Abstract
M.A.
The quest for a healthy mind and body has received increasing attention in recent years
and the focus it seems, is not only on attaining optimal physical and psychological
health, but also the maintenance and enhancement thereof. In light of this, the aim of
this study was to understand the contributing factors in reaching optimal physical and
psychological health or what is referred to in this study as an Optimal State of Being. To
this end, the Investment in Self construct was developed to explain the aspirations
towards optimal physical and psychological health. In view of this, the criteria thought
to be a part of an Optimal State of Being are outlined in this study and one of the main
tenants of this study is that Investment in Self will play a role in reaching an Optimal
State of Being.
Since there is no comprehensive construct that conceptualises the essence of Investment
in Self, there is consequently no objective method of measuring it. This study, in
addition to developing the Investment in Self construct, developed an instrument to
measure Investment in Self called the Investment in Self Questionnaire.
The Investment in Self construct was correlated with Sense of Coherence, Satisfaction
with Life and Optimism using the self-constructed Investment in Self Questionnaire,
Sense of Coherence – Short Form, Satisfaction with Life Scale and Life Orientation Test
respectively, in order to establish its relationship to optimal well-being. The
questionnaires were administered to 256 volunteer participants from the general
population and the results of the study showed that Investment in Self is significantly
related to psychological well-being.