engleski

Happiness across life domains: A cross-country study

Domain-specific levels of happiness can provide information about the specific aspects of one's life and explain how people construct their global judgments. Social and economic circumstances can influence the level of happiness in some life domains. The Eudaimonic Happiness Instrument was administered to 666 participants from seven countries. Participants rated their level of happiness on 7 point scales across 10 life domains. The aim of the study is to investigate cross-country differences in perceived levels of happiness across life domains. More specifically, the study will (1) compare levels of happiness in ten life domains between countries, (2) classify countries according to the patterns of domain happiness, and (3) compare reported levels of happiness across life domains between the groups. Levels of happiness across countries were similar only in two domains: standard of living and personal growth. Two-step cluster analysis (based on country and domain-specific happiness) resulted in four clusters. The first cluster included Italy, Portugal, and Croatia. Germany and Spain formed the second cluster. The third cluster was composed of Australia and South Africa. The fourth cluster was mixed it comprised a small number of participants from all countries. Domain happiness was compared between first three clusters. Results showed that the groups differed significantly in eight life domains, while happiness in community and society domains was similar. The study revealed unexpected similarities in domain happiness between some countries. For instance, Germany and Spain are not culturally similar, yet our results show that they share the similar pattern of domain happiness. These results show that assumed resemblance and disparities between cultures need to be examined.

Happiness; meaning; life domains; cross-country

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