How Much Do Sources of Happiness Vary Across Countries? A Review of the Empirical Literature

Stavrova, Olga

doi:10.1007/s11577-019-00612-y

Cited by 30 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 190 publications

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“…Previous studies have also found cultural distinctions in predictors and consequences of happiness [ 16 ]. Self-esteem is often the strongest predictor of happiness in Western cultures, but this relationship is generally weaker in East Asian cultures [ 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries

et al. 2020

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What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or “WEIRD” measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or “independent”), high-arousal emotion. However, research from Eastern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an interpersonal aspect emphasizing harmony and connectedness to others. Following a combined emic-etic approach (Cheung, van de Vijver & Leong, 2011), we assessed the cross-cultural applicability of a measure of independent happiness developed in the US (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and a measure of interdependent happiness developed in Japan (Interdependent Happiness Scale; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015), with data from 63 countries representing 7 sociocultural regions. Results indicate that the schema of independent happiness was more coherent in more WEIRD countries. In contrast, the coherence of interdependent happiness was unrelated to a country’s “WEIRD-ness.” Reliabilities of both happiness measures were lowest in African and Middle Eastern countries, suggesting these two conceptualizations of happiness may not be globally comprehensive. Overall, while the two measures had many similar correlates and properties, the self-focused concept of independent happiness is “WEIRD-er” than interdependent happiness, suggesting cross-cultural researchers should attend to both conceptualizations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries

et al. 2020

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“…Subjective well-being is composed of a cognitive dimension: life satisfaction, and an affective dimension: positive and negative affects [13,14,15]. Both components are related to a variety of positive aspects relevant to adolescents’ lives, such as social support, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and optimism [16,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Adolescent Adjustment and Well-Being: The Interplay between Socio-Emotional and Personal Factors

Barrera

Schoeps

Gil-Gómez

et al. 2019

IJERPH

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Social and emotional factors such as emotional competence and self-esteem are protective factors that promote adolescent mental health and well-being. In this paper, we will examine the combined contribution of these socio-emotional factors in addition to personal factors, in the prediction of psychological adjustment and subjective well-being in adolescence. The study included 840 adolescents aged between 12 and 16 years old (M = 13.37, SD = 1.16, 51.4% girls). We measured personal variables (sex, age, number of siblings), socio-emotional variables (emotional competence and self-esteem), psychological adjustment (emotional and behavioural problems) and subjective well-being (life satisfaction and affect balance). Besides descriptive analysis and Pearson bivariate correlations, two different methodologies were performed, including hierarchical regression models and a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The results show that emotional competence is a protective factor for optimal adjustment and well-being, and suggest that self-esteem reinforces this relation. Different patterns were observed for female and male adolescents of different ages and with different family backgrounds. The practical implications of our findings for intervention programs have been discussed.

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“…Because education opens up possibilities for not just material gain but also for enjoying life's experiences more fully, that it positively predicts life satisfaction is unsurprising. Finally, both being young and female matter significantly and positively for life satisfaction, two interesting results (Bonini, 2008;Stavrova, 2019).…”

Section: Post-materials Experiences and Life Satisfactionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Post-materialism’s Social Class Divide: Experiences and Life Satisfaction

Booth

2020

Journal of Human Values

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Over last half of the twentieth century, a silent revolution in post-material values made significant advances around the world. The formation of post-material values also resulted in expanded participation in post-material experiences such as joining voluntary groups, pursuing creativity and independence in the world of work, and engaging in political actions—experiences that go beyond a strict focus on accumulating economic wealth and material possessions. Because social class position matters for being a post-materialist, a class divide exists between middle-class post-materialists and working-class materialists who occupy the lower end of the social class spectrum. This article will show that such a divide occurs, first for participation in post-material experiences and second for the attainment of life satisfaction. Using data from the World Values Survey, evidence will be provided in this article showing that members of the working class participate less in post-material experiences than others and, as a consequence, enjoy lower life satisfaction than others, especially post-materialists. In light of working-class-supported right-wing populism’s recent emergence in the USA and Europe, this social class divide takes on a special significance in explaining shifting trends in politics and public policy.

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How Much Do Sources of Happiness Vary Across Countries? A Review of the Empirical Literature

Cited by 30 publications

References 190 publications

Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries

Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries

Predicting Adolescent Adjustment and Well-Being: The Interplay between Socio-Emotional and Personal Factors

Post-materialism’s Social Class Divide: Experiences and Life Satisfaction

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