Ruut Veenhoven
In: Kathleen Matuska, Charles Christiansen, Helene Polatajko & Jane Davis (Eds.)
Life Balance: Multidisciplinary Theories and Research, AOTA Press, 2009,
Bethesda, MD USA, ISBN 978-1-55642-906-4, Chapter 4, pp 33-42
ABSTRACT
There are three approaches to assessing life balance: (a) assessing how well the
reality of a person’s life fits preconceptions of what a balanced life should be, (b)
assessing how balanced people think their own life is, and (c) assessing which
lifestyle mixes yield the most happiness. In theory, these approaches can yield quite
different results, and the available evidence shows that they also do so in practice. In
case of conflict, there are good arguments for favoring the last approach, but the policy
process is best served with making the differences explicit.