Social and psychological correlates of happiness in 17 European countries

2010 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne M Doherty ◽  
Brendan D Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Religious Belief ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Societal Factors ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Psychological Correlates ◽  
Community Trust ◽  
The Individual

AbstractObjectives:Happiness has been associated with a number of individual and societal factors, but much of the individual-to-individual variation in happiness remains unexplained. The purpose of this paper is to examine a broad range of social and psychological correlates of self-rated happiness in Europe.Methods:We used data from the European Social Survey to determine levels of happiness in individuals (n = 30,816) from 17 European countries and to identify associations between happiness and age, gender, family relationships, satisfaction with income, employment status, community trust, satisfaction with health, satisfaction with democracy, religious belief and country of residence.Results:Self-rated happiness varies significantly between European countries, with individuals in Denmark reporting the highest levels of happiness and individuals in Bulgaria reporting the lowest levels. On multi-variable analysis, happiness is positively correlated with younger age, satisfaction with household income, being employed, high community trust and religious belief. Overall, these factors account for 22.5% of the individual-to-individual variation in happiness in Europe.Conclusions:For the individual, this study highlights possible associations between happiness and the individual's attitudes towards various aspects of their personal, household and societal circumstances. For social policy-makers, this study suggests the potential usefulness of civic measures to increase community trust and social capital. Further studies of the inter-relationships between individual and community-level variables would assist in further explaining the variance in happiness between individuals and countries.

scholarly journals The Social and Psychological Correlates of Happiness in Seventeen European Countries: Analysis of Data from the European Social Survey

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Doherty ◽  
B. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Religious Belief ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Psychological Correlates ◽  
Community Trust ◽  
The Individual

Background:Happiness has been associated with a number of individual and societal factors, but much of the individual-to-individual variation in happiness remains unexplained. The purpose of this paper is to examine a broad range of social and psychological correlates of self-rated happiness in Europe.Methods:We used data from the European Social Survey to determine levels of happiness in individuals (n=30,816) from seventeen European countries and to identify associations between happiness and age, gender, family relationships, satisfaction with income, employment status, community trust, satisfaction with health, satisfaction with democracy, religious belief and country of residence.Results:Self-rated happiness varies significantly between European countries, with individuals in Denmark reporting the highest levels of happiness and individuals in Bulgaria reporting the lowest levels. On multi-variable analysis, happiness is positively correlated with younger age, satisfaction with household income, being employed, high community trust and religious belief. Overall, these factors account for 22.5% of the individual-to-individual variation in happiness in Europe.Conclusion:For the individual, this study highlights the strength of association between happiness and the individual's attitudes towards various aspects of their personal, household and societal circumstances. For social policy-makers, this study confirms the potential usefulness of civic measures to increase community trust and social capital. Further studies of the inter-relationships between individual and community-level variables would assist in further explaining the variance in happiness between individuals and countries.

Disability in a perspective of generalized trust. Comparative analysis in selected European countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-28
Author(s):  
Tomasz Masłyk
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Social Order ◽  
General Public ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Generalized Trust ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Cultural Pattern ◽  
The Individual

The aim of the article was to present the results of a comparative analysis between levels of generalized trust of people with disabilities in fourteen European countries in the context of the general public. The data used in the analysis came from the European Social Survey 2002–2016. The basis of the analysis was the assumption that generalized trust is a reflection of a certain cultural pattern affecting all of society, which is built on the assessment regarding the quality of the functioning of the state and its institutions. This assessment showed differences not only between individual countries, but also indiacated a distance that separates disabled people from the rest of society. Comparison of results from several countries differing in social and economic development showed coherent and universal dependency patterns. Firstly, countries characterized by a higher level of development showed a higher level of trust in the whole society including people with disabilities. Secondly, regardless of differences in the level of development amongst individual countries, the differences in the level of trust between the general public and of people with disabilities were similar. Thirdly, in most of the countries surveyed, disability at the individual level was not a determinant to the assessment of generalized trust if an influence of sociodemographic characteristics and social order assessment were controlled for.

scholarly journals Who Wants to Work More? Multilevel Study on Underemployment of Working Mothers in 22 European Countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 283
Author(s):  
Milla Salin ◽  
Jouko Nätti
Keyword(s):  
Working Mothers ◽  
Working Hours ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Country Level ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Market Situation ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Individual

