Happiness – often defined as “people’s sense of how satisfied they are with life” (Lilienfeld et al., 2019) – is a sought-after life achievement, with growing suggestion of happiness contributing to lasting physical and mental benefits, and therefore it is a large topic of inquiry into what the factors contributing to happiness and life satisfaction are. These factors can regard socio-economic status, social connectedness and health. Through extensive data research and evaluative studies, it has been determined that external factors can to an extent predict life satisfaction and happiness.
The socio-economic status of individuals has been shown to be a large predictor of the degree of contentment and well-being, specified through access to resources, education and careers. Ilies, Yao, Curseu, and Liang (2019) characterised the link between education and life satisfaction through three domains – job, finance and health, reflected by “job fit, financial literacy and healthy behaviours”. The effect of education on overall contentment was shown to have given increased access to improved job fit opportunities, initiate better financial literacy and promote proactive health-focused behaviour in diet and exercise (Ilies et al., 2019).
However there was a slight negative impact shown in more educated individuals, where their slight decrease in job satisfaction compared to those less educated, which could be attributed to awareness of social comparison (Festinger, 1954). Sujarwoto, Tampubolon, and Pierewan (2018) also showed that life satisfaction is associated with both personal and contextual issues, relating to household socio-economic conditions as well as local conditions. The study, conducted in Indonesia – a country which despite it’s ‘developing’ status, is known as one of the happiest nations – showed that individuals with higher ratings of satisfaction felt so more commonly in seeing local government districts fulfilling responsibilities, and while living in better household conditions.
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Similar findings were shown in He, Cheng, Bishwajit, and Zou (2018), where a study on Nepalese women showed that those in more wealthy socio-economic household conditions reported much higher feelings of happiness and satisfaction than their poorer counterparts. However, comparable to Ilies et al. (2019), these findings were not absolute, as there was evidence that while those with higher socio-economic stability were shown to be happier than those in lower categorisations, results showed that those who were richest were on average 10% less happy than those who were only ‘comfortable’ in their living conditions (He et al., 2018). Comparing the social and economic indicators of countries and the levels of happiness across them is an efficient way of discovering correlations between context and happiness.
Cordero, Salinas-Jiménez, and Salinas-Jiménez (2017) look at variables such as unemployment rates and collective spending and examine how well individuals “convert their resources into well-being”, coming to the conclusion that those who are happiest and most satisfied with life generally live in areas such as Northern Europe, majority developed nations. Overall these studies all show a direct correlation between economic stability and satisfaction and happiness, with specific reference to education, careers and finance. The conclusions reached through these academic journals is that those who live comfortably within their household are happiest, while those who live in the poorest and richest extremes of socio-economic groupings are less so. It was also brought forth that individual socio-economic status and subsequent happiness can be affected by the external wellbeing of the surrounding society, as well as institutional support from local governments.
Social factors that may predict happiness and life satisfaction can include familial and non-familial connections, as well as degrees of isolation. Mehl, Vazire, Holleran, and Clark (2010) found that higher well-being is associated with spending less time in isolation, and more time socialising – specifically, having substantial conversation as opposed to small talk. It was found that the happiest participants of the study “spent about 25% less time alone and about 70% more talking” (Mehl et al., 2010), with more instances of substantial conversation than passing small talk. These results suggest that socialising and significant connection to others is an important contributor to happiness and satisfaction in life, which is consistent with the social nature og people.
In Gray, Chamratrithirong, Pattaravanich, and Prasartkul (2013), it is shown that familial connections are very significant contributors to happiness in adolescents, especially happiness related to self-esteem and interpersonal connections. Upon further investigation, it was shown that families that contain two parents, and show love and support more openly generally have a more positive effect on the happiness of the youth, and less effect with the reduction of family stability or expression of affections. Non-familial connections are shown to have a significantly smaller impact on the overall satisfaction of individuals (Gray et al., 2013), though the importance of friendships is still significant generally, as it has been shown happier individuals are those who hold more successful friendships (Diener & Seligman, 2002). It is apparent that social connection, specifically through familial relationships and meaningful interactions with others, is a vital contributor to an individual’s happiness, as it is within human nature to be social and derive meaning and satisfaction from group settings and approval (Dijksterhuis, 2005).
While the external factors of social interaction and socio-economic welfare are considered significant contributors to the happiness and satisfaction felt by individuals, physical factors are also important. Health, specifically in regard to exercise can have a large effect on the overall mood and contentment of individuals. Stathopoulou, Powers, Berry, Smits, and Otto (2006) show the positive effects that exercise can have on individual’s emotional state, in this case as a possible form of treatment assistance for those suffering from depression. Exercise and physical activity promote the release of hormones such as endorphins, prompting positive feelings throughout the body.
