fiz_zdorovya.php [=Дембіцький, С. (2024). Індивідуальна цінність фізичного здоров'я: тлумачення та дослідницькі знахідки. Інститут соціології НАН України].
Dembitskyi, S., Holovakha, Ye., & Stepanenko, V. (2025). Stress States of the Ukrainian Population in the Context of War: The Experience of Sociological Study. [In Ukrainian]. Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [=Дембіцький, С., Головаха, Є., & Степаненко, В. (2025). Стресові стани населення України в контексті війни: досвід соціологічного вивчення. Інститут соціології НАН України].
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542–575.
Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34–43.
Diener, E. & Biswas-Diener, R. (2002). Will money increase subjective well-being? Social Indicators Research, 57(2), 119–169.
Diener, E., Emmons, R.A., Larsen, R.J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.
Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Tay, L. (Eds.). Handbook of Well-Being. Salt Lake City, UT: DEF Publishers.
DiMatteo, M.R., Haskard, K.B., & Williams, S.L. (2007). Health beliefs, disease severity, and patient adherence: a meta-analysis. Medical Care, 45(6), 521–528.
Easterlin, R.A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In: P.A. David & M.W. Reder (Eds.), Nations and Households in Economic Growth (pp. 89–125). Academic Press.
Grinker, R.R. & Spiegel, J.P. (1945). Men under Stress. Blakiston.
Helliwell, J.F., Putnam, R.D. (2004). The social context of well-being. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1435–1446. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1522
Hobfoll, S.E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6(4), 307–324.
Holovakha, Ye.I. & Panina, N.V. (1997). Integral Index of Social Well-being (IISW): Construction and Application of a Sociological Test in Mass Surveys. [In Russian]. Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [=Головаха, Е.И. & Панина, Н.В. (1997). Интегральный индекс социального самочувствия (ИИСС): конструирование и применение социологического теста в массовых опросах. Институт социологии НАН Украины].
Keyes, C.L.M. (1998). Social well-being. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61(2), 121–140.
Knoke, D. & Yang, S. (2008). Social Network Analysis. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Larson, J.S. (1993). The measurement of social well-being. Social Indicators Research, 28(3), 285–296.
Lupton, D. (1995). The imperative of health: Public health and the regulated body. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Magun, V.S. (1983). Needs and the Psychology of Social Activity of the Individual. [In Russian]. Nauka. [=Магун, В.С. (1983). Потребности и психология социальной деятельности личности. Наука].
Melnikov, A. (2008). Sociological Interpretation of Existential Values. [In Russian]. Sociological Studies, 10, 130–142. [=Мельников, А. (2008). Социологическая интерпретация экзистенциальных ценностей. Социологические исследования, 10, 130–142].
Prawitz, A.D., Garman, E.T., Sorhaindo, B., O’Neill, B., Kim, J., & Drentea, P. (2006). In Charge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale: Development, administration, and score interpretation. Financial Counseling and Planning, 17(1), 34–50.
Putnam, R.D. (2001). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon & Schuster.
Ronis, D.L. (1992). Conditional health threats: Health beliefs, decisions, and behaviors among adults. Health Psychology, 11(2), 127–134.
Rouse, P.C., Veldhuijzen Van Zanten, J.J., Ntoumanis, N., Metsios, G.S., Yu, C.A., Kitas, G.D., & Duda, J.L. (2015). Measuring the positive psychological well-being of people with rheumatoid arthritis: A cross-sectional validation of the subjective vitality scale. Arthritis Research & Therapy, 17(1), 312.
Ryan, R. M. & Frederick, C. (1997). On energy, personality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well‐being. Journal of Personality, 65(3), 529–565.
Ryan, R.M. & Deci, E.L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166.
Ryff, C.D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069–1081.
Ryff, C.D. & Keyes, C.L.M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727.
Ryff, C.D., Boylan, J.M., & Kirsch, J.A. (2021). Eudaimonic and hedonic well-being: An integrative perspective with linkages to sociodemographic factors and health. In: M.T. Lee, L.D. Kubzansky, & T.J. VanderWeele (Eds.), Measuring Well-Being: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Social Sciences and the Humanities (pp. 92–135). Oxford University Press.
Seligman, M.E.P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Free Press.
