Subjective Vitality as a Research Object

Abstract

The results of development of a Russian version of Subjective Vitality Scales by R. Ryan and S. Frederick are presented. The author provides a summary of the main philosophical and psychological approaches to the study of vitality. Russian translations of dispositional and state subjective vitality scales are presented, together with their psychometric properties and normative data. The results of several studies undertaken by the author in 2009-2012 are summarized. The analysis of associations between subjective vitality and other constructs in Russian samples replicates the existing data and provides new results (for instance, associations with life meaning). The author discusses the associations between subjective vitality and personality resources (life meaning, hardiness, tolerance for ambiguity), social psychological adaptation, preference for constructive vs defensive coping, satisfaction with life, and social support, showing that subjective vitality can be seen as an important personality resource. The results suggest that the Russian-language measure of dispositional subjective vitality is a reliable and valid self-report instrument, which can be influenced by low self-awareness or increased self-criticism in respondents.