How Happy are People?

Contrary to many reports of abundant misery ("Our pains greatly exceed our pleasures," said Rousseau), most people report being "fairly" or "very" happy and relatively few (some 1 in 10 in many countries, including the USA) report being "not too happy." Pioneering happiness researcher Ed Diener aggregated SWB data from 916 surveys of 1.1 million people in 45 nations that represent most of the human population. When responses were converted to a 0 to 10 scale (with 5 being neutral), the average SWB score was near 7.
Likewise, when people’s moods have been sampled using pagers or in national surveys, most people report being in good rather than bad moods.
These generally positive self-reports come from people of all ages and both sexes worldwide, with a few exceptions: people hospitalized for alcoholism, newly incarcerated inmates, new therapy clients, South African blacks during the apartheid era, homeless people, sex workers, and students living under conditions of political suppression.
When surveyed, there is some tendency for people to overreport good things (such as voting) and underreport bad things (such as smoking). Yet people’s SWB reports have reasonable reliability across time and correlate with other positive indicators of well-being, including friends' and family members' assessments. Positive self-reports also predict sociability, energy, and helpfulness, and a lower risk for abuse, hostility, and illness.
Happiness does, however, vary somewhat by country. Recent (1999 to 2001) World Values Survey data collected by Ronald Inglehart from 82 countries indicate highest SWB (happiness and life satisfaction) in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, and Switzerland, and the lowest in Moldova, Russia, Armenia, Ukraine, Zimbabwe, and Indonesia.
Who is Happy?
Despite presumptions of happy and unhappy life stages or populations, there are mostly happy and a few unhappy people in every demographic group. Happiness is similarly common among people of differing
age: Emotionality subsides with maturity and happiness predictors change with age (as satisfaction with health, for example, becomes more important). Yet World Values Surveys indicate comparable SWB reports across the lifespan. For example, self-reported happiness does not nosedive during men's supposed early 40s "midlife crisis" years or parents' supposed "empty nest syndrome" years.
gender: There are gender gaps in misery: When troubled, men more often become alcoholic, women more often ruminate and get depressed or anxious. Yet in many surveys worldwide, women and men have been similarly likely to declare themselves "very happy" and "satisfied" with life.
race: African-Americans are only slightly less likely than European-Americans to report feeling very happy. Moreover, note social psychologists Jennifer Crocker and Brenda Major, "A host of studies conclude that blacks have levels of self-esteem equal to or higher than that of whites." People in disadvantaged groups maintain self-esteem by valuing the things at which they excel, by making comparisons within their own groups, and by attributing problems to external sources such as prejudice.
Other indicators do offer clues to happiness.
The traits of happy people: Extraversion, self-esteem, optimism, and a sense of personal control are among the marks of happy lives. Twin and adoption studies reveal that some of these traits, such as extraversion, are genetically influenced, as is happiness itself. Like cholesterol level, happiness is genetically influenced, yet also somewhat amenable to volitional control.
The work and leisure of happy people: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi reports increased quality of life when work and leisure engage one's skills. Between the anxiety of being overwhelmed and the boredom of being underwhelmed lies the unself-conscious, absorbed state of flow.
The relationships of happy people: Humans are social animals, with an evident need to belong. For most people, solitary confinement is misery. Having close friends, and being with them, is pleasure. In National Opinion Research Center surveys of more than 42,000 Americans since 1972, 40 percent of married adults have declared themselves very happy, as have 23 percent of never married adults. The marital happiness gap also occurs in other countries and is similar for men and women. The causal arrows between marriage and happiness appear to point both ways: an intimate marriage, like other close friendships, offers social support; but happy people also appear more likely to attract and retain partners.
The faith of happy people: The same National Opinion Research Center surveys reveal that 23 percent of those never attending religious services report being very happy, as do 47 percent of those attending more than weekly. In explaining the oft-reported greater happiness and ability to cope with loss among people active in faith communities, psychologists have assumed that faith networks may offer social support, meaning, and assistance in managing the "terror" of one's inevitable death.


http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Psychology_of_happiness