Well–Being: Concepts and Measures

Well–being, or quality of life, is a continuing goal for individuals and a major criterion for the evaluation of governments and societies. As a research concept, however, it has been marked by persisting problems of definition and measurement and by uncertainties about its changing pattern over the life course. In this article, these issues are discussed; the concept of well–being is “unpacked” and a model of stocks and flows is described as applicable to the analysis of well–being. Finally, the concept of resilience is proposed as important for research on well–being in relation to age.