Subjective well-being of Russians through the prism of their identities: state and factors

Abstract

The article shows the prevalence of identities of Russians related to subjective well-being (identity with people of the same material wealth, with those who are in constant need and with those who have achieved success in life) based on the research data of the Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS. The analysis of these identities effectively complements the traditional methods of studying well-being by assessing it not “in the moment”, but over a long period of time, since the identities are formed over a long period of time and are stable. It is shown that these three symbolic identities allow to “capture” different components of subjective well-being. Self-identification with those in constant need reflects the disadvantage caused not only by low income and experienced deprivations, but also by the gap between a person's aspirations and actual achievements. Identity with those who have achieved success is closely related to overall satisfaction with life and with one's position in the status hierarchy, reflecting the achievement of goals that are important to the individual (not necessarily related to material well-being). Identity with people of the same material well-being is more common among the well-off population, as many of the disadvantaged try to find more favorable grounds for positioning themselves in society. As these identities reflect different aspects of subjective well-being, the coexistence of apparently mutually exclusive identities is typical of Russians. It is also shown that the self-identifications of representatives of the mass strata of the country's population based on their wellbeing occupy an important place in their identification system, and that the prevalence of these identities is stable over time, although they are no longer among the “nuclear” identities. They are relatively more pronounced among representatives of polar groups in terms of their place in the system of social inequality. At the same time, as a whole, they allow to define the position of a person in the system of social inequalities quite clearly.

Keywords

• subjective well-being
• well-being
• identities
• group identities
• symbolic identities
• secondary identities
• individual self-identification
• social consciousness