Well-Being in Adolescent Girls

From Theory to Interventions

Elena Savina, Jennifer M. Moran

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781000468403
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychologie
• Subtopic: Santé mentale en psychologie

This book equips school psychologists and other mental health professionals with a comprehensive understanding of mental health and well-being in adolescent girls.

The text places adolescent girls in a developmental and social-cultural context and outlines factors that can shape girls' well-being including family, peers, and media. Chapters discuss trajectories that might result in mental distress and dysfunction in adolescent girls and identify pathways to their optimal development. Additionally, the book reviews the domains of well-being including physical health and habits, emotional well-being, healthy relationships, and identity and agency. Each chapter includes theory-informed and empirically supported interventions to help promote girls' positive physical and socio-emotional development and culminates in a list of further recommended resources for the reader.

Well-Being in Adolescent Girls is a valuable resource for school psychologists, counselors, and other mental health professionals working with adolescents along with those in graduate-level courses in school psychology and school counseling programs.

1 Well-Being Definitions and Frameworks

DOI: 10.4324/9781003105534-1

In 1948, the World Health Organization defined health as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948, p. 28). This definition provided a vision for the mental health field delineating positive aspects of human functioning. Nevertheless, for many years a medical model dominated the field. This model defined health as the absence of illness, rather than the presence of wellness. This medical model “narrows our focus on what is weak and defective about people to the exclusion of what is strong and healthy. It emphasizes abnormality over normality, poor adjustment over healthy adjustment and sickness over health” (Maddux, 2008, p. 56). Furthermore, the medical model places adjustment and maladjustment inside the person, but disregards complex person-environment interactions, social and cultural values, and the role of societal institutions in human functioning.

In the 1990s, the positive psychology movement shifted the focus away from pathology and toward human strength, resiliency, and positive functioning. One of the founders of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, argued that:

psychology is not just the study of disease, weakness, and damage; it is also the study of strength and virtue. Treatment is not just fixing what is wrong; it is also building what is right. Psychology is not just about illness or health; it also is about work, education, insight, love, growth, and play.

(Seligman, 2002, p. 4)

Positive psychology became the study of the strengths and virtues that allow both individuals and communities to thrive (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Seligman (2002) further proposed a concept of positive mental health that delineated human flourishing and living a fulfilled life. This concept places human functioning on a continuum, with mental illness representing one end of the continuum and optimal psychological health the other. Human well-being became a central concept in positive psychology (Seligman, 2011).

The construct of well-being defies precise definition. Rather, it encompasses a broad range of characteristics and processes related to human optimal psychological functioning. Well-being is not synonymous with happiness, though the experience of happiness is important for well-being. It includes an individual’s strengths and virtues, meaning, purpose, and life satisfaction. It is further concerned with identifying outcomes of well-being for overall human functioning and conditions that can promote or undermine well-being. The latter is especially important for designing well-being interventions.

The study of well-being in psychology stems from two philosophical traditions: one emphasizing the pursuit of pleasure and life satisfaction (hedonic well-being) and the other emphasizing the pursuit of a meaningful life and optimal functioning (eudaimonic well-being; Ryan & Deci, 2001). While hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives represent two distinct understandings of well-being, experiences of pleasure and living a meaningful life are related. Individuals experience positive emotions in response to meaningful achievements, and these positive experiences likely lead to the pursuit of meaningful and fulfilling opportunities in the future. Thus, the hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives are in many ways complementary. Both perspectives are briefly discussed below.

Hedonic Well-Being

The hedonic perspective on well-being focuses on subjective experiences associated with well-being:

The centrality of hedonic well-being in everyday discourse, at least in Western society, is well illustrated by the omnipresent greeting, “How are you?” Although the answer to this question may draw upon either physical (e.g., “I’m just getting over the flu”) or psychological experiences (e.g., “I am so relaxed from our vacation”), or may involve a pro forma reply (“Fine, thanks”), the frequency with which we ask one another this question reflects a common preoccupation with hedonic well-being.

(Lent, 2004, p. 484)

Diener’s (2009) theory of subjective well-being (SWB) is one example of the hedonic tradition. The term subjective means that well-being is based on the self-appraisal of an individual’s life and emotional experiences. More specifically, well-being is determined by how people evaluate their current affect (positive vs. negative), their overall life satisfaction, and satisfaction in specific domains. Positive and negative affect reflect basic appraisals of ongoing events and life circumstances (Diener et al., 2003). Global estimates of life satisfaction are cognitive judgments about an individuals’ life condition, weighing the importance of the conditions and evaluation of lives as satisfied or unsatisfied. In addition to global life satisfaction, it is important to consider an individual’s satisfaction in all relevant domains. These may include work, relationships, or education. In sum, the SWB framework considers well-being as experiences of high levels of positive affect, low levels of negative affect, and high satisfaction, both in general and in specific life domains. In general, younger people experience more positive affect, but older people experience greater life satisfaction (Diener, 2009). Several variables contribute to SWB, such as level of income, employment, religion, and marriage/family status. Among personal variables affecting SWB are high self-esteem and an internal locus of control.

