Relationships between Community Festival Participation, Social Capital, and Subjective Well-Being in a Cross-Cultural Context

Abstract

This study explores the relationships among social capital, community festival participation, and subjective well-being (SWB). It examines the mediating role of festival participation between social capital and SWB. The dataset Social Well-being Survey in Asia from the Philippines and Thailand was collected using nationwide surveys in 2016. The total number of respondents was 1057 in the Philippines and 982 in Thailand. The results affirm several determinants related to SWB, which is composed of happiness and overall life satisfaction. The models show significant relationships among festival participation, social capital, and SWB. The results indicate strong associations among social capital with family and relatives, festival participation, and SWB. The interaction effects between the two countries are included. Structural and cognitive social capital with kinship groups were important determinants in facilitating festival participation, and positively associated with SWB. Moreover, the results identify the mediating effect of festival participation between social capital with family and relatives and SWB. The results can provide similarities and differences in the relationships among social capital and kinship groups, community festival participation, and SWB between the Philippines and Thailand. This study offers important empirical evidence of a cross-cultural study in the context of the Philippines and Thailand.

Keywords

• subjective well-being
• happiness
• life satisfaction
• community engagement
• community festival
• cross-cultural studies