Lower Levels Of Happiness Research Articles

Do Transnational Child-Raising Arrangements Affect Job Outcomes of Migrant Parents? Comparing Angolan Parents in Transnational and NonTransnational Families in the Netherlands.

Transnational family literature has established that parent–child separations affect negatively on the emotional well-being of migrant parents. Less attention has been paid to other effects separation can have on these parents’ lives. Building on insights from transnational family studies and organizational psychology, this article explores the potential link between transnational family life and job outcomes. In particular, two potential negative outcomes are analyzed—job instability and job absenteeism—by comparing Angolan parents whose children live in Angola with Angolans who live with all their children in the Netherlands. Based on mechanisms identified by organizational psychology literature, mediation analysis is conducted. Results indicate that transnational family life increases the times migrant parents change jobs, which is partly mediated by low levels of happiness. Further analyses indicate that especially transnational parents who have limited contact with their children change jobs more often. No significant differences are found with regard to job absenteeism.

Invalidation in Patients with Rheumatic Diseases: Clinical and Psychological Framework.

The term "invalidation" refers to the patients' perception that their medical condition is not recognized by the social environment. Invalidation can be a major issue in patients' lives, adding a significant burden to symptoms and limitations while increasing the risk of physical and psychological disability. In this study in patients with rheumatic diseases, we investigated the relationship between invalidation and sociodemographic, clinical, psychological, and personality characteristics. This international cross-sectional study included 562 adults with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 124), spondyloarthritis (n = 85), systemic lupus erythematosus (n = 112), or fibromyalgia (FM; n = 241). Assessed were the family and health professionals subscales of the Illness Invalidation Inventory (3*I), happiness (Subjective Happiness Scale), personality (Ten-Item Personality Inventory), pain, and loneliness (numerical rating scales). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to test different models. Invalidation occurred in all rheumatic diseases, but patients with FM reported the most invalidation. Including all correlated variables in the multivariate model, pain remained as a determinant of invalidation by health professionals, but not by family. Regarding psychological variables, loneliness remained as a determinant of invalidation by family, but not by health professionals. FM and low levels of happiness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness were associated with invalidation while taking account of other variables. Invalidation occurs in all rheumatic diseases and patients with FM experience the most invalidation. Psychological factors (happiness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness), loneliness, and pain intensity are associated with invalidation, irrespective of the rheumatic disease and may deserve dedicated interventions.

Cross-National Pattern of Happiness: Do Higher Education and Less Urbanization Degrade Happiness?

Traditionally, happiness has been recognized as the result of a positive relationship with one's income level. However, income level may not be the only factor that affects one’s happiness. In this paper, the effects of education and urbanization factors among 67 countries were analyzed by using World Value Survey data and World Bank Indicator. Generally, the urbanization positively affects happiness in the cross-country analysis, but happiness has a negative correlation with education level. More specifically, four geographical trends have been found in this paper. First, if two variables have very low values, the nation's happiness will drop. Second, according to the moderated education ratio (10 50), East Asia (OECD) has a lower level of happiness than other countries. Lastly, in Europe, urbanization and education are not significant factors in terms of happiness, but the economic level is the most important factor. Those results provide evidence that there are different effects of education/urbanization on happiness in terms of 1) general implication and 2) sub-divided regions (geographic or norm difference).

Exploratory Analysis of the Activity Time-Use Frontier and Its Effect on Episodic Well-Being: Data from the Disability and Use of Time Survey

The role of time (as a constrained resource) in terms of budgets and expenditures is of great importance in travel behavior analysis within the context of daily activity engagement choices, emotional well-being, and quality of life. This research investigated the behavioral links between activity time budgets and episodic well-being measures in a two-stage process, using data from the 2009 Disability and Use of Time Survey. First, with the use of the episodic-level data, time budgets were formulated with the use of a stochastic frontier modeling approach. The technical inefficiency measure that represented the degree to which an individual expended his or her time (or an upper bound of the time budget) in activity engagement was also derived. Second, with the use of this measure of technical inefficiency, the effects on reported individuals’ episodic well-being measures were further investigated. The indicators of well-being—happiness, calmness, frustration, sadness, worry, tiredness, and pain—were analyzed with a multivariate ordered probit modeling framework. The models were estimated by controlling for a broad array of covariates related to sociodemographics, activity, and travel characteristics, along with the social contexts of companionship and altruism and global well-being indicators. Empirical results suggested that individuals experienced varying levels of positive and negative emotions from their daily activity time-use patterns, in both efficient and inefficient episodes. Productive episodes (e.g., working and volunteering) with higher time budgets (or inefficiencies) increased the likelihood of individuals experiencing higher levels of negative emotions. The model findings also revealed that high-income households and individuals younger than 65 years old with inefficient time-use patterns exhibited lower levels of happiness and calmness.

