This measure will help you assess your overall well-being. Well-being comprises six major areas: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance
INSTRUCTIONS:
For each item, indicate how much you agree or disagree based on the following scale:
1 = strongly agree
2 = somewhat agree
3 = a little agree
4 = neither agree or disagree
5 = a little disagree
6 = somewhat disagree
7 = strongly disagree
QUESTIONNAIRE:
- “I like most parts of my personality.”
- “When I look at the story of my life, I am pleased with how things have turned out so far.”
- “Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I am not one of them.”
- “The demands of everyday life often get me down.”
- “In many ways I feel disappointed about my achievements in life.”
- “Maintaining close relationships has been difficult and frustrating for me.”
- “I live life one day at a time and don’t really think about the future.”
- “In general, I feel I am in charge of the situation in which I live.”
- “I am good at managing the responsibilities of daily life.”
- “I sometimes feel as if I’ve done all there is to do in life.”
- “For me, life has been a continuous process of learning, changing, and growth.”
- “I think it is important to have new experiences that challenge how I think about myself and the world.”
- “People would describe me as a giving person, willing to share my time with others.”
- “I gave up trying to make big improvements or changes in my life a long time ago”
- “I tend to be influenced by people with strong opinions”
- “I have not experienced many warm and trusting relationships with others.”
- “I have confidence in my own opinions, even if they are different from the way most other people think.”
- “I judge myself by what I think is important, not by the values of what others think is important.”
SCORING:
Calculate your scores by summing up the scores in each subscale (core dimension) separately.
For each category, a high score indicates that you have mastery of that area in your life. Conversely, a low score shows that you struggle to feel comfortable in that particular area of your life.
SIX CORE DIMENSIONS:
The Autonomy subscale items: (you feel autonomous and independent)
15 -17 -18.
The Environmental Mastery subscale items: (you feel in control of your environment)
4 – 8 – 9.
The Personal Growth subscale items: (you feel you have/ are able to grow as a result of your experiences)
11- 12 – 14.
The Positive Relations with Others subscale items:
6 – 13 – 16.
The Purpose in Life subscale items:
3 – 7- 10.
The Self-Acceptance subscale items:
1 – 2 – 5.
ATTENTION REVERSE CODED ITEMS!
1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 17, and 18
The formula for reverse-scoring an item is: (7 + 1) – (Respondent’s answer)
For example, If you answered 3 on item #1, you would re-code your answer as: (7 + 1) – 3 = 5.
In other words, you would enter a 5 for item #1.
INTERPRETING YOUR RESULTS
Self-acceptance
High scorer: Possesses a positive attitude toward the self; acknowledges and accepts multiple aspects of self, including good and bad qualities; feels positive about past life.
Low scorer: Feels dissatisfied with self; is disappointed with what has occurred with past life; is troubled about certain personal qualities; wishes to be different than what he or she is.
Positive relations with others
High scorer: Has warm, satisfying, trusting relationships with others; is concerned about the welfare of others; capable of strong empathy, affection, and intimacy; understands give and take of human relationships.
Low scorer: Has few close, trusting relationships with others; finds it difficult to be warm, open, and concerned about others; is isolated and frustrated in interpersonal relationships; not willing to make compromises to sustain important ties with others.
Autonomy
High scorer: Is self-determining and independent; able to resist social pressures to think and act in certain ways; regulates behavior from within; evaluates self by personal standards.
Low scorer: Is concerned about the expectations and evaluations of others; relies on judgments of others to make important decisions; conforms to social pressures to think and act in certain ways.
Environmental mastery
High scorer: Has a sense of mastery and competence in managing the environment; controls complex array of external activities; makes effective use of surrounding opportunities; able to choose or create contexts suitable to personal needs and values.
Low scorer: Has difficulty managing everyday affairs; feels unable to change or improve surrounding context; is unaware of surrounding opportunities; lacks sense of control over external world.
Purpose in life
High scorer: Has goals in life and a sense of directedness; feels there is meaning to present and past life; holds beliefs that give life purpose; has aims and objectives for living.
Low scorer: Lacks a sense of meaning in life; has few goals or aims, lacks sense of direction; does not see purpose of past life; has no outlook or beliefs that give life meaning.
Personal growth
High scorer: Has a feeling of continued development; sees self as growing and expanding; is open to new experiences; has sense of realizing his or her potential; sees improvement in self and behavior over time; is changing in ways that reflect more self-knowledge and effectiveness.
Low scorer: Has a sense of personal stagnation; lacks sense of improvement or expansion over time; feels bored and uninterested with life; feels unable to develop new attitudes or behaviors.
Sources:
Ryff, C. D., Almeida, D. M., Ayanian, J. S., Carr, D. S., Cleary, P. D., Coe, C., … Williams, D. (2010). National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS II), 2004-2006: Documentation of psychosocial constructs and composite variables in MIDUS II Project 1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research.
Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719–727.
https://positivepsychology.com/ryff-scale-psychological-wellbeing/