Abstract

Introduction: Since the World Health Organization’s definition of health in 1948, researchers have continued to search for an Operationalization that is keeping with the holistic definition of health, wellbeing. Objective. The purposes of the current work are (1) to examine the correlates among some predisposed variables and subjective psychosocial wellbeing (SWB) of Jamaicans, (2) to model factors that influence SWB, (3) to determine the predictability of those selected predisposing conditions on SWB, and (4) to ascertain whether SWB is better proxy of wellbeing than Bourne’s Model. Method. Analysis of the data is by bivariate and multivariate analyses, and it is taken from a nationally representative survey of 1,338 Jamaican adults who are 18 years or over. The survey was conducted between July and August 2006 by the Centre of Leadership and Governance, department of Government, the University of the West Indies, Mona-Jamaica. Findings. The findings indicate that religiosity is positively correlated with SWB as well as ethnicity, education and social class, with gender being negatively related to SWB. It can be generalized, using multiple regressions, that religiosity, race, gender, education and social class can explain 7.7% of the variance in SWB of Jamaicans. Religiosity is found to be a weak predictor of subjective wellbeing (SWB), (1%), with race contributing 0.4% and gender 0.3% being among the least suppliers to the model. Conclusion. The utilization of subjective psychosocial wellbeing is not a good evaluation of wellbeing compared to Bourne’s Model, which offers an insight into how health must be defined.

Key words: Subjective Psychosocial Wellbeing, Quality of Life; Religiosity, Gender, Race, Education, Subjective Social Class, Bourne’s Model, Maslow’s Need Hierarchy