The Unintended Long-Term Consequences of Mao’s Mass Send-Down Movement: Marriage, Social Network, and Happiness

Summary This paper uses the China General Social Survey (CGSS) 2003 to evaluate the long-term consequences of a forced migration, the state’s “send-down” movement (shang shan xia xiang, or up to the mountains, down to the villages) during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, on individuals’ nonmaterial well-being. The send-down program resettled over 16 million urban youths to the countryside to carry out hard manual labor over the years 1968–78. Most of them were allowed to return to urban areas when the Cultural Revolution ended. To estimate the long-term impacts of the send-down experience, we compare the outcomes of individuals with send-down experience to those of individuals without send-down experience but having similar characteristics and family backgrounds during the send-down period. We conduct primarily OLS estimates with a careful sample selection. We find that those who had the send-down experience have worse marriage outcomes, lower-quality social networks, and a lower level of happiness than non-send-downs. The negative effects of the forced migration are robust against regression methods and various model specifications. Our study adds to the growing literature in economics that seeks to evaluate the impact of forced migration.

Interaction Effects of Happiness and Physical Activity on Smoking Initiation.

Our aim was to assess the potential relationships among happiness, physical activity, and smoking initiation among undergraduate medical students in Saudi Arabia. We performed a cross-sectional study of randomly selected first- to fifth-year undergraduate medical students. Smoking initiation was defined as "ever trying smoking a cigarette, waterpipe, cigar/cigarillo, or other type of tobacco, even one or 2 puffs." The short scale Oxford Happiness Questionnaire was used to assess each student's happiness. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. Of the 406 students surveyed (208 boys, 198 girls), 86 (21.1%) had initiated smoking. We found an interaction between physical activity (PA) and happiness on smoking initiation (p-interaction = .012). Among boys with low levels of PA, lower levels of happiness were associated with a greater likelihood of smoking initiation (OR = 5.8, 95%CI = 1.9 - 17.5). Also, high levels of PA increased the chance of smoking initiation among male students with high levels of happiness (OR = 5.6, 95%CI = 2.1 - 14.5). Our results suggest that young men with low levels of happiness and low levels of PA, as well as high levels of PA and high levels of happiness, may be targeted as a priority population in tobacco control intervention programs.

The subjective well-being of women in Europe: children, work and employment protection legislation

Conflicts regarding family and workplace obligations often lead to frustration, dissatisfaction and lower levels of happiness. Taking into account the current low fertility rates in many European countries, the subjective well-being of women seems to be a crucial factor in population growth strategy. The rather low reproduction level underlies the analysis of women’s subjective well-being in respect to their employment and maternity status in Europe. How much do the European countries differ in terms of females’ subjective well-being? Does employment protection legislation explain these differences through mothers’ employment patterns? This paper shows a significant negative association between the subjective well-being of women aged 17–54 and the rigidity of labor protection regulations. The conclusion stems from a multilevel model based on the European Value Study of 2008. The results showed that the subjective well-being of working mothers is higher in countries with liberal labor legislation while it is significantly lower in countries with strict employment protection legislation.

Factor affecting happiness among nursing students in South Korea.