Sen, A. & Nussbaum, M.C. (Eds.). (1993). The Quality of life. Oxford University Press.
Shestakovskyi, O. (2013). Values and Beliefs in Cross-national Research. (Proceedings of the Round Table "Value Aspects of Modernization Processes in Contemporary Society"). [In Ukrainian]. Economy and Forecasting, 1, 134–135. [=Шестаковський, О. (2013). Цінності й переконання у крос-національних дослідженнях. (Матеріали засідання круглого столу «Ціннісні аспекти модернізаційних процесів сучасного соціуму»). Економіка і прогнозування, 1, 134–135].
Shilling, C. (2003). The Body and Social Theory. Sage.
Stepanenko, V., Zlobina, O., Holovakha, Ye., Dembitskyi, S., & Naidionova, L. (2023). War-Induced Stress and Resources of Socio-Psychological Resilience: A Review of Theoretical Conceptualizations. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 4, 22–39. [=Степаненко, В., Злобіна, О., Головаха, Є., Дембіцький, С., & Найдьонова, Л. (2023). Стрес, спричинений війною та ресурси соціально-психологічної стійкості: огляд теоретичних концептуалізацій. Соцiологiя: теорiя, методи, маркетинг, 4, 22–39].
Veenhoven, R. (2000). The four qualities of life: Ordering concepts and measures of the good life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1(1), 1–39.
Veenhoven, R., Saris, W., & Scherpenzeel, A. (1996). A Comparative Study of Satisfaction with life in Europe. Eötvös University Press.
Vittersø, J. (Ed.). (2016). Handbook of Eudaimonic Well-Being. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42445-3
Wasserman, S. (2012). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge University Press.
Wood, C., Magnello, M.E., & Jewell, T. (1990). Measuring vitality. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 83(8), 486–489.
World Health Organization. (1946). Constitution of the World Health Organization. Retrieved from: https://apps.who.int/gb/bd/PDF/bd47/EN/constitution-en.pdf
Yoon, S.I., Park, H.Y., Chung, S.Y., & Kim, J.W. (2024). Development and validation of the integrative vitality scale. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1452068.
Zlobina, Ye. & Bevzenko, L. (2012). Images of Success: The Experience of Visual Research. [In Russian]. Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [=Злобина, Е. & Бевзенко, Л. (2012). Образы успеха: опыт визуального исследования. Институт социологии НАН Украины].
Received 26.12.2025
Accepted for publication after review 15.01.2026
Individual well-being: resources, success, and values
stmm. 2026 (2): 79-95
DOI
Full text:
SERHII DEMBITSKYI, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Deputy Director of the Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)
sociotest.solutions@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7958-3557
SCOPUS ID: 57189518563
OLGA BUROVA, PhD in Sociology, Head of the Sector of Sociological Monitoring, Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)
olga.burova@i-soc.org.ua
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4149-8859
OLEKSII VIEDROV, PhD in Philosophy, Research Fellow at the Sector of Sociological Monitoring, Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)
ovedrov@i-soc.org.ua
https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6176-8173
RUSLANA MOSKOTINA, PhD in Sociology, Research Fellow at the Sector of Sociological Monitoring, Institute of Sociology, NAS of Ukraine (12, Shovkovychna St., Kyiv, 01021)
rmoskotina@ukr.net
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2195-3121
The article attempts to integrate a number of concepts related to individual well-being into a single research approach. The authors define individual well-being as the level and features of satisfaction of various significant needs, which can be both subjectively relevant to it and objectively important for successful functioning in various fields of individual life.
The integral approach generalizes concepts from classical and modern works: subjective well-being, psychological well-being, social well-being, physical well-being, and material well-being.
As a key proposed category of resourcefulness — a dynamic state determined by the effectiveness of managing four key types of resources (physical, psychological, material, social) and the subjective assessment of the achieved results. In this context, two ideal models of the deployment of the dynamic state of resourcefulness are described: 1) the hedonic model, in which successful resource management leads to self-assessment of life achievements and the ultimate goal — life for one's own satisfaction; 2) the eudaemonic model, in which resources are directed toward the implementation of a "greater goal" that may conflict with personal comfort and involves a willingness to make sacrifices.
Special attention is paid to vitality as a cross-cutting, energy-motivational basis of both models, linking objective vital forces with subjective value orientations. Also, the role of the value component and the hierarchy of life priorities in determining a specific life trajectory is emphasized.