This study examines underemployment of working mothers in 22 European countries. Underemployed mothers are defined as those who wish to work longer hours than they are currently working. Compared to unemployment and employment in general, the research tradition of underemployment is less established. This article contributes to the existing knowledge on underemployment in two ways. First, it focuses on a specific group of workers: mothers. Secondly, while the vast majority of earlier studies has concentrated on single countries, this study is cross-national. Using data from the 2010/2011 European Social Survey (ESS), a multilevel analysis provides three major findings. First, underemployment exists in all countries examined, but the prevalence varies significantly. Second, the prevalence and depth (i.e., how large is the gap between preferred and current working hours) of underemployment are not necessarily correlated; a high prevalence can be accompanied by shallower underemployment and vice versa. Third, at the individual-level, underemployment particularly hurts mothers who are in a more insecure position in terms of their economic and labor market situation. At the country level, underemployment is related to a poorer economic situation and less-extensive childcare system.

scholarly journals Public opinion on basic income: Mapping European support for a radical alternative for welfare provision

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 190-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Femke Roosma ◽  
Wim van Oorschot
Keyword(s):  
European Population ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Survey Question ◽  
Minimum Income ◽  
Social Legitimacy ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Guaranteed Minimum Income

The idea of a universal basic income (BI) is both radical and simple. Obtaining a sufficient citizenship-based income without work obligations is fundamentally opposing the foundations of the welfare systems that are in place nowadays. As BI has gained increasing attention in public debates and among policymakers, questions arise about its social legitimacy. This study is the first to analyse a broad range of explanatory individual and contextual factors that may affect popular support for BI. In addition, we study how BI support is related to support of current welfare provisions, to analyse how radically different people perceive a BI to be. We use a unique survey question – available for 23 European countries, from the recent release of the European Social Survey (2016) –that introduces BI with an extended definition, emphasizing its universal and unconditional character and that it will replace other benefits and services and is paid for by taxes. Results show relatively high, but varying levels of support among European countries and social groups. People who are in a more vulnerable socio-economic position support BI more, as well as political left-wingers, egalitarianists and people who support targeting benefits at the poor. Also, a BI is more supported in countries with higher levels of material deprivation. This pattern of relations on both the individual and contextual levels seems to suggest that it is not the universal character or its unconditionality that makes a BI so attractive to a large share of the European population, but the fact that it provides (poor) people with a guaranteed minimum income. We also find that people who support other welfare reforms are more supportive of a BI. This, and the fact that younger people are more pro-BI might give hope to BI advocates who present the proposal as a social system of the future.

scholarly journals How citizens evaluate democracy: an assessment using the European Social Survey

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Quaranta
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
System Level ◽  
Summary Measure ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Multiple Indicators ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
Bayesian Factor ◽  
The Individual

How do citizens evaluate democracy? Previous literature trying to address this question has often relied on single indicators to assess citizens’ assessment of democracy. This article contributes to this debate by using multiple indicators measuring different attributes to find a summary measure of citizens’ evaluations of democracy. Using the special module of the sixth round of the European Social Survey ‘Europeans’ understandings and evaluations of democracy’ and applying Bayesian factor analysis with country random effects, this article tests whether multiple indicators form an underlying trait measuring citizens’ evaluations of democracy. It finds the scores of this measure at the individual and country levels and validates this measure against other measures built at the system level, including the ‘satisfaction with democracy’ indicator, also illustrating its functioning as a dependent and an independent variable.

Associations Between Higher-Order Values Vary with Age, Education, and Income

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maksim Rudnev
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Value Structures ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Representative Samples

A theory of basic human values relies on the similarity of value structures across countries. It has been well established that the quasi-circumplex value structure as a whole is indeed universal. However, less attention has been paid to the associations between specific values. This study investigated associations between four higher-order values across age, education, and income groups. We analyzed the data from national representative samples collected in 29 countries as part of the fourth round of the European Social Survey with a series of multilevel regressions. Younger age, higher levels of education and income coincided with higher independence of the four adjacent higher-order values, whereas among older, less educated, and less wealthy groups, values tended to merge into a single dimension of Social versus Person Focus. These differences were slightly weaker in more economically developed countries. The group differences in value associations may follow from corresponding differences in the degree of societal and individual empowerment, cognitive abilities, and socialization experiences. Accounting for the individual differences in relations between values may bring deeper understanding and higher predictive power to the studies of links between values and various behaviors or attitudes. , value structure, value interactions, European Social Survey

Openness and Self-enhancement are predictors of cultural and economic beliefs: an analysis of European countries across 15 years

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Czarnek ◽  
Małgorzata Kossowska
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Beliefs ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
Economic Beliefs ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Self Transcendence ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

In this study, we investigate the relationship between values and political beliefs and how it varies as a function of cultural context and time. In particular, we analyzed the effects of Conservation vs. Openness to change and Self-transcendence vs. Self-enhancement for cultural and economic political beliefs using data from nationally representative samples of citizens from 34 European countries from eight rounds of the European Social Survey (data spans the 2002–2016 period). We found that the effects of values on political beliefs are moderated by the Western vs. Eastern cultural context and that there is a modest round-to-round variation in the effects of values on beliefs. The relationship between Openness and cultural beliefs was negative and largely consistent across the Western and Eastern countries. Similarly, the effects of Self-enhancement were positive across these Western and Eastern countries. In contrast, the effects of Openness on economic beliefs were positive for the Eastern countries but largely weak and inconsistent for the Western countries. Finally, the effects of Self-enhancement on cultural beliefs are weak for both cultural contexts.