Introduction Happiness is very important in the training and development of nursing students as future nurses. However, nursing students experience a high level of stress and low level of happiness in South Korea. Aim This study aimed to investigate factors that affect happiness among nursing students in South Korea. Method Data were collected from a total of 241 nursing enrolled in two 4-year baccalaureate nursing programmes in South Korea, using a self-administrated questionnaire. To identify predictors of happiness, stepwise regression analysis was conducted. Results The results indicated that grateful disposition and support from intimate people significantly predict happiness among Korean nursing students. These two factors accounted for 38.0% of the variance in happiness. Discussion This study indicated grateful disposition and support from intimate people as factors promoting happiness in nursing students. The findings highlight grateful disposition and support from intimate people as important factors when developing effective interventions that foster nursing students' happiness.

Subjective Happiness and Emotional Responsiveness to Food Stimuli

Through three studies, this study aims to investigate the relationship between subjective happiness and responsiveness to eating and to foods. In Study 1, 299 Japanese undergraduates completed the Japanese subjective happiness scale and self-report questionnaires for attitudes toward eating and food. Study 1 revealed that in daily life, people with higher happiness levels show a stronger tendency to feel pleasure by eating than those with lower happiness levels. In Study 2, 26 Japanese undergraduates performed impression assessments for foods when looking at pictures of them. In Study 3, 22 Japanese undergraduates performed the same assessments when looking at real foods and eating them using a comparison with the data from pictures of non-food items as a control condition. The results of the study indicate that people with higher happiness levels show a stronger emotional response (happy and glad) to food stimuli than those with lower happiness levels. Even images of food were effective. No such group differences were observed for appetitive responses. It was also shown that emotional responses to the pictures of non-food items’ condition in the two groups did not differ. The present studies provided empirical evidence that subjective happiness has relevance to daily eating behavior and attitudes. Further studies should investigate the possibility that subjective happiness is related to a wide range of behavior and cognition in our daily life.

Does other people's education make us less happy?

A growing body of literature suggests that the extent to which people feel happy with their lives depends, at least partially, on how they compare to those around them. Much of this literature, however, has focused on the relative effect of income on happiness while other factors such as education, marriage, or leisure have received less attention. In this study, I extend this line of inquiry by investigating how individuals’ level of education, as well as the average level of education of their reference group, influences their happiness. Using longitudinal data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, I find that, even after controlling for an individual's own education, higher reference group education is associated with lower levels of happiness. More educated people, however, are found to be less affected by social comparison. The panel nature of the HILDA dataset, and additional tests, indicate that the negative association between happiness and reference group education is not driven by people's (changing) interpretations of the happiness scale, self-selection, or the income of their reference group. Additional robustness tests show that the results are not sensitive to variations in the definition of a reference group.

Migration, Relative Deprivation, and Psychological Well-Being in China

This article investigates how rural-to-urban migration influences migrants’ perception of relative deprivation, and how relative deprivation mediates the effects of migration on psychological well-being in China. During the past three decades, China has experienced large-scale rural-to-urban migration. Because of the institutional barriers to their permanent settlement in cities, Chinese migrants are often “sojourners” in cities and maintain close bonds with their sending communities; return migration is common. It is therefore unclear to what extent current and return migrants use an urban or rural frame of reference when they assess their social positions and how that assessment influences their psychological well-being. The data come from the 2012 China Labor Dynamics Survey, a nationally representative survey. The analytical sample consists of 13,204 individuals. The positive aspect of psychological well-being is measured by happiness and the negative aspect is measured by the frequency of emotional problems affecting role functioning. Relative deprivation is indexed by two variables: subjective position on a 10-rung social ladder and perceived fairness of current living standard. The findings suggest that after moving to cities, migrants may have adopted an urban frame of reference and suffered institutional exclusion and personal discrimination. Consequently, current migrants are more likely to perceive relative deprivation than both rural and urban nonmigrants of similar characteristics. The urban frame of reference had lingering effects after migrants returned to rural areas, so that return migrants reported more relative deprivation than their rural counterparts. The higher level of relative derivation perceived by migrants and return migrants contributed to their lower levels of happiness, as compared with urban and rural nonmigrants. There is little evidence that relative deprivation mediates the relationship between migration and the frequency of emotional problems affecting role functioning. This study theorizes and provides evidence for a previously overlooked psychosocial pathway between migration and psychological well-being.

