Evaluation of the inner wellbeing model in Zambia

Stanley O Gaines

Results of a recently published paper from members of the Wellbeing and Poverty Pathways Project team indicated that a seven-domain, intercorrelated-factor model of economic confidence, agency/participation, social connections, close relationships, physical/mental health, competence/self-worth, and values/meaning as dimensions of inner wellbeing yielded optimal goodness-of-fit (compared to a single-factor model) among a large sample of individuals in rural India. The goal of the present study was to determine whether this model also provided optimal goodness-of-fit among a similarly large sample of individuals in rural Zambia. A 35-item survey measuring each of the seven domains of inner wellbeing (5 items per domain) was administered to 344 individuals (140 men, 204 women). Results of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the seven-factor intercorrelated model not only was acceptable in itself but also yielded significantly better goodness-of-fit than did a one-factor model. Furthermore, 34 of the 35 items loaded significantly and positively on their hypothesised factors. Overall, results from the present paper - combined with results from the recently published paper by members of the Wellbeing and Poverty Pathways Project team - indicate that the seven-factor intercorrelated model can be generalised across India and Zambia. Implications for studies of wellbeing within (as well as outside) developing nations are discussed.