Investigating the Role of Socio-Economic Factors Affecting Happiness: A Case study of the Active Population of Tehran Jafar Mikaeili , Morteza Khorsandi , Fatemeh Homayouni

Abstract

Abstract Reports and statistical data indicate the critical state of Iran in terms of happiness and its related indexes. On the other hand, a tumultuous lifestyle in a metropolis such as Tehran makes people susceptible to being depressed and unhappy. An increasing speed of life and many social and economic problems threaten the psychological health of people and affect the society in different social, economic and cultural dimensions as a result. This study is a correlational and cross-sectional one, which is performed using a survey method for the active population of Tehran (15-65 years) with a sample of 371 members (multistage cluster sampling). Accordingly, in this study, we seek to answer the question of “how social variables (social capital, social trust, social coherence and Social participation) and economic variables (unemployment and income) affect the active population's happiness in Tehran?”. To analyze the data, descriptive statistical analysis methods, inferential statistics and path analysis method are used. The results indicated that, there was a significant positive correlation between “social coherence, social participation and social trust” and “happiness”. Also, between “household income and age” and happiness. According to other results, there was no significant relationship between “educational level, employment status, gender and marital status of people” and “happiness”. Altogether, the path analysis model shows “social coherence, social participation, social trust, household income” has a significant positive effect on people's happiness and these variables can make up for 34 percent of the total variance of “happiness” changes. KeyWords: Happiness, Social Capital, Social Trust, Social Coherence, Social Participation, Income, Unemployment.