The work is programmatic in nature and lays the conceptual foundations for further empirical study of indicators of individual well-being in Ukrainian society during the war and the post-war period, while offering universal theoretical provisions applicable across diverse social contexts.
Keywords: individual well-being, resourcefulness, vitality, life success, individual values
References:
Bakewell, S. (2025). Seven Hundred Years of Humanist Freethinking, Enquiry and Hope. [In Ukrainian]. Vivat. [=Бейквелл, С. (2025). Людині під силу. Сімсот років гуманістичного вільнодумства, пошуку та надії. Vivat].
Bostic, T.J., McGartland Rubio, D., & Hood, M. (2000). A validation of the subjective vitality scale using structural equation modeling. Social Indicators Research, 52(3), 313–324.
Bury, M. (1982). Chronic illness as biographical disruption. Sociology of Health & Illness, 4(2), 167–182.
Carrington, P.J., Scott, J., & Wasserman, S. (Eds.). (2005). Models and Methods in Social Network Analysis (Vol. 28). Cambridge University Press.
Couto, N., Antunes, R., Monteiro, D., Moutгo, J., Marinho, D., & Cid, L. (2017). Validation of the Subjective Vitality Scale and study of the vitality of elderly people according to their physical activity. Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria & Desempenho Humano, 19, 261–269.
Cunningham-Burley, S. & Backett-Milburn, K. (1998). The body, health and self in the middle years. In: The Body in Everyday Life (pp. 142–160). Routledge.
Dembitskyi, S. (2024). The Individual Value of Physical Health: Interpretation and Research Findings. [In Ukrainian]. Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Retrieved from: https://isnasu.org.ua/popsci/008_Dembitskiy_-_Cinnist_fiz_zdorovya.php [=Дембіцький, С. (2024). Індивідуальна цінність фізичного здоров'я: тлумачення та дослідницькі знахідки. Інститут соціології НАН України].
Dembitskyi, S., Holovakha, Ye., & Stepanenko, V. (2025). Stress States of the Ukrainian Population in the Context of War: The Experience of Sociological Study. [In Ukrainian]. Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [=Дембіцький, С., Головаха, Є., & Степаненко, В. (2025). Стресові стани населення України в контексті війни: досвід соціологічного вивчення. Інститут соціології НАН України].
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95(3), 542–575.
Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34–43.
Diener, E. & Biswas-Diener, R. (2002). Will money increase subjective well-being? Social Indicators Research, 57(2), 119–169.
Diener, E., Emmons, R.A., Larsen, R.J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75.
Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Tay, L. (Eds.). Handbook of Well-Being. Salt Lake City, UT: DEF Publishers.
DiMatteo, M.R., Haskard, K.B., & Williams, S.L. (2007). Health beliefs, disease severity, and patient adherence: a meta-analysis. Medical Care, 45(6), 521–528.
Easterlin, R.A. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In: P.A. David & M.W. Reder (Eds.), Nations and Households in Economic Growth (pp. 89–125). Academic Press.
Grinker, R.R. & Spiegel, J.P. (1945). Men under Stress. Blakiston.
Helliwell, J.F., Putnam, R.D. (2004). The social context of well-being. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1435–1446. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1522
Hobfoll, S.E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6(4), 307–324.
Holovakha, Ye.I. & Panina, N.V. (1997). Integral Index of Social Well-being (IISW): Construction and Application of a Sociological Test in Mass Surveys. [In Russian]. Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [=Головаха, Е.И. & Панина, Н.В. (1997). Интегральный индекс социального самочувствия (ИИСС): конструирование и применение социологического теста в массовых опросах. Институт социологии НАН Украины].
Keyes, C.L.M. (1998). Social well-being. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61(2), 121–140.
Knoke, D. & Yang, S. (2008). Social Network Analysis. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Larson, J.S. (1993). The measurement of social well-being. Social Indicators Research, 28(3), 285–296.
Lupton, D. (1995). The imperative of health: Public health and the regulated body. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Magun, V.S. (1983). Needs and the Psychology of Social Activity of the Individual. [In Russian]. Nauka. [=Магун, В.С. (1983). Потребности и психология социальной деятельности личности. Наука].
