scholarly journals Patterns of Trust and Subjective Well-Being Across Europe: New Insights from Repeated Cross-Sectional Analyses Based on the European Social Survey 2002–2016

2019 ◽  
Vol 148 (2) ◽  
pp. 417-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Glatz ◽  
Anja Eder
Keyword(s):  
Social Trust ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Institutional Trust ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Positive Effect

Abstract This paper offers elaborate analyses regarding the effects of social- as well as institutional trust as parts of social capital on subjective well-being (SWB) by using data from the European Social Survey, including 36 countries and eight time-points between 2002 and 2016. We analyze (1) The development of trust and SWB on the aggregate level; (2) The effect of trust on SWB on the individual cross-sectional level; and (3) The longitudinal and cross-sectional effect of trust on SWB on the aggregate level while considering control variables based on previous research. We observe a weak positive trend regarding social trust as well as SWB over time, but no significant change in institutional trust. However, trends are far from homogeneous across countries. In accordance to previous studies, we find a positive effect of social trust on SWB. This effect holds on the individual cross-sectional level for every participating country, but also on the longitudinal level. In view of institutional trust, we see a positive effect on SWB on the individual and aggregate cross-sectional level, but not over time. Thus, this study particularly sheds new light on this relation, indicating that it´s cross-sectional relation is due to confounding variables. Moreover, we observe no relation between economic growth and SWB after controlling for unemployment, but a positive effect of decreasing unemployment and inflation on SWB. Our data suggests that establishing an environment with high social trust across Europe would be rewarded with a happy society.

scholarly journals Nowhere Better Than Here?The Subjective Well-Being of German Emigrants and Remigrants

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Erlinghagen
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Group Structure ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Demographic Group ◽  
Individual Evaluation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Better Than

The paper investigates in the question if and how the subjective well-being (SWB) of German emigrants, German non-migrants, and German remigrants differ. Based on regression analyses of data from the European Social Survey (ESS) the analyses focus on life satisfaction and happiness as main indicators of SWB. It turns out that German emigrants show increased SWB compared to German non-migrants or remigrants. However, these findings cannot be explained by differences in the socio-economic or socio-demographic group structure. In fact, the increased SWB of emigrants is much more an effect of psychosocial differences and differences in the individual evaluation of household income.

scholarly journals EXPERIENCE PERSONAL WELL-BEING IN THE FIRST STAGE OF PANDEMIC COVID-19

2021 ◽  
pp. 132-141
Author(s):  
Danylchenko T.V.
Keyword(s):  
Social Trust ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Satisfaction Scale ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
The Third ◽  
Third Stage ◽  
New Criteria

Annotation. The paper presents the study of the experiencing personal well-being (N=263).The aim of the study was to identify the dynamics of experiencing personal well-being in the pandemic. The object is the personal well-being of Ukrainians. The results of the study of 4 groups are compared which were conducted in 2018 (before the pandemic) - 100 people, in March (80 people), April (42 people) and August (41 people) of 2020. Methods. E.Diener’s Life Satisfaction Scale (SWLS) and questions from the European Social Survey (2013) were used. The surveyed respondents were the residents of different regions of Ukraine; the average age is 34.95 years.Result and conclusion. It is demonstrated that the level of personal well-being has not changed. No hedonistic adaptation was observed, as the response to pandemic stress among Ukrainians was not pronounced. The transformation of the criteria for assessing personal well-being was detected. The first reaction in a situation of uncertainty was the shift in priorities, a search for the personal sense of what is happening. The differentiation of the structure of personal well-being is lost, the criteria become vague. At the second stage (adjustment) there can be observed the acceptance of the pandemic as an inevitable fact. The personal boundaries are restructured considering the new situation – there appear new criteria for personal freedom. At the third stage (adaptation) the differentiation of the personal well-being structure to the level of the beginning of the pandemic is restored, i.e. the search for new criteria of personal well-being is completed. The share of components of personal well-being has changed. While in the pre-quarantine period the most significant was the search for positive emotions (hedonistic component), in the initial adjustment to the crisis conditions of the pandemic, the share of the eudaemonic component – the search for sense in life – increased.The spread of COVID is a factor not of eudaemonic but of emotional well-being – the reduction of positive affect. At the second stage the key factors of personal well-being were optimism and trust in people. The importance of social trust is growing. At the third stage the main factor of personal well-being was the ability to master new activities and creativity.Key words: personal well-being, pandemic, emotional (hedonistic, subjective) well-being, psychological (eudaemonic) well-being, social well-being. У статті наведено результати дослідження переживання особистісного благополуччя (N=263). Метою є виявлення особливостей динаміки переживання особистісного благополуччя в умовах пандемії. Об’єктом є особистісне благополуччя українців. Порівнюються результати дослідження чотирьох груп, вивчення яких було проведено у 2018 р. (до пандемії) (100 осіб), у березні (80 осіб), квітні (42 особи) і серпні (41 особа) 2020 р. Методи. У дослідженні використані такі методи: Шкала задоволеності життям Е.Дінера (SWLS) та питання з опитування European Social Survey (2013). Опитані респонденти – жителі різних регіонів України; середній вік – 34,95 років.Результати та висновки. Виявлено, що рівень особистісного благополуччя не змінився. Не спостерігалася гедоністична адаптація, оскільки реакція на пандемічний стрес серед українців не була вираженою. Виявлено трансформацію критеріїв оцінки особистісного благополуччя. Перша реакція в ситуації невизначеності – зміщення пріоритетів, пошук особистісного сенсу того, що відбувається. Втрачається диференціація структури особистісного благополуччя, критерії стають розпливчастими. На другому етапі (адаптації) спостерігається прийняття пандемії як неминучого факту, відбувається переструктурування особистих кордонів з урахуванням нової ситуації, оскільки з’являються нові критерії особистої свободи. На третьому етапі (адаптованості) зафіксовано відновлення диференціації структури особистісного благополуччя до рівня початку пандемії, тобто пошук нових критеріїв особистого благополуччя завершено. У докарантинний період найбільш значущим був пошук позитивних емоцій, під час первинної адаптації до кризових умов пандемії збільшилась значущість евдемонічного компонента – пошук життєвого сенсу.Поширення COVID-19 є чинником не евдемонічного, а емоційного благополуччя – зниження позитивного афекту. На другому етапі ключовими чинниками особистісного благополуччя стали оптимізм і довіра до людей. На третьому етапі головним чинником особистісного благополуччя стало вміння освоювати нові види діяльності та креативність особистості.Ключові слова: особистісне благополуччя, пандемія, емоційне (гедоністичне, суб’єктивне) благополуччя, психологічне (евдемонічне) благополуччя, соціальне благополуччя.