Smartphone-Based Survey for Real-Time and Retrospective Happiness Related to Travel and Activities

Understanding and incorporating measures of travel and activity well-being in transportation research are critical for the design and evaluation of policies. In recent years, several efforts have been made to quantify travelers’ subjective well-being by using a self-reported state of happiness during participation in various activities or travel patterns. The inadequacies of these conventional survey methods in collecting uninterrupted and comprehensive information have restricted the number of such studies. In this study, a smartphone-based sensing platform was adapted to collect mobility information and measure happiness. Two surveys were conducted with respondents from five continents. Real-time and retrospective happiness measures are compared and explained. Results indicate that different cognitive biases affect the levels of happiness reported by the individuals. In comparison with staying at home, performing work and education activities tends to result in lower levels of happiness, while performing other activities tends to result in higher levels of happiness. Activity duration has a significant effect on real-time happiness but is less significant for retrospective happiness.

Resting-state functional connectivity of the default mode network associated with happiness.

Happiness refers to people's cognitive and affective evaluation of their life. Why are some people happier than others? One reason might be that unhappy people are prone to ruminate more than happy people. The default mode network (DMN) is normally active during rest and is implicated in rumination. We hypothesized that unhappiness may be associated with increased default-mode functional connectivity during rest, including the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). The hyperconnectivity of these areas may be associated with higher levels of rumination. One hundred forty-eight healthy participants underwent a resting-state fMRI scan. A group-independent component analysis identified the DMNs. Results indicated increased functional connectivity in the DMN was associated with lower levels of happiness. Specifically, relative to happy people, unhappy people exhibited greater functional connectivity in the anterior medial cortex (bilateral MPFC), posterior medial cortex regions (bilateral PCC) and posterior parietal cortex (left IPL). Moreover, the increased functional connectivity of the MPFC, PCC and IPL, correlated positively with the inclination to ruminate. These results highlight the important role of the DMN in the neural correlates of happiness, and suggest that rumination may play an important role in people's perceived happiness.

Religion as problem, religion as solution: religious buffers of the links between religious/spiritual struggles and well-being/mental health.

Previous studies have established robust links between religious/spiritual struggles (r/s struggles) and poorer well-being and psychological distress. A critical issue involves identifying the religious factors that buffer this relationship. This is the first study to empirically address this question. Specifically, it examines four religious factors (i.e., religious commitment, life sanctification, religious support, religious hope) as potential buffers of the links between r/s struggle and one indicator of subjective well-being (i.e., happiness) and one indicator of psychological distress (i.e., depressive symptoms). We utilized a cross-sectional design and a nationally representative sample of American adults (N = 2140) dealing with a wide range of major life stressors. We found that the interactions between r/s struggle and all potential moderators were significant in predicting happiness and/or depression. The linkage between r/s struggle and lower levels of happiness was moderated by higher levels of each of the four proposed religious buffers. Religious commitment and life sanctification moderated the ties between r/s struggles and depressive symptoms. The findings underscore the multifaceted character of religion: Paradoxically, religion may be a source of solutions to problems that may be an inherent part of religious life.

Comparison of telephone RDD and online panel survey modes on CPGI scores and co-morbidities

The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of two survey modes – telephone random digit dialling (RDD) and stratified sampling of an online panel – on Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) scores and co-morbidities. An identical gambling survey was administered to 4000 South Koreans selected via random dialling of cell phone numbers and to 4330 South Korean members of an online panel. The online panelists were found to have significantly higher levels of tobacco use, drug or alcohol problems and mental health problems, higher employment status and lower happiness levels. However, even when controlling for these variables, CPGI scores for the online panel were significantly higher than those for the telephone interview. This appears to be due to higher levels of pathology among online panelists combined with potentially more valid self-reports due to enhanced anonymity.

