This book presents an integrative, interdisciplinary examination of how cultural, psychological, and structural factors shape human well‑being, with a distinctive emphasis on the social contexts of Latin America and Spain. The book opens by reviewing the evolution of well‑being research and highlights the need for culturally grounded concepts and measurements. It then explores how national cultural values—particularly autonomy, egalitarianism, and emotion norms—relate to subjective well‑being, while illustrating the complexity of Latin American cultural profiles.

Several chapters analyze identity and social structure, showing how ethnic–racial identity, social class, and inequality influence psychological outcomes through mechanisms such as discrimination, socialization, perceived control, and coping. Social relationships emerge as a central dimension of well‑being, with evidence on social capital, social support, and social identity demonstrating their strong protective and regulatory effects.

The book also incorporates personality science, detailing how traits, character strengths, spirituality, and religiosity contribute to flourishing or distress, and how culturally situated personality models and AI-driven approaches can enhance understanding. Additional chapters examine gender and emotional well‑being, affect and emotion regulation, and the determinants of well-being in older adults, highlighting the “Latin American paradox”—moderately high well-being despite socioeconomic precarity. Across all chapters, the book underscores the interplay of personal, relational, and structural factors in shaping well‑being.

Emilio Moyano Díaz is a social psychologist, full professor, and an Academic of Excellence at the University of Talca, Chile. He holds a PhD in Psychology from the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium), and has worked at the most prestigious universities of Chile, such as Universidad de Chile, Pontificia Universidad Cartólica de Chile, Universidad de Santiago de Chile and Universidad de Talca. He was also a visiting professor at Universidade Federal do Paraná, in Brazil. Dr. Moyano Díaz has published more than one hundred scientific articles in psychology, three books and several book chapters. He was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in Research in Psychology by the Scientific Society of Psychology of Chile (2022). During his academic life he has held high university positions such as Member of the Academic Council of the University of Talca for almost ten years, Department Director, Director of different Schools of Psychology, Dean of the Faculty of Psychology, and Vice-Rector of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Talca. He has also been Coordinator of the Psychology Studies Group for the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile (Fondecyt) and Coordinator of the Postgraduate Scholarship Commission in Social Sciences for the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile (CONICYT, now ANID).