Our happiness and satisfaction
highly depends on the welfare of our kith and kin, says a new
study. It say that people's happiness is linked with that of
their 'significant others'.
The research was done at
Cambridge University. The study included the views from
more than 10,000 people. The researchers say the
personal happiness is highly influenced by the welfare
of families and loved ones, though the people who
participated the survey gave different answers when they
where asked about the factors that affected their
quality of life.
The study also found that women were more concerned with the
health aspects, where as men gave the importance to the
financial matters.
Many people linked their own happiness with that of the people
closest to them, but phrasing that link in gender-specific
terms. Men often linked the financial security aspects with well
being, being the 'bread-winners' of the family. Women perceive
themselves as the principal careers of children, elderly
relatives or other family members and hence they were more
concerned about health.
"Most policy-making on happiness has focused on improving
conditions for individuals. Our research suggests that more
should be done to support the actions of both men and women in
caring for others, because that will have benefits for
everybody''s quality of life," says the Professor Jacqueline
Scott, who led the study.
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