Association of malocclusion, happiness, and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in schoolchildren.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of malocclusion on children's oral health-related quality of life (COHRQoL) and self-reported happiness. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a representative sample of 12-year-old schoolchildren from Santa Maria, South Brazil. Four calibrated examiners carried out clinical exams to evaluate malocclusion [Dental Aesthetic Index (DAI)], dental caries (DMFT), and dental trauma (O'Brien classification, used in the Children's dental health survey in the UK, 1994). Participants answered the Brazilian versions of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ11-14 ) and the Subjective Happiness Scale (SHS). Parents completed a structured questionnaire regarding socioeconomic status. Data analysis was conducted using multilevel Poisson regression models. A total of 1,134 adolescents (boys: 45.8 percent; girls: 54.1 percent) were enrolled in the study. The DAI overall score ranged from 13 to 63 (mean: 25.19, standard error: 0.19); 57.6 percent of the subjects had minor or no malocclusion and 24.4 percent had definite malocclusion. Severe malocclusion and handicapping malocclusion were found in 10.4 percent and 7.4 percent of the subjects, respectively. After adjustment, the severity of malocclusion was associated with high mean values of the CPQ11-14 overall score, and the emotional well-being and social well-being domains were the most affected. Lower levels of happiness were also associated with the severity of malocclusion: those with definite malocclusion presented lower scores on the SHS scale (Rate Ratio 0.97; 95 percent CI 0.94-0.99). Malocclusion had a negative impact on COHRQoL and happiness, mainly on the emotional and social domains.

Smoking status, nicotine dependence and happiness in nine countries of the former Soviet Union

BackgroundThe US Food and Drug Administration has established a policy of substantially discounting the health benefits of reduced smoking in its evaluation of proposed regulations because of the cost to...

Association between age, distress, and orientations to happiness in individuals with disabilities.

To determine how age and distress are associated in individuals with disabilities, and how happiness and its components (meaning, pleasure, and engagement) mediate or moderate this relationship. These were cross-sectional analyses of survey data from 508 community-dwelling adults with a variety of self-reported health conditions and functional disabilities. Measures included the Orientations to Happiness Questionnaire and items from the Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System. Greater distress was associated with lower global happiness in both mediation and moderation models. The mediation model showed that middle-aged participants (age: 45-64) scored lowest in global happiness, and the effect of age on distress was partially mediated by happiness. None of the happiness components mediated the relationship of age on distress. The moderation model showed a significant interaction effect for age and global happiness on distress, where younger participants low on happiness were significantly more distressed. Of the three happiness components, only meaning was significantly associated with distress. There was a significant interaction between age and meaning, where participants who were younger and scored low on the meaning scale reported significantly higher distress. Findings from this study lay groundwork for the development of clinical interventions to address distress in individuals with functional disabilities. Middle-aged and younger people with disabilities may be particularly affected by lower levels of happiness and might benefit from psychological interventions that focus on increasing overall well-being and providing meaning and purpose in life.

Civic self-determination : the approach to defence funding

Researches on levels of happiness enable to comprehensively analyse information about the society, political culture and public spirit. One of the fields of such researches can be the research on the relation between the level of happiness of the society and governance of the state. Responding to this field, the public opinion research centre “Vilmorus” conducted a representative survey of Lithuanian population, aiming to find out respondents’ opinions about the level of happiness last year and during next five years’ period as well as their attitude to that part of public expenditure which, seeking the increase of residents’ level of happiness, should be allocated for defence of the state. In total, 1005 respondents were surveyed (people over 18 years old from 19 towns and 31 villages). The research also revealed that the level of happiness determined respondents’ opinions about distribution of state budget and funding of defence of the state. It was found that in the opinion of respondents with lower level of happiness there was no need to allocate funds for defence of the state at all.

중학교 자유학기제 교육과정 운영에 대응하는 공간배치 대안 연구

A total of 2,325 schools including all of the middle and high school have operated variation type since government announced the "Variation Type classroom System Promotion Plan" in May 2009. New education policy, free learning semester of middle school, was introduced after current government took office, followed by extended application of educational policy. Korean students have a low level of happiness and interest in the school due to admissions intensive competition and the investment memorize education and cramming education. Therefore, in consideration of youth development stage, free learning semester system introduction commitment was announced in November 2012, and free learning semester was operated by way of showing an example in 2013, and then expansion implementation plan of 2015 was established, because free learning semester introduction in middle school stage is increasing. This study considers concept and operation method to free learning semester of middle school which are newly introduced, based on the policy documents of Ministry of Education. Also, through the example of Japanese schools, this analyses creativity, personality, social skills, and healthy corresponding to a free learning semester curriculum of middle school, and present method to apply for Korea.