Between wellness and fairness: The mediating role of autonomous human choice and social capital in OECD countries

Abstract

Theoretical arguments and empirical evidence have been provided in the literature for the role of fairness in wellness. In this paper, we explore the role of two potential mediating variables: autonomous human choice and social capital. Using aggregated panel data across countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD), we compared the OECD Social Justice Index (SJI) with data on life satisfaction to test whether fairness has direct and indirect effects on wellness. Results from a series of Manifest Path Analyses with time as fixed effect, support the hypothesis that the OECD SJI is directly linked to country‐level life satisfaction, additionally revealing that its indirect effect operates primarily through people's autonomous choices in life and their country's level of social capital. Our results contribute to two distinct bodies of knowledge. With respect to community psychology, the findings offer empirical evidence for the synergistic effect of personal, relational, and collective factors in well‐being. With respect to the impact of economic inequality on wellness, we extend the literature by using social justice as a more comprehensive measure. Limitations and recommendations for future studies are discussed.

From public health to public good: Toward universal wellbeing

“…Extensive evidence points to the fact that justice is a sine qua non condition for health and wellbeing [21,[26][27][28]. The text in the bottom row of Table 1 refers to the foundational definition of justice, which is to each according to his or her due.…”

Editorial: Psychology for the common good: The interdependence of citizenship, justice, and well-being across the globe

“…It can be considered a potent psychosocial good. The more citizens build social capital and trust their neighbors, the higher their life satisfaction (Di Martino and Prilleltensky, 2020 ; Di Martino et al, 2022 ). Mattering, we can argue, goes up with trust, since the latter signals to people that they are within their circle of care.…”

“…In such society, it is very likely that people will experience also high levels of wellness. Prilleltensky ( 2012 , p. 2) has defined wellness as “a positive state of affairs, brought about by the simultaneous and balanced satisfaction of diverse objective and subjective needs of individuals, relationships, organizations, and communities.” These needs depend on the fulfillment of personal (empowerment, sense of control, competency, and resilience), relational (empathy, compassion, inclusion, social support, social capital, and psychosocial accompaniment), and communal factors (social justice, fairness, equity, and equality) (Prilleltensky, 2001 ; Watkins, 2019 ; Riemer et al, 2020 ; Di Martino et al, 2022 ). However, in order to achieve a state of wellness, fairness, and worthiness, everyone in the community must actively pursue the common good.…”

“…What we know already is that citizenship is affected by, and, in turn, affects justice and wellbeing (Prilleltensky, 2012 ; Quinn et al, 2020 ). However, there is a need to understand how citizens create conditions that support both justice and wellbeing, at the micro, meso, and macro levels of analysis (Di Martino et al, 2022 ). Following Di Martino et al ( 2022 , p. 19), there is a need to develop “a psychosocial theory of the common good, which connects fairness with social, economic, cultural, and political factors that are related to national wellbeing.”…”

“…Although there is emerging research showing that social justice and citizenship are predictive of individual, relational, community, and national wellbeing (Di Martino and Prilleltensky, 2020 ; Di Martino et al, 2022 ), more research is required to explore the interdependence among these constructs across geographical locations and settings as well as across diverse populations. There is also a need for work that investigates how these constructs are predictive of individual and collective outcomes in fields as diverse as health, education, economic output, autonomy, and solidarity.…”