What Types of Happiness do Korean Adults Pursue?-Comparison of Seven Happiness Types

Maximization strategies in relationship and career enhances life satisfaction through meaning making among established adults in South Korea

BACKGROUND

Choosing a partner and job have long been regarded as important developmental milestones to reach in adulthood. In a collective cultural context with high familial and societal expectations to commit to a relationship and job by age 30, maximizing on such life decisions might potentially harm one's well-being. The literature on maximization-well-being association is complex, and recent research suggests that this relationship might differ by its dimensions and cultural context. In the present study, we examined how engaging in a maximization strategy in relationship and career domains predicts life satisfaction and whether this pathway is mediated by a meaning-making process (search-to-presence of meaning) among established adults in South Korea.

METHODS

Survey data on measures of relational maximization strategy, career maximization strategy, search for meaning, presence of meaning, and life satisfaction was collected from 264 South Korean unmarried, working adults in their 30 s to 40 s. A two-step structural equation modeling method was applied to test the hypothesized serial mediation model.

RESULTS

Tests of the measurement and structural model showed good fit with the data (CFI = .96, TLI = .95, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .05). Further bootstrapping results supported significant indirect effects of the serial mediation model in the paths between maximization strategy and life satisfaction via a search-to-presence of meaning in both relational (b = .16, 95% CI [.01, -.16], p < .05) and career (b = .26, 95% CI [.11, -.26], p < .01) domains.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that for established adults in a collectivist culture who may experience familial and social pressure on these life choices, searching for alternative options to make the best relationship and career decisions could potentially lead to higher life satisfaction, when done through an intentional meaning-making process.

Cultural values and changes in happiness in 78 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of data from the World Happiness Reports

The concept of happiness is consistent across cultures to a significant extent, and encompasses both internal (subjective) and external (situational) aspects. Cultural values and norms shape emotions and behavior from an early age, and hence play a key role in influencing cross-national variations in happiness. Cross-national variations in culture can thus play a key role in influencing the relationship between adverse circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and happiness. The current study examines the relationship between the six dimensions of culture, defined by Hofstede and his colleagues, and subjective ratings of happiness in 78 countries, obtained before (2017-19) and during (2020-21) the COVID-19 pandemic, based on data from the most recent World Happiness reports. The key results were: (a) countries were as likely to experience an increase as a decrease in self-reported happiness during this period; (b) distinct domains of culture were significantly correlated with happiness at each time point, though there was a certain degree of overlap; (c) pre-pandemic levels of happiness were negatively associated with changes in happiness during the pandemic; and (d) among cultural dimensions, long-term orientation was positively associated with changes in subjective happiness, while indulgence was negatively associated with this variable. Certain cultural values may play an important part in fostering a path to well-being in the face of stressful or traumatic circumstances. This path may be similar to the concept of mature happiness, derived from existential philosophy, which is characterized by achieving a balance between the positive and negative aspects of one's life.

The Relationship Between Social Capital, the Happiness of Others, and the Happiness of Korean Adults: A National Sample Study

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to reveal the relationship between social capital, the happiness of others, and the happiness of Korean adults.

METHODS

Data from 4,890 participants (2,092 males [42.78%] and 2,798 females [57.22%]) aged 19 to 79 years were used. Data used in the analysis were provided by the Survey on Koreans' Happiness and Quality of Life (2019) conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.

RESULTS

First, age, education, marital status, and subjective economic level were found to be significantly related to individual happiness. Second, social capital, which including trust and social participation, was positively related to individual happiness. Third, the key result of this study was that the happiness of close people was positively associated with individual happiness. Fourth, belonging showed a significant moderating effect on the relationship between the happiness of others and individual happiness.

CONCLUSION

This study contributes by examining the relationship between the happiness of others and individual happiness after controlling for social capital and demographic variables and examining the moderating effect of social capital on the relationship between the happiness of self and others. These results are expected to help understand the factors that determine the happiness of Korean adults.

