Is There Anything Beyond Happiness? A Comparative European Perspective Towards the Multi-Dimensional Character of Subjective Well-Being
Is There Anything Beyond Happiness? A Comparative European Perspective Towards the Multi-Dimensional Character of Subjective Well-Being

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of this article is fourfold: firstly, to present a theoretically grounded understanding of individual subjective well-being; secondly, to explore the relationship between individual subjective well-being and important factors at the individual and macro levels; thirdly, to examine the embeddedness of individual subjective well-being in different socio-economic contexts; and fourthly, to empirically test whether the opportunity structures in which people live moderate the influence of individual characteristics on subjective well-being. The article uses data from the European Social Survey, wave 2012, and focuses on four Balkan countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Slovenia) in a wider comparative European perspective. Using linear regression models, the study shows that individual subjective well-being is positively associated with achieved individual characteristics such as employment status and acquired level of education. The analysis also reveals that all Balkan countries except Bulgaria have higher mean values of subjective well-being than the rest of the 22 European countries, and that individual subjective well-being is embedded in different social contexts. The results suggest that, although happiness and life satisfaction are very important dimensions of individual subjective well-being, it should not be reduced to them, and that individual subjective well-being as a positive functioning is a complex phenomenon.

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