Toward an Integrated Science of Wellbeing

There has always been interest in understanding what constitutes the good life and the basis for creating it. Much has been written about health and wellbeing at multiple scales, from the physical and psychological through to the societal and environmental. Wellbeing has been studied from the perspectives of psychology, medicine, economics, social science, ecology, and political science. However, the interconnections between these scales and perspectives have received far less attention, even though understanding these interdependencies is critical to the comprehensive understanding of wellbeing and how to improve it.

In Toward an Integrated Science of Wellbeing, the contributing authors connect these diverse scales and perspectives to better guide wellbeing research and public policy. The book is divided into four sections representing each domain of wellbeing research--psychological, human biological, societal, and environmental--but the authors extend their work to consider the interconnections between these domains, seeking integration across all scales throughout. Individual chapters explore topics such as indigenous perspectives and wellbeing, wellbeing in higher education, positive ageing, inequality and wellbeing, health and climate change, and greenspaces and wellbeing.

This integrated approach offers a first step toward a more complete understanding of wellbeing that can propel wellbeing research and initiatives in novel and fruitful directions.

Elizabeth Rieger, PhD, is an academic and clinical psychologist in the School of Medicine and Psychology at the Australian National University.

Robert Costanza, PhD, is a professor at the Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London.

Ida Kubiszewski, PhD, is Associate Professor at the Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London.

Paul Dugdale, PhD, is Honorary Professor of Public Health in the School of Medicine and Psychology at the Australian National University and Principal Medical Advisor for Aspen Medical.

Foreword
Jigme Y. Thinley

Preface
Elizabeth Rieger, Robert Costanza, Ida Kubiszewski, and Paul Dugdale

Introduction: Toward an Integrated Science of Wellbeing
Elizabeth Rieger, Robert Costanza, Ida Kubiszewski, and Paul Dugdale

A. An integrated approach includes psychological wellbeing

1. The Integrative Science of Eudaimonic Wellbeing: Past Progress and the Road Ahead
Carol D. Ryff
2. Understanding the Role of Positive Emotions in Wellbeing Through Psychological, Biological, Sociocultural, and Environmental Lenses
Christian Waugh
3. Subjective Wellbeing and Resilience at the Individual Level: A Synthesis Through Homeostasis
Robert A. Cummins
4. Evolution, Compassion, and Wellbeing
Paul Gilbert
5. Perceived Partner Responsiveness and Wellbeing
Harry Reis and Jenny Le
6. Life Satisfaction, Marital Status, and Partnership Quality: Modelling from Australia
Bruce Chapman and Nabeeh Zakariyya
7. Indigenous Australian Understandings of Holistic Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing
Helen Milroy, Kate Derry, Shraddha Kashyap, Monique Platell, Joanna Alexi, Ee Pin Chang, and Pat Dudgeon
8. Wellbeing in Higher Education: Evidence- and Policy-Based Strategies to Enhance the Wellbeing of People, Place and Planet
Bruce K. Christensen and Rebecca E. Kennedy

B. AND physical health and wellbeing
9. Integrating Across Diverse Perspectives to Improve Health and Wellbeing: Obesity as an Illustrative Case
Paul Dugdale, Elizabeth Rieger, and Robert Dyball
10. Wellbeing and Personal Safety: Lessons from Population-Based Strategies to Reduce the Burden of Injury
Russell L. Gruen, Amit Gupta, and Nobhojit Roy
11. An Integrative Perspective on Positive Ageing in Later Life
Kane Solly and Nancy Pachana
12. Systems of Care and Experience for Dying Well
Michael Chapman, Jennifer Philip, and Paul Komesaroff

C. AND societal wellbeing
13. Wellbeing Frameworks: Emerging Practice, Challenges, and Opportunities
Jacki Schirmer, Robert Tanton, and John Goss
14. Weaving Wellbeing into the Fabric of the Economy: Lessons from Bhutan's Journey Towards Gross National Happiness
Julia C. Kim, Julie A. Richardson, and Tsoki Tenzin
15. America's Crisis of Despair: The Case for a Wellbeing Based Recovery, With Lessons From and for Other Countries
Carol Graham
16. Inequality and the Transition from GDP to Wellbeing
Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett
17. An Economy Centred on Human and Ecological Wellbeing
Lorenzo Fioramonti and Luca Coscieme

D. AND the wellbeing of the built and natural environment
18. Natural Capital, Ecosystem Services, and Subjective Wellbeing: A Systematic Review
Diane Jarvis, Phil Lignier, Ida Kubiszewski, and Robert Costanza
19. An Integrated Approach to Health and Wellbeing in Response to Climate Change
Sotiris Vardoulakis and Hilary Bambrick
20. Wellbeing and the Built Environment: A Case Study in the Application of Broad-Based Participatory Design
Margarette Leite, Sergio Palleroni, and Barbara Sestak
21. Sustainable Wellbeing and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Robert Costanza, Ida Kubiszewski, and Lorenzo Fioramonti