Introduction to a Culturally Sensitive Measure of Well-Being: Combining Life Satisfaction and Interdependent Happiness Across 49 Different Cultures

Kuba Krys (), Brian W. Haas (), Eric Raymond Igou, Aleksandra Kosiarczyk, Agata Kocimska-Bortnowska, Anna Kwiatkowska, Vivian Miu-Chi Lun, Fridanna Maricchiolo, Joonha Park, Iva Poláčková Šolcová, David Sirlopú, Yukiko Uchida, Christin-Melanie Vauclair, Vivian L. Vignoles, John M. Zelenski, Mladen Adamovic, Charity S. Akotia, Isabelle Albert, Lily Appoh, D. M. Arévalo Mira, Arno Baltin, Patrick Denoux, Alejandra Domínguez-Espinosa, Carla Sofia Esteves, Vladimer Gamsakhurdia, Márta Fülöp, Ragna B. Garðarsdóttir, Alin Gavreliuc, Diana Boer, David O. Igbokwe, İdil Işık, Natalia Kascakova, Lucie Klůzová Kráčmarová, Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka, Olga Kostoula, Nicole Kronberger, J. Hannah Lee, Xinhui Liu, Magdalena Łużniak-Piecha, Arina Malyonova, Pablo Eduardo Barrientos, Tamara Mohorić, Oriana Mosca, Elke Murdock, Nur Fariza Mustaffa, Martin Nader, Azar Nadi, Ayu Okvitawanli, Yvette Osch, Vassilis Pavlopoulos, Zoran Pavlović, Muhammad Rizwan, Vladyslav Romashov, Espen Røysamb, Ruta Sargautyte, Beate Schwarz, Heyla A. Selim, Ursula Serdarevich, Maria Stogianni, Chien-Ru Sun, Julien Teyssier, Wijnand A. P. Tilburg, Claudio Torres, Cai Xing and Michael Harris Bond
Additional contact information
Kuba Krys: Polish Academy of Sciences
Brian W. Haas: University of Georgia
Eric Raymond Igou: University of Limerick
Aleksandra Kosiarczyk: SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities
Agata Kocimska-Bortnowska: SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities
Anna Kwiatkowska: Polish Academy of Sciences
Vivian Miu-Chi Lun: Lingnan University
Fridanna Maricchiolo: University of Roma Tre
Joonha Park: NUCB Business School
Iva Poláčková Šolcová: Czech Academy of Sciences
David Sirlopú: Universidad San Sebastián
Yukiko Uchida: Kyoto University
Christin-Melanie Vauclair: Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), CIS-IUL
Vivian L. Vignoles: University of Sussex
John M. Zelenski: Carleton University
Mladen Adamovic: King’s College
Charity S. Akotia: University of Ghana
Isabelle Albert: University of Luxembourg
Lily Appoh: Nord University
D. M. Arévalo Mira: HULAB
Arno Baltin: Tallinn University
Patrick Denoux: Université Toulouse II
Alejandra Domínguez-Espinosa: Iberoamerican University
Carla Sofia Esteves: Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Palma de Cima
Vladimer Gamsakhurdia: Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University
Márta Fülöp: Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church
Ragna B. Garðarsdóttir: University of Iceland
Alin Gavreliuc: West University of Timisoara
Diana Boer: University of Koblenz
David O. Igbokwe: Baze University Abuja
İdil Işık: Istanbul Bilgi University
Natalia Kascakova: Palacky University
Lucie Klůzová Kráčmarová: Czech Academy of Sciences
Natasza Kosakowska-Berezecka: Gdansk University
Olga Kostoula: Johannes Kepler University Linz
Nicole Kronberger: Johannes Kepler University Linz
J. Hannah Lee: Indiana University Northwest
Xinhui Liu: Renmin University of China
Magdalena Łużniak-Piecha: SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities
Arina Malyonova: Dostoevsky Omsk State University
Pablo Eduardo Barrientos: Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
Tamara Mohorić: University of Rijeka
Oriana Mosca: University of Cagliari
Elke Murdock: University of Luxembourg
Nur Fariza Mustaffa: International Islamic University Malaysia
Martin Nader: Universidad ICESI
Azar Nadi: Polish Academy of Sciences
Ayu Okvitawanli: Universitas Brawijaya
Yvette Osch: Tilburg University
Vassilis Pavlopoulos: National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Zoran Pavlović: University of Belgrade
Muhammad Rizwan: University of Haripur
Vladyslav Romashov: Polish Academy of Sciences
Espen Røysamb: University of Oslo
Ruta Sargautyte: Vilnius University
Beate Schwarz: Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Heyla A. Selim: King Saud University
Ursula Serdarevich: Universidad Nacional de La Matanza
Maria Stogianni: Tilburg University
Chien-Ru Sun: National Chengchi University
Julien Teyssier: Université Toulouse II
Wijnand A. P. Tilburg: University of Essex
Claudio Torres: University of Brasilia
Cai Xing: Renmin University of China
Michael Harris Bond: Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2023, vol. 24, issue 2, No 9, 607-627

Abstract: Abstract How can one conclude that well-being is higher in country A than country B, when well-being is being measured according to the way people in country A think about well-being? We address this issue by proposing a new culturally sensitive method to comparing societal levels of well-being. We support our reasoning with data on life satisfaction and interdependent happiness focusing on individual and family, collected mostly from students, across forty-nine countries. We demonstrate that the relative idealization of the two types of well-being varies across cultural contexts and are associated with culturally different models of selfhood. Furthermore, we show that rankings of societal well-being based on life satisfaction tend to underestimate the contribution from interdependent happiness. We introduce a new culturally sensitive method for calculating societal well-being, and examine its construct validity by testing for associations with the experience of emotions and with individualism-collectivism. This new culturally sensitive approach represents a slight, yet important improvement in measuring well-being.

Keywords: Culture; Happiness; Well-being; Interdependent happiness; Life satisfaction; Cultural sensitivity; Selfhoods; Self-construals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-022-00588-1

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