Eudaimonic Well-Being

The eudaimonic framework claims that well-being is much more than the subjective experience of happiness or life satisfaction. It is also about living a good and meaningful life (Ryff, 2014):

The eudaimonic view may be seen as somewhat broader and more amorphous than the hedonic position in that it involves a diverse set of experiences and mechanisms (e.g., personal goals, values) through which people achieve psychological growth, make meaning, and seek purpose in their lives.

(Lent, 2004, p. 484)

Within the eudaimonic tradition, there are three models of well-being. The first model is based on self-determination theory (Ryan et al., 2008). According to this theory, well-being results from satisfying basic psychological needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy. The need for autonomy is related to choice and volition; relatedness reflects a need for close connection to and being cared for by others; and the need for competence is a sense of efficacy when managing internal and external environments (Ryan et al., 2008). Furthermore, well-being is associated with pursuing intrinsic (e.g., personal growth or relationships) rather than extrinsic goals and values (e.g., wealth or fame). Other important contributors to well-being are the ability to be autonomous and act on one’s own volition and the ability to be mindful and self-aware.

A second model of well-being is the human flourishing framework proposed by Seligman (2011). Seligman identified the following elements associated with well-being, abbreviated as PERMA: Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment. Positive emotion is characterized by feeling good about present, past, and future, experiencing more positive affect and less negative affect, and having skills that amplify positive emotions and lessen negative emotions. Engagement reflects one’s ability to be actively involved in and absorbed by an activity, while Positive Relationships reflect the benefits of having good relationships with others. Meaning, another important element of well-being, can be attained by serving something that is bigger than oneself. Finally, Accomplishment reflects success within a particular domain or activity and involves motivation for mastery and competence (Seligman, 2011). According to Seligman, flourishing can be achieved through increasing positive emotions, engaging with the world, and finding meaning and purpose in life. It also involves cultivating and applying strengths and talents to accomplish worthwhile tasks and connecting with others at a deeper level. These strivings constitute living the “good life” (Seligman, 2011).

The last eudaimonic model of well-being is represented by Ryff (1989; 2014), the psychological well-being (PWB) framework. She defined well-being and optimal mental health as resulting from the “processes of setting and pursuing goals, attempting to realize one’s potential, experiencing deep connections to others, managing surrounding demands and opportunities, exercising self-direction, and possessing positive self-regard” (Ryff, 1989, p. 1072). She identified six major domains characterizing optimal mental health: (1) Self-acceptance; (2) Positive relations with others; (3) Autonomy; (4) Environmental mastery; (5) Purpose in life; and (6) Personal growth. Striving toward excellence in these areas is associated with well-being.

Ruini and Fava (2014) further developed well-being therapy (WBT) based on Ryff’s conceptualization. WBT leads a client from an impaired level to an optimal level of functioning in the six dimensions of PWB. It emphasizes balanced functioning and the idea that the various dimensions of positive functioning can compensate for each other. It also takes a dialectical approach to the dimensions of well-being outlined by Ryff (2014), demonstrating that both low and very high levels of those dimensions can be problematic for one’s well-being. Below are detailed descriptions of each domain based on Ryff’s and Ruini and Fava’s conceptualizations.

Self-acceptance refers to positive attitudes toward oneself (Ryff, 2014). On the one hand, individuals with high self-acceptance acknowledge and accept both positive and negative aspects of self and feel good about their past. On the other hand, inflated self-esteem might cause distress when reality does not support it (Ruini & Fava, 2014). Individuals with low self-acceptance feel dissatisfied with themselves and disappointed with the past; they wish to be different than who they are (Ryff, 2014). Furthermore, they may hold unrealistically high standards and expectations for their performance.

Positive relations with others reflect the importance of warm, trusting relationships with others (Ryff, 2014). Those who score high in this area have satisfying interpersonal relationships and are concerned about the welfare of others. They further have capacity for empathy, affection, and intimacy. On the other hand, over-involvement with others’ well-being might result from low self-esteem and can be distressing (Ruini & Fava, 2014). Those who score low do not have close relationships with others and have difficulty being warm and empathetic with others (Ryff, 2014). They may feel isolated and are not willing to compromise for the sake of good interpersonal relationships. A lack of positive relationships with others is associated with low social integration and perceived support.

Autonomy reflects the degree of independence that individuals experience (Ryff, 2014). Individuals who score high are self-determining, can resist social pressures, and have a strong ability to self-regulate and evaluate themselves using personal standards. At the same time, having too much autonomy and self-reliance may prevent individuals from seeking support from others (Ruini & Fava, 2014). Individuals with low autonomy are concerned about the expectations and evaluations of others, often rely on others to make decisions, and have difficulty resisting social pressures to think and act in certain ways (Ryff, 2014). A lack of autonomy ca...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• About the Authors
• 1 Well-Being: Definitions and Frameworks
• 2 Adolescence: Risks and Opportunities
• 3 Sociocultural Construction of Girls and Girlhood
• 4 Physical Health and Healthy Habits in Adolescent Girls
• 5 Emotional Well-Being
• 6 Interpersonal Relationships in Adolescent Girls as a Pathway to Well-Being
• 7 Purpose, Agency, and Identity
• Index