Advancing Well-Being of “At Risk” Populations

Abstract

The central goal of well-being research, policy, and practice is to improve the conditions under which people live, especially those population groups that are “at risk” of failing to achieve a reasonable level of quality of life and well-being. The population groups at high risk of negative levels of well-being historically have been children and youth, the elderly, women, persons with serious emotional or physical limitations (often both), the extremely poor, and those living on the margins of society because of race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, and other “socially crushing” factors. Fortunately, in recent decades, both nations and global organizations have promulgated a rich series of policies and regulations, resolutions, declarations, and covenants that have been focused on the special well-being needs of each of these marginalized population groups. This situation has been the case for each of the population groups identified below as well as for others whose well-being societies share major responsibilities.