Original Research Article
Year: 2018 | Month: October | Volume: 8 | Issue: 10 | Pages: 15-25
Happiness across Age Groups: Findings Based on Three Measures
Sandhyarani Moirangthem1, Satyananda Panda2
1PhD Scholar, Department of Psychology, Sikkim University, Gangtok, Sikkim, India
2Associate Professor and Head, Department of Psychology, Sikkim University, Gangtok, Sikkim, India
Corresponding Author: Sandhyarani Moirangthem
ABSTRACT
Happiness is considered to be an important component of well-being. The paradox of how happiness varies across age has attracted much attention from researchers in recent years. In the present study, levels of happiness across three age groups were examined on a sample of 180: late adolescents (n=60), young adults (n=60) and elderly (n=60). Three happiness measures- Oxford Happiness Questionnaire, Single Item Happiness Scale and Subjective Happiness Scale were employed. Perceived Stress Scale and Positive Relationship with others Scale was used to measure stress and social relationship respectively. Data were collected using convenience sampling. Findings showed that happiness significantly differed across the three age groups. In all the three measures, elderly reported higher happiness than young adults and late adolescents, but no significant differences were found between late adolescents and young adults. The research findings also revealed that happiness differ across age groups even after controlling stress and social relationships. Correlation analysis revealed negative, significant association between happiness and stress, and positive, significant association between happiness and social relationship. Further results showed that happiness was positively associated with age, residence, education, occupation and income, but negatively associated with gender, religion and marital status.
Key words: Happiness; Age; Adolescents; Young Adults; Elderly; Well-being