Happiness a result of choice?

Tuesday October 5th, 2010

Personal choice and behaviour may be the main determinants of happiness, according to the findings of a major study published last night.

People are often happy at different times of their life, depending on their circumstances, the German researchers found.

They say their study shows little evidence that people are innately happy or unhappy because of genes and personality traits.

The findings come from 24 years of interviews conducted with a panel in Germany, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers Bruce Headey, Ruud Muffels, and Gert Wagner say life goals, religion, the balance of work and leisure and factors such as social participation and healthy lifestyle have a major impact on happiness.

This is similar to or greater than the effect of being married, having a partner or being innately extrovert, they report.

Goals that are set around family or altruism boost happiness compared with goals centred on careers and material success, they say.

Women also struggle with obesity and partners who are not committed to the family, they report.

They say: "Evidence that long-term life satisfaction is not necessarily stable may encourage greater political and scientific interest in happiness research."

"Long-running German panel survey shows that personal and economic choices, not just genes, matter for happiness," Bruce Headey, Ruud Muffels, and Gert Wagner. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. October 4 2010: 10-08612

Tags: Europe | General Health | Mental Health

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