The assessment of subjective well-being and its relationship to the stress process

Research into relationships between stressors and adaptational outcomes has often represented well-being as the relative lack of pathological signs. However, such assessments do not discriminate between not being ill and experiencing degrees of subjective well-being (i.e., from feeling "OK" to feeling "Great!"). This article suggests that subjective well-being be more narrowly defined to refer strictly to positive indicators of health status. In this study, psychometric properties of a new instrument, the Well-Being Scale-36, were examined. Relationships between subjective well-being and components of the stress process were explored. The results indicated that well-being and various forms of pathology should be conceptualized as distinct but related entities.