Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Well-Being in the West: Hygieia Before and After the Demographic Transition

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
An Integrated View of Health and Well-being

Part of the book series: Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology ((CAPP,volume 5))

Abstract

The West inherited a view of health from the ancient Greeks as being more than the absence of illness (i.e., pathogenesis) but also the presence of positive health, or well-being (i.e., salutogenesis). In this chapter, we argue that all nations undergo a process of the rise of pathogenic views of health that is followed by the need for the rise of a salutogenic view of health as a result of changes in economic development that affects a nation’s demographic transition. This transition begins with a reduction in mortality rates that is followed by a reduction in fertility rates that increase population size and life expectancy and cause a shift in the causes of death from acute and infectious to chronic diseases. The result is increased pressure on further economic development due to a larger and an aging population that requires greater investment in the promotion of good, or positive, health that can help to prevent chronic illness.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    All models controlled for 1995 mental illness, age, sex, race, education, marital status in 2005 and employment status in 2005, and whether respondents had any of 25 physical health conditions in 1995.

References

  • Allport, G. (1961). Pattern and growth in personality. Oxford: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berger, M. L., Howell, R., Nicholson, S., & Sharda, C. (2003). Investing in healthy human capital. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 45, 1213–1225.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, D. E., & Canning, D. (2000). The health and wealth of nations. Science, 287, 1207–1209.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bradburn, N. M. (1969). The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, F. B., & Veroff, J. (1982). The structure of psychological well-being: A sociohistorical analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, 653–673.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chisholm, D., Sanderson, K., Ayuso-Mateos, J. L., & Saxena, S. (2004). Reducing the global burden of depression: Population-level analysis of intervention cost-effectiveness in 14 world regions. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 184, 393–403.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, N. J. (2002). The promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental and behavioral disorders: Surely the time is right. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 4, 3–29.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being. Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erikson, E. H. (1959). Identity and the life cycle. Psychological Issues, 1, 18–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, M. W., Lopez, S. J., & Preacher, K. J. (2009). The hierarchical structure of well-being. Journal of Personality, 77, 1025–1049.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Greenspoon, P. J., & Saklofske, D. H. (2001). Toward an integration of subjective well-being and psychopathology. Social Indicators Research, 54, 81–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gurin, G., Veroff, J., & Feld, S. (1960). Americans view their mental health. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, G. D. (1965). Asclepius: God of medicine. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 92(5), 232–236.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Headey, B., Kelley, J., & Wearing, A. (1993). Dimensions of mental health: Life satisfaction, positive affect, anxiety, and depression. Social Indicators Research, 29, 63–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Health and Welfare Canada. (1988). Mental health for Canadians: Striking a balance. Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huppert, F. A., & Whittington, J. E. (2003). Evidence for the independence of positive and negative well-being: Implications for quality of life assessment. British Journal of Health Psychology, 8, 107–122.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Insel, T. R., & Scolnick, E. M. (2006). Cure therapeutics and strategic prevention: Raising the bar for mental health research. Molecular Psychiatry, 11, 11–17.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jahoda, M. (1958). Current concepts of positive mental health. New York: Basic Books.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • JanĂ©-Llopis, E., Barry, M., Hosman, C., & Patel, V. (2005). What works in mental health promotion. Promotion & Education, Suppl. 2, 9–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jung, C. G. (1933). Modern man in search of a soul (W. S. Dell & C. F. Baynes, Trans.). New York: Hartcourt, Brace & World.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., Diener, E., & Schwarz, N. (Eds.). (1999). Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology. New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Andrews, G., Mroczek, D., Ustun, B., & Wittchen, H.-U. (1998). The world health organization composite international diagnostic interview short form (CIDI–SF). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 7, 171–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., DuPont, R. L., Berglund, P., & Wittchen, H.-U. (1999). Impairment in pure and comorbid generalized anxiety disorder and major depression at 12 months in two national surveys. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 1915–1923.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the national comorbidity survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62, 593–602.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M. (1998). Social well-being. Social Psychology Quarterly, 61, 121–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 207–222.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M. (2005a). Mental illness and/or mental health? Investigating axioms of the complete health model. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73, 539–548.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M. (2005b). Chronic physical disease and aging: Is mental health a potential protective factor? Ageing International, 30, 88–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M. (2006). Mental health in adolescence: Is America’s youth flourishing? The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 76, 395–402.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M. (2007). Promoting and protecting mental health as flourishing: A complementary strategy for improving national mental health. American Psychologist, 62, 95–108.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M. (2009). The nature and importance of positive mental health in America’s adolescents. In R. Gilman, E. S. Huebner, & M. J. Furlong (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology in schools (pp. 9–23). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M., & Grzywacz, J. G. (2005). Health as a complete state: The added value in work performance and healthcare costs. Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health, 47, 523–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M., & Ryff, C. D. (1999). Psychological well-being in midlife. In S. L. Willis & J. D. Reid (Eds.), Middle aging: Development in the third quarter of life (pp. 161–180). Orlando: Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M., Shmotkin, D., & Ryff, C. D. (2002). Optimizing well-being: The empirical encounter of two traditions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 1007–1022.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M., Wissing, M., Potgieter, J. P., Temane, M., Kruger, A., & van Rooy, S. (2008). Evaluation of the Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) in Setswana speaking South Africans. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 15, 181–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keyes, C. L. M., Dhingra, S. S., & Simoes, E. J. (2010). Change in level of positive mental health as a predictor of future risk of mental illness. American Journal of Public Health, 100, 2366–2371.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • King, L. A., & Napa, C. K. (1998). What makes a life good? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 156–165.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Land, K. C. (1975). Social indicators models: An overview. In K. C. Land & S. Spilerman (Eds.), Social indicator models (pp. 5–36). New York: Russell Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E., Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1996). Discriminant validity of well-being measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 616–628.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, J. A., Hamilton, B. E., Sutton, P. D., Ventura, S. J., Mathews, T. J., & Osterman, M. J. K. (2010). Births: Final data for 2008. National Vital Statistics Report, 59(1), 1–72. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr59/nvsr59_01.pdf