Melnikov, A. (2008). Sociological Interpretation of Existential Values. [In Russian]. Sociological Studies, 10, 130–142. [=Мельников, А. (2008). Социологическая интерпретация экзистенциальных ценностей. Социологические исследования, 10, 130–142].
Prawitz, A.D., Garman, E.T., Sorhaindo, B., O’Neill, B., Kim, J., & Drentea, P. (2006). In Charge Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale: Development, administration, and score interpretation. Financial Counseling and Planning, 17(1), 34–50.
Putnam, R.D. (2001). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon & Schuster.
Ronis, D.L. (1992). Conditional health threats: Health beliefs, decisions, and behaviors among adults. Health Psychology, 11(2), 127–134.
Rouse, P.C., Veldhuijzen Van Zanten, J.J., Ntoumanis, N., Metsios, G.S., Yu, C.A., Kitas, G.D., & Duda, J.L. (2015). Measuring the positive psychological well-being of people with rheumatoid arthritis: A cross-sectional validation of the subjective vitality scale. Arthritis Research & Therapy, 17(1), 312.
Ryan, R. M. & Frederick, C. (1997). On energy, personality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic reflection of well‐being. Journal of Personality, 65(3), 529–565.
Ryan, R.M. & Deci, E.L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166.
Ryff, C.D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069–1081.
Ryff, C.D. & Keyes, C.L.M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727.
Ryff, C.D., Boylan, J.M., & Kirsch, J.A. (2021). Eudaimonic and hedonic well-being: An integrative perspective with linkages to sociodemographic factors and health. In: M.T. Lee, L.D. Kubzansky, & T.J. VanderWeele (Eds.), Measuring Well-Being: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Social Sciences and the Humanities (pp. 92–135). Oxford University Press.
Seligman, M.E.P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Free Press.
Sen, A. & Nussbaum, M.C. (Eds.). (1993). The Quality of life. Oxford University Press.
Shestakovskyi, O. (2013). Values and Beliefs in Cross-national Research. (Proceedings of the Round Table "Value Aspects of Modernization Processes in Contemporary Society"). [In Ukrainian]. Economy and Forecasting, 1, 134–135. [=Шестаковський, О. (2013). Цінності й переконання у крос-національних дослідженнях. (Матеріали засідання круглого столу «Ціннісні аспекти модернізаційних процесів сучасного соціуму»). Економіка і прогнозування, 1, 134–135].
Shilling, C. (2003). The Body and Social Theory. Sage.
Stepanenko, V., Zlobina, O., Holovakha, Ye., Dembitskyi, S., & Naidionova, L. (2023). War-Induced Stress and Resources of Socio-Psychological Resilience: A Review of Theoretical Conceptualizations. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 4, 22–39. [=Степаненко, В., Злобіна, О., Головаха, Є., Дембіцький, С., & Найдьонова, Л. (2023). Стрес, спричинений війною та ресурси соціально-психологічної стійкості: огляд теоретичних концептуалізацій. Соцiологiя: теорiя, методи, маркетинг, 4, 22–39].
Veenhoven, R. (2000). The four qualities of life: Ordering concepts and measures of the good life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1(1), 1–39.
Veenhoven, R., Saris, W., & Scherpenzeel, A. (1996). A Comparative Study of Satisfaction with life in Europe. Eötvös University Press.
Vittersø, J. (Ed.). (2016). Handbook of Eudaimonic Well-Being. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42445-3
Wasserman, S. (2012). Social Network Analysis: Methods and Applications. Cambridge University Press.
Wood, C., Magnello, M.E., & Jewell, T. (1990). Measuring vitality. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 83(8), 486–489.
World Health Organization. (1946). Constitution of the World Health Organization. Retrieved from: https://apps.who.int/gb/bd/PDF/bd47/EN/constitution-en.pdf
Yoon, S.I., Park, H.Y., Chung, S.Y., & Kim, J.W. (2024). Development and validation of the integrative vitality scale. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, 1452068.
Zlobina, Ye. & Bevzenko, L. (2012). Images of Success: The Experience of Visual Research. [In Russian]. Institute of Sociology, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. [=Злобина, Е. & Бевзенко, Л. (2012). Образы успеха: опыт визуального исследования. Институт социологии НАН Украины].
Received 26.12.2025
Accepted for publication after review 15.01.2026