Dimensions of subjective well-being in the elderly: conclusions from Dutch and English studies.

Researchers seeking scales of subjective well-being for use in gerontological research are often confused by the varying content and titles of existing scales. The results of large survey studies both in the Netherlands and England are reported which employed a number of different measures. Analysis established the existence of separate but interrelated dimensions of subjective well-being as self-esteem, subjective health, contentment with ageing, satisfaction with past life, loneliness, worries and depressed feelings. It is suggested that in many research situations a multidimensional approach to the measurement of subjective well-being will have advantages over the choice of one of the existing morale, life satisfaction and depression scales which do justice only to a limited number of dimensions.