Exploring the Myth of Unhappiness in Former Communist Countries: The Roles of the Sex Gap in Life Expectancy and the Marital Status Composition

Autor/in	Kageyama, Junji
Titel	Exploring the Myth of Unhappiness in Former Communist Countries: The Roles of the Sex Gap in Life Expectancy and the Marital Status Composition
Quelle	In: Social Indicators Research, 111 (2013) 1, S.327-339 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0303-8300
DOI	10.1007/s11205-012-0008-x
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Psychological Patterns; Males; Marital Status; Gender Differences; Misconceptions; Regression (Statistics); Widowed; Females; Social Indicators; Measurement; Sociometric Techniques; Socioeconomic Influences; Well Being; Demography; Research Problems; Research Methodology; Psychometrics; Comparative Analysis; Statistical Analysis; Correlation; Cross Cultural Studies; Mortality Rate; Europe + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Male; Männliches Geschlecht; Familienstand; Geschlechterkonflikt; Missverständnis; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Weibliches Geschlecht; Social indicator; Sozialer Indikator; Messverfahren; Soziometrie; Sozioökonomischer Faktor; Well-being; Wellness; Wohlbefinden; Demografie; Forschungskritik; Research method; Forschungsmethode; Psychometry; Psychometrie; Statistische Analyse; Korrelation; Cultural comparison; Kulturvergleich; Mortalitätsrate; Europa
Abstract	National average happiness and the difference in happiness between women and men are positively correlated in European countries. This study focuses on this cross-country relationship and tests (1) whether, after controlling for socio-economic factors, the correlation is attributed to their direct relationship, or, alternatively, explained by the sex difference in life expectancy, and (2) whether the correlation is not only exogenously explained but also endogenously generated by the sex difference in life expectancy. Performing regression analyses, this study shows that the correlation between happiness and its sex difference is spurious, and that the sex difference in life expectancy generates this correlation and accounts for about one-third of the correlation. A decline in happiness influences men's mortality more than women's, and widens the life expectancy gap between women and men. This in turn raises the widowhood ratio among women, lowers women's average happiness, and reduces the happiness gap between women and men. The results obtained in this study points to the importance of controlling for the demographic composition of the population when we use aggregate happiness measures as national happiness indicators. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10