What does wellbeing mean? Perspectives of wellbeing among young people and youth workers in rural Victoria

Well being is a well used but ill defined term in youth research. This paper describes research that explored the ways in which young people and youth workers define well being. The findings suggest that both groups agreed that well being was a multidimensional concept. However, the young people were more likely to consider well being to be influenced by individual factors, such as the state of their relationships, while the youth workers were more likely to emphasise the importance of structural factors. The different focuses of young people and youth workers may mean that each group works toward different but not necessarily contradictory goals. In fact, the goals may compliment each other.