  • Maslow, A. (1968). Toward a psychology of being (2nd ed.). New York: Van Nostrand.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masse, R., Poulin, C., Dassa, C., Lambert, J., Belair, S., & Battaglini, A. (1998). The structure of mental health higher-order confirmatory factor analyses of psychological distress and wellbeing measures. Social Indicators Research, 45, 475–504.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinlay, J. B., & McKinlay, S. J. (1977). The questionable effect of medical measures on the decline of mortality in the United States in the twentieth century. The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 55, 405–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray, C. J. L., & Lopez, A. D. (Eds.). (1996). The global burden of disease: A comprehensive assessment of mortality and disability from diseases, injuries, and risk factors in 1990 and projected to 2020. Cambridge, MA: Harvard School of Public Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Numbers, R. (2001). Fall and rise of the American medical profession. In J. H. Warner & J. Tighe (Eds.), Major problems in the history of American medicine and public health (pp. 298–303). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Omran, A. R. (1971). The epidemiologic transition: A theory of the epidemiology of population change. The Milbank Memorial Fund Quarterly, 49(4), 509–538.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, R. (2002). Blood and guts: A short history of medicine. New York: W.W. Norton and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robitschek, C., & Keyes, C. L. M. (2009). The structure of Keyes’ model of mental health and the role of personal growth initiative as a parsimonious predictor. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56, 321–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rothman, D. J., Marcus, S., & Kiceluk, S. A. (Eds.). (1995). Medicine and western civilization. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and human potentials: A review of research on hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 141–166.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well–being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069–1081.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 719–727.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Secker, J. (1998). Current conceptualizations of mental health and mental health promotion. Health Education Research, 13, 57–66.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Severin, F. T. (1965). Humanistic viewpoints in psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shmotkin, D. (1998). Declarative and differential aspects of subjective well-being and implications for mental health in later life. In J. Lomranz (Ed.), Handbook of aging and mental health: An integrative approach (pp. 15–43). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigerist, H. E. (1941). Medicine and human welfare. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. B. (1959). Research strategies toward a conception of positive mental health. American Psychologist, 14, 673–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Starr, P. (1982). Social transformation of American medicine. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suldo, S. M., & Shaffer, E. J. (2008). Looking beyond psychopathology: The dual-factor model of mental health in youth. School Psychology Review, 37, 52–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, S. (2004). Making the business case for health and productivity management. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 46, 56–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ustun, T. B. (1999). The global burden of mental disorders. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 1315–1318.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ustun, T. B., Ayuso-Mateos, J. L., Chatterji, S., Mathers, C. D., & Murray, C. J. L. (2004). Global burden of depressive disorders in the year 2000. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 184, 386–392.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Veit, C. T., & Ware, J. E. (1983). The structure of psychological distress and well-being in general populations. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 730–742.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waterman, A. S. (1990). The relevance of Aristotle’s conception of eudaimonia for the psychological study of happiness. Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, 10, 39–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waterman, A. S. (1993). Two conceptions of happiness: Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 678–691.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1997). Measurement and mismeasurement of mood: Recurrent and emergent issues. Journal of Personality Assessment, 68, 267–296.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, M. (1947). The theory of social and economic organization. (A. M. Henderson & T. Parsons, Trans.). New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weitz, R. (2010). The sociology of health, illness, and health care: A critical approach. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westerhof, G. J., & Keyes, C. L. M. (2008). Mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. Monthly Mental Health (In Dutch, Summary in English), 63, 808–820.

    Google Scholar 

  • Westerhof, G. J., & Keyes, C. L. M. (2010). Mental illness and mental health: The two continua model across the lifespan. Journal of Adult Development, 17, 110–119.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2004). Promoting mental health: Concepts, emerging evidence, practice (Summary report). Geneva: Author.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Corey L. M. Keyes & Kate Cartwright

Authors
  1. Corey L. M. Keyes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kate Cartwright
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Corey L. M. Keyes .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ayurvedic Point, C.so Sempione 63, Milano, 20149, Italy

    Antonio Morandi

  2. SNA Oushadhasala Pvt. Ltd, Moospet Road, Thrissur, Kerala, 680 005, India

    A.N.Narayanan Nambi

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Keyes, C.L.M., Cartwright, K. (2013). Well-Being in the West: Hygieia Before and After the Demographic Transition. In: Morandi, A., Nambi, A. (eds) An Integrated View of Health and Well-being. Cross-Cultural Advancements in Positive Psychology, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6689-1_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation