PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF THE INDIVIDUAL: CONCEPTUAL BOUNDARIES AND CONTEMPORARY SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES

Abstract

The article presents a theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of psychological well-being, aiming to define its conceptual and categorical boundaries and to examine its relationship with the concept of mental well-being within the framework of health psychology. The analysis indicates that the term well-being, as used in the documents of leading international institutions, demonstrates terminological ambiguity in the Ukrainian academic discourse, particularly concerning its translation and adaptation into the national conceptual framework. The place of psychological well-being in C. Keyes’s mental health continuum model is defined as a personal– meaningful dimension alongside emotional and social well-being. The eudaimonic nature of the construct is analysed through C. Ryff’s six-factor model, which integrates self-acceptance, autonomy, purpose in life, positive relations with others, personal growth, and environmental mastery. An analysis of empirical research demonstrates that the structural configuration of Ryff’s model has received partial empirical support and exhibits considerable sensitivity to psychological interventions. However, extending the construct’s interpretation into multiple interdisciplinary domains entails the risk of diluting its theoretical distinctiveness. The data obtained confirm that the euthymic perspective underscores the need to integrate adaptive and maladaptive aspects of mental functioning as a condition of personality integrity, an approach most consistent with the principles of health psychology, while psychological well-being, together with distress, emerges as a crucial criterion for assessing mental health. The article also highlights how the phenomenon is conceptualised in Ukrainian psychological science, which is developing its own integrative approach that combines humanistic, philosophical-value, and empirical orientations in studying psychological well-being amid ongoing social transformations and the impact of the wartime context. A review of the literature reveals that psychological well-being should be regarded as a personally meaningful, multidimensional construct within the eudaimonic paradigm. Its conceptual and terminological framework in Ukrainian psychology requires further systematic elaboration. Future research is expected to expand theoretical and empirical understanding of psychological well-being, refine its diagnostic criteria, and develop intervention programs within the field of health psychology.