Happiness Among Malaysian Adolescents: The Role of Sociodemographic Factors and Everyday Events

Intan Hashimah Mohd Hashim,Norzarina Mohd Zaharim

doi:10.1177/2158244020940695

Intan Hashimah Mohd Hashim, Norzarina Mohd Zaharim

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020940695

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Journal: SAGE Open	Publication Date: Jul 1, 2020
Citations: 7	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Universiti Sains Malaysia

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how sociodemographic factors and everyday events are related to adolescent’s happiness in Malaysia. A total of 1,766 adolescents from 20 secondary schools in peninsular Malaysia completed a questionnaire on demographic background information and Malay version of Oxford Happiness Questionnaire. Participants were also requested to identify everyday events that made them happy in the last 6 months. Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was run to determine effects of gender, ethnicity, religion, and location on happiness. None of the main effects and interactions were significant. Correlation analysis revealed that household income, income of father, education of father, education of mother, and academic performance were significantly associated with adolescent’s happiness. Analysis of the everyday events that were reported to induce happiness suggested these events as related to domains considered salient in an adolescent’s life, including family, friends, and school. Everyday events are also related to intentional activities. Findings provide better understanding of the key demographic factors and everyday events that contribute to happiness of adolescents in Malaysia. Findings particularly suggest the importance of intentional activities in increasing happiness among adolescents.

Highlights

Happiness comprises three major components, global life satisfaction, presence of positive affect, and absence of negative affect (Diener, 1994; Lyubomirsky et al, 2005)
We looked at how everyday events can be sources of happiness for Malaysian adolescents
Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was run to determine whether happiness differed by sociodemographic factors such as gender, ethnicity, religion, and location

Summary

Introduction

Happiness comprises three major components, global life satisfaction, presence of positive affect, and absence of negative affect (Diener, 1994; Lyubomirsky et al, 2005). Happiness has been found to be associated with positive outcomes across different life domains, including health relationship, performance at work, and income (Lyubomirsky et al, 2005). Happiness can be viewed as an important resource that can lead to more positive outcomes in the future. This section tapped into the sociodemographic backgrounds of the respondents These include gender, age, ethnicity, religion, academic achievement, and parental education and income. The Malay version of Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (Hills & Argyle, 2002) was used to measure happiness. It consists of 29 items with six choices for each one.

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