Policymakers aim to maximize population welfare, often using unidimensional measures like life satisfaction as proxies for wellbeing. However, wellbeing is a multi-faceted construct, and interventions can have varying impacts on its components. This study focuses on rural South African women, a population often targeted by interventions aimed at improving wellbeing, yet whose understanding of a good life remains under-explored. The research questions whether unidimensional measures are sufficient to capture the complexities of wellbeing in this context. Understanding the nuances of wellbeing in this population is crucial for designing effective policies and programs that genuinely improve their lives and contribute meaningfully to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 ('good health and wellbeing'). The study uses a qualitative approach to gain a deeper understanding of the women's perspectives, moving beyond standardized, potentially culturally biased measures.

Existing literature on wellbeing often employs unidimensional measures, particularly in high-income countries, focusing on life satisfaction or happiness as proxies for a singular utility function. However, research in social psychology highlights wellbeing's multidimensionality, encompassing hedonic (pleasure and absence of pain) and eudaimonic (meaning and purpose) aspects. The Mental Wellbeing (MWB) model by Joshanloo et al. (2016) provides a comprehensive framework that distinguishes between hedonia (positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, and domain-specific satisfaction) and eudaimonia (psychological and social wellbeing). Psychological wellbeing includes autonomy, environmental mastery, and positive relationships, while social wellbeing encompasses social contribution, integration, and acceptance. Studies in high-income countries have shown inconsistent relationships between socioeconomic factors and various wellbeing dimensions, suggesting the limitations of unidimensional measures. Prior research in sub-Saharan Africa has often used Western-developed psychometric scales, potentially overlooking cultural variations in understanding wellbeing. The concept of self-construal – the way individuals perceive themselves in relation to others – also influences wellbeing. Individualistic cultures tend to emphasize individual achievement and autonomy, while collectivist cultures prioritize group harmony. Relational self-construal, prominent in some African contexts, involves interconnectedness through dyadic relationships.

This study employed focus group discussions (FGDs) with 79 rural South African women from the three lowest income quintiles in Limpopo province. Participants were purposively sampled from clients of the Intervention with Microfinance for AIDS and Gender Equity (IMAGE) program and from nearby villages. Thirteen FGDs were conducted, each lasting approximately three hours and involving six participants. The FGDs comprised four sections: introduction, brainstorming, activities, and conclusion. The brainstorming section used the question, 'When I say 'happiness,' what first comes to your mind?' to elicit initial associations. Two subsequent narrative activities explored wellbeing across the life cycle ('life histories') and daily experiences ('the day before'), utilizing visual aids to capture participants' emotional states. The author, a white, relatively affluent, and highly educated researcher, aimed to mitigate potential power imbalances by building rapport, learning the local language, and adopting appropriate attire. The data comprised 52,000 words of English text, analyzed using Alceste software. Alceste employed cluster and correspondence analysis to identify patterns (co-occurrences) in content word distribution, reducing the dimensionality of the data to reveal underlying themes. The software generates a matrix of lexemes (root forms of words) and sentences, then splits the text into clusters (themes) based on word co-occurrence. Correspondence analysis plots themes and participant groups on a two-dimensional plane, showing associations between them.

The Alceste analysis yielded five themes: 'female socialization' (key moments in women's lives), 'community' (social networks), 'household' (daily activities and physical wellbeing), 'parenting' (challenges and anxieties of raising children in a high-crime, high-HIV environment), and 'mulier oeconomica' (women as economic agents). The analysis revealed a relational self-construal among participants, their wellbeing deeply intertwined with their roles and relationships. 'Female socialization' highlighted the impact of patriarchal norms on women's experiences, including potentially traumatic marriage experiences. 'Community' emphasized the importance of trust and mutual support within networks, yet also acknowledged potential negative aspects such as gossip and conflict. 'Household' focused on the physical demands of daily tasks, with tiredness often associated with happiness resulting from accomplishment. 'Parenting' showed that raising children in a challenging environment led to significant stress and negative affect. 'Mulier oeconomica' revealed that economic agency, particularly income-generating activities, positively correlated with wellbeing, although unequal distribution of financial responsibilities and lack of cooperation from husbands negatively impacted wellbeing. Correspondence analysis showed that community groups were most associated with the female socialization theme, while older IMAGE participants were strongly linked to the community and parenting themes, and younger participants to the mulier oeconomica and household themes. The distribution of positive and negative mental wellbeing states varied across themes, with parenting showing the highest proportion of negative affect and mulier oeconomica displaying the highest proportion of positive states. The vectorial plane illustrated the relationship between themes, revealing a continuum from relational to individuated self-construal and from disempowered to empowered roles.

The findings confirm some existing associations, such as the link between parenting and negative affect and the positive association between income-related activities and wellbeing. However, the study reveals the nuances of these associations. The relational self-construal emerged as a key factor shaping participants’ wellbeing, emphasizing the importance of fulfilling roles as mothers, entrepreneurs, and wives within interconnected dyadic networks. The importance of social relationships, and the both positive and negative consequences within these networks, contrasts with observations in high-income countries. Empowerment, defined through autonomy and environmental mastery, appeared as a crucial aspect of wellbeing, with relational forms of autonomy (reciprocal empowerment through peer groups) as well as independent forms (agency in economic activities). The study highlights the significant challenges women face in parenting, impacting their sense of competence and contributing to negative affect, suggesting the need for policies considering these challenges. The study found a link between income and wellbeing, connected to women's roles as household providers. The qualitative approach enabled identification of new correlates (motherhood) and mechanisms (impact of networks).

This study challenges the use of unidimensional wellbeing measures and proposes a multidimensional approach incorporating agency, environmental mastery, and meaningful relationships alongside happiness or life satisfaction. This approach recognizes the relational nature of self-construal in many contexts, influencing how wellbeing is understood and experienced. Future research should explore wellbeing constructs across other sub-Saharan African groups and investigate the impact of interventions on specific empowerment domains.

The study's focus on a specific region and population limits generalizability. The open-ended nature of the questions might have limited the depth of responses compared to more structured interviews. The age of the data (2006-2008) may influence the results, though the concepts of self and wellbeing may remain relatively stable over time, based on later studies by the author and others. The study did not include individual in-depth interviews to probe the data further. The simultaneous translation of the focus groups might have influenced results.