Happiness

About: Happiness is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 22093 publications have been published within this topic receiving 728411 citations. The topic is also known as: joy & happy.

Sexual Satisfaction and Relationship Happiness in Midlife and Older Couples in Five Countries

Abstract: Sexuality research focuses almost exclusively on individuals rather than couples, though ongoing relationships are very important for most people and cultures. The present study was the first to examine sexual and relationship parame- ters of middle-aged and older couples in committed relation- ships of 1-51 years duration. Survey research was conducted in Brazil, Germany, Japan, Spain, and the U.S. targeting 200 men aged 40-70 and their female partners in each country, with 1,009 couples in the final sample. Key demographic, health, physical intimacy, sexual behavior, sexual function, and sexual history variables were used to model relationship happiness and sexual satisfaction. The median ages were 55 for men and 52 for women; median relationship duration was 25 years. Relation- ship satisfaction in men depended on health, physical intimacy, and sexual functioning, while in women only sexual functioning predicted relationship satisfaction. Models predicting sexual satisfaction included significant physical intimacy and sexual functioning for both genders and, for men, more frequent recent sexual activity and fewer lifetime partners. Longer relationship duration predicted greater relationship happiness and sexual satisfaction for men. However, women in relationships of 20 to 40 years were significantly less likely than men to report rela- tionship happiness. Compared to men, women showed lower sexual satisfaction early in the relationship and greater sexual satisfaction later. Within the long-term committed relationship context, there were significant gender differences in correlates of sexual and relationship satisfaction, with sexual functioning a common predictor of both types of satisfaction and physical intimacy a more consistent and salient predictor for men.

Singles in Society and in Science

Abstract: We suggest that single adults in contemporary American society are targets of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination, a phenomenon we will call singlism. Singlism is an outgrowth of a largely uncontested set of beliefs, the Ideology of Marriage and Family. Its premises include the assumptions that the sexual partnership is the one truly important peer relationship and that people who have such partnerships are happier and more fulfilled than those who do not. We use published claims about the greater happiness of married people to illustrate how the scientific enterprise seems to be influenced by the ideology. We propose that people who are single—particularly women who have always been single—fare better than the ideology would predict because they do have positive, enduring, and important interpersonal relationships. The persistence of singlism is especially puzzling considering that actual differences based on civil (marital) status seemtobequalifiedandsmall, thenumberof singles isgrowing,andsensitivity to other varieties of prejudice is acute. By way of explanation, we consider arguments from evolutionary psychology, attachment theory, a social problems perspective, thegrowthof thecultof thecouple,and theappealofan ideology thatoffersasimpleand compelling worldview.

Acting for Happiness: Financial Behavior and Life Satisfaction of College Students

Abstract: Recent research on well-being suggests that domain-specific behaviors contribute to domain-specific satisfactions, which in turn contribute to an individual’s overall satisfaction with life Our study is an attempt to add to the literature by observing these phenomena from a financial perspective Using data collected from a sample of undergraduate students at a major state university in the US and employing structural equation modeling, we have found evidence suggesting that positive financial behaviors contribute to financial satisfaction and financial satisfaction in turn contributes to life satisfaction In addition, positive financial behaviors contribute to life satisfaction through two more mediating variables: academic performance and academic satisfaction