Beyond Individual Happiness: Understanding the Role of ‘Social’ in Health and Wellbeing

Abstract

There are many different definitions of happiness and wellbeing, but the conceptualisation has primarily been defined at the individual level. This chapter explores happiness and wellbeing as social constructs shaped by individual, environmental and structural factors. While rooted in individual-level wellbeing, this perspective expands the conventional understanding of individual happiness and emphasises the importance of viewing wellbeing as fundamentally social in nature, influenced by structural factors. This chapter reviews selective potential social factors contributing to wellbeing, centring around social integration. Social capital, social support, loneliness, communication and multi-dimensional social determinants and social exclusion play key roles in shaping social and individual wellbeing, as individuals experience their lives through connections and interactions with others and the environment. Notably, the lens of inequality is critical to define wellbeing, calling for attention to marginalised and underserved groups. It is necessary to take their wellbeing into account to maximise wellbeing at the collective level. Beyond conceptualising the social side of wellbeing, the authors contrast individual wellbeing with wellbeing at the collective level. It is important to distinguish between viewing collective wellbeing as merely the sum of individual wellbeing and approaching it as a holistic construct in its own right. It is also crucial to acknowledge that these factors vary across contexts and cultures. One critical advantage in taking a social and collective perspective is that any interventions to promote them will have to take context and scale into account rather than focus solely on individuals.