The Perpetual Pursuit of Idealized Wellness: A Classic Grounded Theory

Abstract

The Perpetual Pursuit of Idealized Wellness emerged from a study that began by focusing on American’s dietary supplementation habits and expanded to study wellness-seeking behaviors. When idealized, pursuing wellness reflects social and moral structures influencing how individuals identify with and position themselves within an idealized wellness framework. Wellness perceptions influence beliefs about wellness, representing an immersion between individual wellness practices and broader philosophies, explaining and predicting assimilation patterns, internalizations of wellness, moral assignments to wellness, and the effects of monetization endured by seekers.

This research utilized classic grounded theory to generate a theory from data that explains and predicts human behavior. Data, collected using theoretical sampling, included participant interviews (9), product reviews (11,600), documentaries (3), books (4), memes (15), and social media (2,534). Constant comparative method of analysis, coding, and memoing were used to analyze the data.

Perpetually pursuing idealized wellness emerged as the core concept of this theory, which explains the ongoing journey toward optimal wellness influenced by perceptions. Perceptions influence how seekers react to and pursue wellness, including influence from idealized wellness culture, assimilation to idealized wellness, internalization of idealized wellness beliefs, moral assignments to wellness, and monetization impacts. Idealized wellness culture is the social norms and shared beliefs experienced by seekers for determining wellness. Internalizing idealized wellness happens when a seeker adjusts their beliefs and assimilates to idealized wellness culture. Moral assignments constitute a construct of wellness evaluations and judgments guided by social standards determining good versus bad behaviors. Monetization is endured as money is captured from and creates access to a wellness intervention, influencing purchasing behaviors or access modifications. According to the theory, when idealized, wellness is a social performance influenced by social and moral norms. When idealized, wellness can never be attained.

This theory depicts implications extending pre-existing theories, offering novel insights for academic, public policy, and personal applications. This theory challenges idealized wellness, advocating for wellness strategies honoring the spectrum of human experiences. Future research includes a grounded action study discovering actionable steps to deconstruct idealized wellness and embrace sustainable wellness.