Results

The answers to the survey varied greatly. The women who responded came from various countries: the United States, Japan, Panama, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Lithuania. Most of the women interviewed generally defined women’s well-being as being comprised of physical, emotional, and/or mental well-being. Physical well-being, mental health, relationships, happiness and support - factors of emotional well-being - are the aspects of women’s well-being which were discussed most often by the respondents.

Physical well-being - especially health - was particularly essential to the respondents. Subject B defined the most important aspect of well-being as “having all the basic physical needs met like food.” Subject J reiterated the importance of food and shelter when she said her “well-being was at its lowest when I was homeless.” Subject H stated that “health was the influence” prevalent at the time her well-being was most negative. When asked to identify their most negative experience and which aspect of well-being was most influenced during this time, the women primarily focused on health issues – both of the self and of the family. Subject E described her well-being as being low “when my husband was very ill for several years”, while subject G depicted this as occurring “when my children became sick with the chicken pox.”

Furthermore, many of the interviewees’ most positive experiences focused on health and becoming healthy. Subject A stated that a “big part of my well being, for example, is eating healthy, organic, whole foods.” Subject B felt that her well-being was most positive when she “made the conscious decision to lose weight and become healthier.” Subject E stated that “eating right and exercising was important.” Subject J believed that “taking better care of my physical health by eating better and taking vitamins…taking the stairs; just being more active” contributed to her most positive experience of well-being.

The respondents felt that mental health was another main factor in women’s well-being. Several respondents mentioned stress and pressure as contributing to a negative well-being. For example, Subject B stated “the busy, competitive, pressure-filled culture has made me feel low at times.” Subject E asserted that “women have an unbelievable amount of pressure and responsibility, many people depend on them (children, spouse, etc.).” According to subject F, “Mental health is also important because women are usually the strongholds for any type of relationship.”

The women also mentioned that women are relied upon by others – especially their families. Subject C believed “women tend to be relied upon either by their children, parents, or husbands”; Subject E reiterated this point: “many people depend on them (children, spouse, etc.”) Subject I stated that “women are the support for just about everyone else in their lives.” She said “we are women, we are mothers, daughters, and wives and all these come with people who rely on us.” Subject F believed that women had “to take on the emotional burdens of others.” Having so many people counting on one person increases the pressure to perform on said person.

Most interviewees believed that relationships – especially familial relationships – could contribute greatly to a woman’s well-being. Subject A said that her daughter and husband “help me feel great and do contribute to my well-being. Also my sisters, brother, parents, they all play a vital role in my life.” Subject C stated that “All well-beings are given by people who care about me. The way I think about well-being might relate to my family who respects our ancestors and worships Buddha.” The most important relationship to Subject G was her relationship with her children. Subject F asserted that relationships with “women of strength have enhanced my state of well-being.” Subject J believed she was “very lucky to be at a point in my life right now where my relationships affect well being in a positive manner.”

Subject C also pointed out that her relationships impact her physical health: “When I feel supported by my boyfriend, I feel happy and more energetic. (This) motivates me to maintain my health and encourages me to go to the gym and eat right and so on.” Subject C also addressed the opposite: “On the other hand, when there is a miscommunication or misunderstanding in my relationship, it makes me sad. The sadness causes me to either gain appetite or lose appetite.” The emotional turmoil had a direct impact on physical health.

Many of the respondents also stated that bad or abusive relationships could compromise well-being, especially relationships with men. Subject F believes that “men in general can cause women to lose themselves.” Subject E stated she “was married to an abusive husband, which totally affected my state of well-being”. Abusive relationships were also emphasized in the response of subject F, who declared “I have seen women in my family be abused and stay with the abuser. The most important thing that I’ve seen is women that are strong and can do for themselves, women who don’t need men to survive, women who can take care of themselves and do it better than they did it when men were in their lives. Although I’ve seen women in abused relationships, they have proven that they are stronger than any blow a man could ever give.” Although the relationships themselves contribute to a negative state of well-being, leaving a bad relationship can lead to a more positive state of well being. Subject D pointed this out by affirming that “ending a bad relationship also enhances one's well-being since you get rid of negative influences.”

