Understanding Well-Being Through the Experiences and Values of Latine Communities

What is it about?

Well-being is often measured using ideas such as happiness, life satisfaction, personal growth, and individual functioning. However, these approaches may overlook cultural values and experiences that shape how Latine communities understand what it means to be well. In this study, we developed the Latine Well-Being Scale (LWBS), a measure designed to capture well-being in ways that reflect Latine cultural values, relationships, and lived experiences. Using responses from 239 Spanish- and English-speaking Latine adults, we examined the initial structure of the scale. Our findings identified four dimensions of well-being: spiritual well-being, reflecting faith and spirituality as sources of strength and peace; adaptive well-being, reflecting resilience, self-acceptance, and the ability to navigate challenges; collective well-being, reflecting the importance of family and the connection between one’s own well-being and the well-being of loved ones; and convivial well-being, reflecting relationships, community connection, belonging, and contributing to the well-being of others. Together, these findings suggest that well-being for Latine individuals may extend beyond individual happiness or satisfaction to include spirituality, resilience, family, community, and interconnectedness.

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Photo by Emily Underworld on Unsplash

Photo by Emily Underworld on Unsplash

Why is it important?

More than 100 measures of well-being have been developed, yet existing measures often emphasize individual experiences such as happiness, personal satisfaction, or individual functioning. These approaches may not fully capture ways of understanding well-being that are grounded in collectivism, family relationships, spirituality, and community. The Latine Well-Being Scale was developed to help address this measurement gap by centering cultural values and experiences that may be particularly meaningful within Latine communities. Our findings provide initial evidence that spiritual, adaptive, collective, and convivial aspects of well-being represent related but distinct dimensions that may provide information not fully captured by traditional measures. Developing culturally responsive ways to measure well-being is important because how researchers and practitioners define and measure well-being influences what they identify as strengths, needs, and potential targets for intervention. This study provides an initial foundation for a measure that could eventually help researchers and clinicians better understand the factors that promote well-being among Latine communities. Additional research is needed to confirm the scale's structure and establish its utility across diverse Latine populations and settings.