Identifying and Characterising Low Wellbeing: An Application of the WiX Instrument in Latin America

Abstract Subjective wellbeing is increasingly used in the assessment of public policy, yet most applications remain concentrated in higher-income settings and rely on global assessments. In this study, we apply a validated multi-dimensional subjective wellbeing measure, the 10-Item Wellbeing instrument (WiX), to identify and characterise population groups experiencing low wellbeing in four countries (Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru), and the life domains where these disparities are most evident. We find that women, younger age groups, those without a partner, the unemployed, those facing financial hardship, those reporting ill-health and urban residents have higher odds of reporting low wellbeing. At the domain level, the domains “Mental health” and “Relaxation and leisure time” emerge as key areas of disparities across gender and age categories. Financial and health-related difficulties are associated with dissatisfaction across most domains captured in the WiX. These results highlight the informational value of multi-dimensional measures for revealing patterns that can inform targeted policies. In contexts such as Latin America, where wellbeing initiatives remain largely based on global assessments or economic indicators, multi-dimensional instruments like the WiX can provide a complementary empirical foundation for monitoring wellbeing (disparities) and supporting evidence-informed policy discussions.