scholarly journals The Day of the Week Effect on Subjective Well-Being in the European Social Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 229 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Gnambs
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Interviewer Effects ◽  
Individual Participant ◽  
Day Of The Week

Abstract. In large-scale social surveys, respondents are typically interviewed on different days of the week. Because previous research established systematic daily fluctuations of people’s mood, it was hypothesized that subjective well-being ratings might be similarly affected by the day the interview takes place. Therefore, an individual-participant meta-analysis of 221 representative samples from the European Social Survey including 408,637 participants is presented. The random-effects meta-analysis found a negligible day of the week effect on life satisfaction and happiness ratings, even after accounting for selection and interviewer effects. Although significantly different ratings were observed on Sundays, the size of the obtained effects was trivial. These findings provide little evidence that the interview day has a meaningful impact on subjective well-being research in cross-sectional, large-scale studies.

Migration Background and Subjective Well-Being A Multilevel Analysis Based on the European Social Survey

2013 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 645-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Hadjar ◽  
Susanne Backes
Keyword(s):  
First Generation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Migration Background ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Integration Policy ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Multilevel Perspective ◽  
Migrant Integration ◽  
First Generation Migrants

Abstract Contributing to the debate on the integration of migrants in Europe, this study focuses on Subjective Well-Being (SWB) of people with migration backgrounds compared to people without a migration background – specifying SWB in terms of successful integration. The analyses employ a multilevel perspective (data base: European Social Survey). On the macro level, gross domestic product (GDP), welfare regime, xenophobia and the migrant integration policy index (MIPEX) are considered; on the micro level, social origin, education, unemployment, income deprivation, relationship status, health status and controls. Findings indicate a disadvantage in SWB of first-generation migrants that goes beyond deficits regarding well-studied SWB determinants. The SWB gap between migrants and non-migrants is larger in countries with a high GDP and smaller in countries with a high MIPEX score.

Trustees, Delegates, and Responsiveness in Comparative Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 766-793 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun Bowler
Keyword(s):  
Academic Research ◽  
Large Body ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Conceptual Distinction ◽  
Citizen Preferences ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Government Responsiveness

A large body of aggregate-level work shows that government policies do indeed respond to citizen preferences. But whether citizens recognize that government is responsive is another question entirely. Indeed, a prior question is whether or not citizens value responsiveness in the way that academic research assumes they should in the first place. Using comparative data from the European Social Survey, this article examines how citizens see government responsiveness. We show that several key assumptions of the aggregate-level literature are met at the individual level. But we also present results that show that attitudes toward representation and responsiveness are colored, sometimes in quite surprising ways, by winner–loser effects. In a finding that stands in some contrast to the normative literature on the topic, we show that these sorts of short-term attitudes help shape preferences for models of representation. In particular, we show that the distinction between delegates and trustees is a conceptual distinction that has limits in helping us to understand citizen preferences for representation.

