The inclusion of happiness in multidimensional studies of the quality of life

Abstract

The objective of the article is to present the complexity and diversity of methodical approaches to study the quality of life, including the category of happiness. An attempt was made to quantify the subjective quality of life based on Polish research, among others, Social Cohesion Research (BSS, conducted since 2011), European Survey of Living Conditions (EU-SILC, since 2005) and Social Diagnosis (DS, from 2000) and international research, among others Gross National Happiness (GNH, from 1972), European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS, since 2003), European Social Survey (ESS, since 2002) and Measurement of National Welfare, implemented by the Office for Nation-al Statistics in Great Britain (ONS, from 2010). The analyzes carried out show that the researchers did not accept one valid definition of happiness; there is also no one way to measure it. Common approaches to studying the problems of happiness include the conviction that the quality of life and the sense of happiness of citizens are the same priority as measurable economic problems.