Family happiness and support were identified as major contributors to a positive state of well-being. Subject C asserted “unconditionally, my family supports me and when any of my family is not happy, I am not happy as well.” Subject D believed that “family acts as a support net for all you do.” Subject H maintains that “each of my family members and extended family truly holds my heart.” Subject I said “my relationship with my mother was there to support and help me and definitely helped my well-being to what it is today.” Subject J declared “the woman I now call my mother has been incredibly supportive.”

Respondents also identified loss of relationship with family members as negatively influencing their well-being. Subject D said, “My dad passed away when I was really young, and that really had an impact on me growing up. So, you could say the lack of a relationship can compromise one’s well-being in the same way a bad relationship does.” Subject H also elaborated on this influence. “Losing my brother to a drunk driver,” she stated, “I still feel the emptiness within my soul.” Subject I discussed her relationship with her father, although he was not deceased. “A few years back, I was not having a good relationship with my father which affected me greatly because I was use[d] to always having a great relationship with him.”

Some of the women felt supported by aspects of culture during the period their well-being was most negative. Subject C identified “Japanese culture and collectivism” as important to her well-being. According to subject D, “American culture kind of supports a strong, individualistic attitude towards obstacles, while in Asian cultures, your family acts as a support net for all you do.” Subject I - who hails from Panama – asserted that her “culture is very family oriented and my family is always there to help and support me.” When her well-being was most negative, Subject E said “being a member of an African American church helped a great deal.” Subject F felt that ‘being a black woman helped and contributed in many ways.” She stated that “black women have always been considered to be strong women.”

Two of the women – both culturally Asian - stated that they felt the best when a goal was achieved. Subject C, who is from Japan, said “when I achieved a goal, I feel my well being was most positive” and subject D – who identifies herself as an Asian-American – says “my well-being is usually highest when I feel like I’ve accomplished something”. She believes her “emotional well-being is probably most influenced because I’m proud of myself for making it so far.” Interestingly, no other respondents mentioned goals.

Most women who identified aspects of their culture which supported them during their most negative state of well-being stated that this same aspect contributed to their most positive state of well-being. Some respondents didn’t feel aspects of their culture contributed to their most positive state of well-being. However, subject I declared “I also had a moral, spiritual and value system set in place, which is what still helps me today to be where I am.” Subject J answered, “The Pell Grant. Public education. Going back to college rescued me from being homeless. Obviously homeless people cannot pay tuition.” Both of these answers were unique.

While some of the interviewed women claimed the definition of women’s well-being varied by culture, others claimed that the definition was universal. Subject B felt that “it’s all relative,” while subject C declared “women’s well-being are the same. The differences will be,” she said, “what the most important factor is, how people look at women’s well-being and where these aspects come from.” Subject D pointed out that “living in a different culture also implies a different political climate as well as value system, so different issues are only natural.” Subject G stated “women’s well-being is universal because we are a required element that could never be replaced.” Subject H said “I am an individual and my life experiences are what make my answers unique”. She believed “culture really has nothing to do with it.”

Education and freedom were the top two factors identified as having been taken for granted. Subject B stated “in this country (the United States), women have a great chance to educate themselves and they choose not to use this opportunity” and then pointed out that “such a chance is not available to a lot of women around the world.” Subject D said, “up until a few years ago, women in some Middle Eastern countries couldn’t even attend school and here I am in the U.S. getting a college education.” Subject G felt she took for granted the freedom she has as a woman in her own country. “Women in other countries are more like prisoners,” she argued, “they have to wear certain types of clothing, cover their entire bodies, and some cannot even leave their houses. Women are looked at as objects only.” Subject H identified civil rights as one of the aspects she took for granted, and subject J said that she took for granted “the fact that I am not owned by my father.” Although it was alluded to by several interviewees, a woman’s freedom of choice was overtly mentioned only twice. Subject B described women’s well-being as “being free to pursue whatever form of life she chooses” and subject J defined women’s well-being as “the amount of control a woman is free to exercise over her own life.”