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| Defined Terms and Documents 'Aboriginal Teenager Life Skills' RTV Social Inclusion Early Intervention Programme Wellbeing means being well, feeling satisfied and contented which is a stronger more stable state of mind than ‘happiness’ which can come and go in a moment. The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index - explained below - identifies a - * strong correlation between Wellbeing and Sense Of Community; and * weak correlation between Wellbeing and Economic Materialism. The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index is based on average levels of satisfaction with various aspects of personal life. Satisfaction is expressed as a percentage score, where 0% is completely dissatisfied and 100% is completely satisfied. So a survey score of 76.5% on Personal Wellbeing means Australians, on average, feel 76.5% satisfied with their life. Elements of the Personal Wellbeing Index are satisfaction with:
Personal Wellbeing in The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index explores issues of social importance as they relate to Wellbeing. For example, survey 13 investigated caring at home, and the impact that providing informal care to a family member has on the Wellbeing of carers. Other survey topics have included the effects of terrorism, personal financial debt, relationships and household structure, health and body weight and job security. Measures of how ‘well’ we are doing as a nation have conventionally been based on economic considerations such as Gross Domestic Product, employment rates and housing prices. However, in an era when Australians are richer than ever, more than one million adults and 100,000 young people are experiencing Depression every year. The Australian Unity Wellbeing Index investigates additional factors impacting Australians' lives, filling the void not covered by economic considerations and producing a complete view of Australians’ Wellbeing. On a state/territory comparison, SA leads the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index. And among 180 regions on the index, SA's South-East and Kangaroo Island, both bordering the sea, are at numbers two and three on the happiness scale. Victoria's Glenelg region of Warrnambool and Portland, with its rugged coastline, is No. 1. The survey shows money, or household income, has no relationship to happiness stakes. The Wellbeing index for the first time has combined six years of data from 35,000 people across the nation to show "clearly" that South Australians are the most satisfied with their lives. Professor Bob Cummins, from Deakin University, the author of the index, says for people to feel happiest they need to live in regional areas with a relatively small population, be married and enjoy strong community connections. "Roughly less than 40,000 people as a community have a greater sense of belonging and safety, which contributes significantly to their wellbeing," he said. "On an overall state/territory comparative basis, SA is clearly the best and NSW is the worst in relation to Wellbeing," he said. It also informs public debate about the sort of society we want to live in. It provides community organisations, government and business decision-makers with a credible measure of Wellbeing for purposes ranging from strategic planning and policy making to providing every-day Australians with information they can use to improve their personal wellbeing. It engenders increasing awareness of important social issues impacting on the wellbeing of Australians. The index is based on a working hypothesis that proposes wellbeing below a ‘normative range’ indicates a higher propensity to developing clinical depression. When people’s demands exceed their resources, this causes wellbeing to fall below the normative range. The index is therefore extremely useful at identifying groups of people in society whose demands are exceeding their resources and who require extra assistance if they are to avoid depression. |
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