Attitude toward leisure, satisfaction with leisure policy, and happiness are mediated by satisfaction with leisure activities

This study investigated the effect of attitude toward leisure and satisfaction with leisure policy on satisfaction with leisure activities and level of happiness in Korean caregivers for young children. Data were collected from 864 participants (397 men and 467 women) using the 2018 National Leisure Activity Survey (NLAS). The results showed that there were no significant differences between male and female caregivers in terms of satisfaction with leisure policy, satisfaction with leisure activities, and level of happiness. Women had more positive attitudes toward leisure. Satisfaction with leisure activities mediated the relationship between attitude toward leisure, satisfaction with leisure policy, and level of happiness; there were no significant differences between men and women with regard to the variables. The study suggests that attitude toward leisure and satisfaction with leisure policy promote the happiness of Korean caregivers for young children.

Education, Income, and Happiness: Evidence From China

Happiness is the continuous joy that people experience when they are satisfied with their lives long term, and is the ultimate goal pursued by all citizens. In this study, we investigate the relationship between education, income, and happiness in the migrant population in China. Using 1,31,186 individuals in the 2012 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) as research samples, the estimated results of ordinal logistic regression show that education, including secondary education and higher education, has a significant and direct impact on individual happiness, and that the impact of education on happiness can also be mediated by income as an intermediary mechanism. In addition, factors such as gender, flow distance, flow time, employment status, type of housing, number of children, degree of preference for the city, and degree of discrimination by locals have obvious effects on happiness. This work provides important insights for countries seeking to implement an active education policy in order to increase economic income and thus achieve the development goal of universal happiness among their citizens.

Influence of Self-esteem and Preparation for Aging on the Happiness of Older Thai Adults: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Happiness is necessary for older adults’ physical and psychological well-being. The objective of this study was to examine the associations of self-esteem and preparation for aging with happiness and to determine the predictive factors of the happiness of older Thai adults. Methods: The study had a cross-sectional predictive correlational design and included 225 older Thai adults aged 60–69 years selected using multi-stage random sampling. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires, and the collected data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis. Results: The study results showed that 64.9% of the study participants were moderately happy. The factors that significantly influenced their happiness were self–esteem and preparation for aging (p < 0.05), meaning their self–esteem and preparation for aging were able to predict their happiness, accounting for approximately 67.0% of the variance of such happiness. Conclusion: Older adults’ healthcare providers should organize activities for enhancing older adults’ self-esteem and for helping them prepare well for old age.

Happy Sustainability: A Future Quest for More Sustainable Universities

For decades, sustainability researchers have tenaciously insisted on transforming higher education institutions into more sustainable and inclusive campuses. Yet, as the 2030 agenda seems unlikely to be achieved, universities are struggling to meet the fourth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4) before the 2030 deadline. In addition, the post-COVID-19 era demands quality and inclusive education that entails care for students experiencing high stress levels. So far, most of the significant achievements are within the environmental or economic dimensions of sustainable development, but strengthening the social dimension is still one pending task. The importance of happiness to sustainability initiatives on campus, and beyond, deserves further research. To this end, this article offers insights into incorporating the sustainability–happiness nexus into sustainable universities to enhance the social dimension of sustainability. COVID-19 reminds sustainability academics and stakeholders that teaching technical and scientific knowledge is necessary to become more sustainable. Still, it is not sufficient to achieve the goals in the 2030 agenda. Providing inclusive and sustainable quality education will be reached when more sustainable universities consider happiness the ultimate goal of human development.

The Road from Money to Happiness

Nowadays, companies must be concerned with the levels of satisfaction and happiness of employees. Hence, this paper proposes to investigate the links between salary and happiness through an exploratory study with a quasi-experimental design. The sample included 376 respondents, and we employed structured equation modeling (SEM) in ADANCO. Prior to evaluating the structural model, the goodness of fit shows moderate/excellent values. Our empirical results show a positive relationship between salary and happiness, salary and life satisfaction, salary and financial satisfaction, financial satisfaction and life satisfaction, and financial satisfaction and happiness. Thus, we consider that our research contributes to the literature by analyzing the relationship between income and happiness in a developing country such as Romania. Congruent with previous findings, we consider that our results provide evidence of the road from salary to happiness in developing countries.