PREPARING PUBLIC SERVANTS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES: ARCHETYPAL APPROACH

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (14) ◽  
pp. 255-263
Author(s):  
Oleh Ivanovich Rohulskyi
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
German Model ◽  
Managerial Positions ◽  
A Chain ◽  
The Individual

The article describes the main components of the institutional framework of an archetypical approach to public administration. It is determined that the system of preparation of public servants is based on a chain of universal foundations of archetype, in particular, it is influenced by the principle of formation of personnel in the public service, formed on the basis of public opinion. Based on two basic principles relating to admission to public service, three basic models of training civil servants in the European country are defined: German. French and Anglo-Saxon. We analyze each of the models and define the archetypes that influenced their formation and development. The advantages of each model are determined, in particular, the benefits are: the German model of training managers is the balancing between the theoretical knowledge and practical skills that a public servant receives during training, but as a disadvantage one can distinguish the orientation of preparation for legal orientation, which limits the ability to hold managerial positions for many employees The French model of professional training of public servants should include a well-balanced understanding of tasks, namely: decentralization and territorial organization of public services, communication, support of territorial communities, in-depth knowledge and understanding of the need for cooperation with institutions of the European Commonwealth, high-quality human resource management and orientation towards environmentally friendly innovations, such a model of training of public servants is holistic, costly and effective; The Anglo-Saxon model of training of public servants is its orientation towards the implementation of the concept of public administration and the individual approach to employee training, taking into account all the specifics of its activities, providing for the formation of personnel capable of solving specific problems. It is concluded that today in most European countries dominated by mixed models that include elements of different models.

Intra-individual variation in adults and children: measuring and conceptualizing individual dialect–standard repertoires

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (s2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irmtraud Kaiser ◽  
Andrea Ender
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Individual Variation ◽  
The Other ◽  
Standard Language ◽  
Methodological Choices ◽  
Standard Spectrum ◽  
Speech Data ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual

Abstract This paper explores intra-individual variation as a manifestation of language-internal multilingualism in the Central-Bavarian Austrian context. Based on speech data from children and adults in different contexts, we discuss different methods of measuring and analyzing inter-situational variation along the dialect and standard language spectrum. By contrasting measures of dialectality, on the one hand, and proportions of turns in dialect, standard language or intermediate/mixed forms on the other, we gain complementary insights not only into the individual dialect-standard repertoires but also into the consequences of different methodological choices. The results indicate that intra-individual variation is ubiquitous in adults and children and that individual repertoires need to be taken into account from the beginning of the language acquisition process. We suggest that while intra-individual variation can be attested through the use of various methods, the revealed level of granularity and the conclusions that can be drawn as to the individual repertoires on the dialect-standard spectrum largely depend on the measures used and their inherent assumptions and intrinsically necessary categorizations.

Geography and the Gerrymander

1918 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. O. Sauer
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Major Part ◽  
The Other ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Large Measure ◽  
Adequate Knowledge ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Partial Suppression ◽  
Historical Basis ◽  
The Individual

The gerrymander is an American name for a political abuse, which, though by no means exclusively American, has been most widely practiced and generally tolerated in this country. It is a device for the partial suppression of public opinion that simulates agreement with democratic institutions. The subterfuge, therefore, has no place in countries in which oligarchic control is legitimized. Nor is it suited to European conditions, because it is difficult there to shift electoral boundaries. European electoral units in large part have a clearly defined historical basis, which in turn rests upon geographic coherence. This solidarity is commonly so great that it cannot be disregarded. American political divisions on the other hand show in major part very imperfect adjustment to economic and historic conditions, largely, because many of the divisions were created in advance of such conditions. They are, in the main, not gradual growths, but deliberate and arbitrary legislative creations, made without adequate knowledge of the conditions that make for unity or disunity of population within an area. Political divisions tend, therefore, to be less significant than in European countries and to be regarded more lightly. It is in particular the smaller unit, such as the county, that has been manipulated for electoral purposes. In spite of their poorly drawn individual boundaries, groups of counties can be organized into larger electoral units in such a manner as to represent a common body of interests predominating. On the other hand they can be so arranged as to mask these interests. The lack of proper coherence in the individual county may be rectified in large measure in the group, or it may be intensified. Gerrymandering accomplishes the latter result.

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