scholarly journals Subjective well-being and mental health during the pandemic outbreak: Exploring the role of institutional trust

2020 ◽  
pp. 016402752097514
Author(s):  
Sunwoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
News Media ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Institutional Trust ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cross Sectional Design ◽  
The Relationship

This study examined the relationship between material adversities due to pandemic crisis, institutional trust, and subjective well-being and mental health among middle-aged and older adults aged 50+ in Europe. The study used a cross-sectional design to examine Eurofound COVID-19 survey data collected from 27 European countries in April 2020. A total of 31,757 European middle aged and older adults aged 50 + were analyzed (Mean = 59.99, SD = 7.03). Analysis focused on the financial impact and material security in relation to pandemic lockdown, institutional trust (news media, police, national government, European Union, and healthcare system), and subjective well-being and mental health. Regression analysis indicated perceived insecurity in employment and housing, worsening finances, and difficulty paying for basic necessities were significantly related to respondents’ life satisfaction, happiness, self-rated health, mental health index, and psychological distress. Institutional trust partially mediated the relationship between perceived adversities and subjective well-being and mental health.

Het littekeneffect: de blijvende invloed van langdurige werkloosheid op welzijn

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. van der Meer ◽  
Nick Mulder
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Multilevel Analyses ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Loss Of Self ◽  
The Unemployed

The scarring effect: the lasting impact of long-term unemployment on wellbeing In this article we answer the question whether the scarring effect of unemployment lasts into retirement. This is an interesting question because the answer provides insights into the explanation of this scarring effect. If pensioners are scarred by unemployment than this suggests that the scar is caused by a loss of self-esteem. If pensioners don't have the scar than this suggests that the scar among employed is explained by either a scaring effect or by not abiding social norms. Our multilevel analyses of data for 25 countries that participated in the European Social Survey showed that pensioners do have such a scar. Pensioners who have been unemployed for at least three months have a lower level of subjective well-being than pensioners who were never unemployed. This shows that unemployment coincides with a loss of self-esteem. It is an additional argument why governments should give a higher level of priority in combatting unemployment to avoid social losses, not only for the unemployed but for the pensioners as well.

scholarly journals Social Exclusion and Subjective Well-being Among Older Adults in Europe: Findings From the European Social Survey

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunwoo Lee
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
General Health ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Social

Abstract Objectives The current study aims to examine how social exclusion is related to subjective well-being in older adults across different European regions. Methods European population-based cross-sectional study design was employed using data sampled from the eighth round of the European Social Survey (ESS). Multiple items for social exclusion were used in this round, including household income, civic participation, frequent meetings with friends and relatives, basic health services, and neighborhood cohesion. Life satisfaction, happiness, and self-rated general health were also assessed. An ANOVA was performed to examine the regional differences related to social exclusion and subjective well-being, while a regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the social exclusion and subjective well-being. Results There were significant regional differences in the social exclusion and subjective well-being of older Europeans. In addition, older adults in the Nordic nations are more likely to indicate higher levels of subjective well-being and lower levels of social exclusion, while older adults from Central and Eastern European nations tend to report lower levels of subjective well-being and higher levels of social exclusion. Material resources and basic services are highlighted as the most important domains pertaining to life satisfaction, happiness, and general health. Discussion The study findings reinforce the inequality in subjective well-being linked to social exclusion across different societies. Both global and country-specific exclusion models in later life should be implemented in order to enhance comparable research and provide insight into EU and national guidelines for interventions to diminish social exclusion.

scholarly journals Does Increasing Immigration Affect Ethnic Minority Groups?

2021 ◽  
Vol 697 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-65
Author(s):  
Danying Li ◽  
Miguel R. Ramos ◽  
Matthew R. Bennett ◽  
Douglas S. Massey ◽  
Miles Hewstone
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Perceived Discrimination ◽  
Well Being ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Generalized Trust ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
White Majority

Immigration is increasing around the world. Academic work suggests that increasing immigration reduces social cohesion and subjective well-being, but these studies mainly focused on white majority populations. Using the 2002 to 2014 European Social Survey, we analyze data from 5,149 ethnic minority respondents living in twenty-four European countries. We examine the association between immigration and respondents’ well-being, mediated by two critical cognitive mechanisms: perceived discrimination and generalized trust. We find that in the short term, immigration is associated with greater perceived discrimination, which in turn is associated with lower trust and well-being. Over the longer term, though, immigration is associated with lower perceived discrimination from ethnic minorities, yielding greater generalized trust and perceived well-being.

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