WELL: A Six-Dimensional Framework for Wellbeing & Positive Psychology Assessment
Authors: Adam Hafez, Zat+ Research Team Version: 1.0.0 — DRAFT Status: pre-build License: CC-BY 4.0
Abstract
WELL is the Zat+ companion to validated wellbeing instruments (WHO-5, PERMA-Profiler, SWLS, WEMWBS, FACIT-Sp, CD-RISC-10). Where SPIRAL emphasizes deficit dimensions, WELL is strength-focused, mapping positive psychology constructs across six dimensions including the under-represented spiritual-meaning axis.
1. Background & Gaps
PERMA (Seligman 2011) and WHO-5 (Topp 2015) dominate practical wellbeing assessment. PERMA covers Positive emotion, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, Accomplishment — five dimensions. Critiques: weak meaning-of- "meaning" operationalization, no spirituality dimension, no resilience dimension, no embodiment dimension, weak cross-cultural invariance (Hone et al. 2014; Goodman et al. 2018).
2. Specification
2.1 Dimensions
| Code | Name | Operationalization |
|---|---|---|
| W | Worth-perception | Self-worth + meaning-in-life composite |
| E | Engagement | Flow + interest + absorption |
| L | Linked (relationships) | Quality of close ties + belonging |
| L | Lift (positive emotion) | Frequency of joy, gratitude, awe |
| (acronym uses W-E-L-L = 4 letters; 2 added for completeness) | ||
| R | Resilience | Bounce-back + post-traumatic growth |
| S | Spiritual-Cultural | FACIT-Sp + cultural meaning |
Display order: W-E-L-L-R-S.
2.2 Composite Index
Pure positive — higher always better.
WELL_Index = round(
W × 0.18 + E × 0.16 + L_linked × 0.18 + L_lift × 0.16 + R × 0.16 + S × 0.16
)
2.3 Norms
PERMA-Profiler norms (Butler & Kern 2016, N=31,966 international). WHO-5 average ~70 in non-clinical samples. CD-RISC-10 average ~30/40 (Connor & Davidson 2003).
3. Comparison
| Property | PERMA | WHO-5 | WEMWBS | WELL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensional | ✓ (5) | single | single | ✓ (6) |
| Resilience | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spiritual axis | partial | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Embodiment | ✗ | partial | partial | partial |
| Lay-readable | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cross-cultural norms | partial | ✓ | partial | ✓ (planned) |
4. Limitations & Roadmap
v1.0 has redundant L letters (Linked + Lift) for acronym fit. Considering renaming v1.1 to WELLBE (W-E-L-L-B-E: B=Bounce-back, E=Embodiment) for cleaner mapping.
References
- Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being. Free Press.
- Topp, C. W., et al. (2015). The WHO-5 Well-Being Index: a systematic review. Psychother Psychosom, 84(3), 167-176.
- Butler, J., & Kern, M. L. (2016). The PERMA-Profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. Int J Wellbeing, 6(3).
- Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. T. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Depress Anxiety, 18(2), 76-82.
- Tennant, R., et al. (2007). The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS). Health Qual Life Outcomes, 5(63).
- Hone, L. C., Jarden, A., Schofield, G., & Duncan, S. (2014). Measuring flourishing. Int J Wellbeing, 4(1), 62-90.