Findings on happiness in Becchetti et al. (2016): study ZZ Europe 2006

Publication
Author(s)Becchetti, L.; Corrado, L.; Sama, P.
TitleInside the Life Satisfaction Blackbox.
SourceWorld Happiness Report, 2016, Vol.2, 1 - 36
URLhttp://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2198303
Investigation
Public50+ aged, general public, Europe, 2006,2007
Last assesment2007
Survey nameSHARE
 second wave, 2006, 2007
SampleSelection from general population sample
Respondents N =30325000
Non ResponseNot available
AssesmentInterview: computer assisted (CAPI)
Happiness measure(s) used
Full textSelfreport on single question: Now here are some questions concerning how satisfied - or dissatisfied - you are with various things about your life, such as your standard of living, your education etc. To indicate this, would you use this card. If you are extremely SATISFIED with something you would call of the highest number, ten. If you are extremely DISSATISFIED you would mention the lowest number, zero. If you are neither extremely satisfied nor extremely dissatisfied, you would mention some number in between zero and ten - the higher the number, the more satisfied, the lower the number the less satisfied. How satisfied - or dissatisfied - are you with the following? Just read off the number that comes closest to how you feel. We have talked about various parts of your life. Now taking everything into account, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your life as a whole? 0 dissatisfied 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 satisfied
ClassificationO-SLW-u-sq-n-11-e
Author's labelLife satisfaction
Page in publication4, 17
Finding used in
nation ranks		Yes
 On original range 0 - 10On range 0 - 10
Mean7.547.54
Standard deviation1.781.78

Correlational findings

Author's label Our subject description
Age classshow  Age difference among elderly
Age no preventshow  Attitude to ageing (getting older)
Age no preventshow  Degree of restriction, also classified as above ↑
Attended educationshow  Involved in schooling or not
Countriesshow  Current nation of residence
Education yearsshow  Level of school-education
Freedom of choiceshow  Current absence of restrictions (social freedom)
Future goodshow  Hopeful (vs hopeless)
Help to familyshow  Current support behavior
Household sizeshow  Current household-composition
Hroomsshow  Surface of house
Leaving inheritanceshow  Savings
Life meaningfulshow  Perceived usefullness of one's life
Limited activitiesshow  Degree of restriction
Log incomeshow  Household income
Long term illnessshow  Chronic illness
Maleshow  Sex (male vs female)
Marital statusshow  Married vs never married
Marital statusshow  Vs co-habiting, also classified as above ↑
Marital statusshow  Vs divorced, also classified as above ↑
Marital statusshow  Vs separated, also classified as above ↑
Marital statusshow  Vs widowed, also classified as above ↑
No family responsibilityshow  Attitudes to family of procreation
No family responsibilityshow  Specific restrictions (perceived and actual), also classified as above ↑
No feel left outshow  Satisfaction with personal contacts
No lack moneyshow  Attitudes to own income
No lack moneyshow  Specific restrictions (perceived and actual), also classified as above ↑
No out controlshow  Inner locus of control
Number of childrenshow  Number of children
Number of grandchildrenshow  Grand-children
Number of illnessesshow  Number of health complaints
Opportunitiesshow  Single aspect evaluations (on criteria of good life)
Participation in churchshow  Participation in church
Past goodshow  Retrospective level of happiness (period unspecified)
Political participationshow  Political participation in nation
Sport socialshow  Current organizational participation
Urban areashow  Community size
Vitalityshow  Feeling energetic (vs lethargic, tired)
Vitalityshow  Single aspect evaluations (on criteria of good life), also classified as above ↑
Voluntary workshow  Voluntary work