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Happiness, Mental Health, and Socio-Demographic Associations Among a National Cohort of Thai Adults

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  • Vasoontara Yiengprugsawan
  • Boonchai Somboonsook
  • Sam-ang Seubsman
  • Adrian Sleigh

Abstract

Research on happiness has been of interest in many parts of the world. Here we provide evidence from developing countries; this is the first analysis of happiness among a cohort of Thai distance learning adults residing throughout the country (n = 60,569 in 2009). To measure happiness, we tested use of the short format Thai Mental Health Indicators (TMHI), correlating each domain with two direct measures of happiness and life satisfaction. Several TMHI domains correlated strongly with happiness. We found the mental state and the social support domains moderately or strongly correlated with happiness by either measure (correlation coefficients 0.24–0.56). The other two TMHI domains (mental capacity and mental quality) were not correlated with happiness. Analysis of socio-demographic attributes and happiness revealed little effect of age and sex but marital status (divorced or widowed), low household income, and no paid work all had strong adverse effects. Our findings provide Thai benchmarks for measuring happiness and associated socio-demographic attributes. We also provide evidence that the TMHI can measure happiness in the Thai population. Furthermore, the results among Thai cohort members can be monitored over time and could be useful for comparison with other Southeast Asian countries. Copyright The Author(s) 2012

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  • Vasoontara Yiengprugsawan & Boonchai Somboonsook & Sam-ang Seubsman & Adrian Sleigh, 2012. "Happiness, Mental Health, and Socio-Demographic Associations Among a National Cohort of Thai Adults," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(6), pages 1019-1029, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:13:y:2012:i:6:p:1019-1029
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-011-9304-4
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    3. Ichiro Sasaki & Katsunori Kondo & Naoki Kondo & Jun Aida & Hiroshi Ichikawa & Takashi Kusumi & Naoya Sueishi & Yuichi Imanaka, 2018. "Are pension types associated with happiness in Japanese older people?: JAGES cross-sectional study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, May.
    4. Zheng, Xiaodong & Fang, Zuyi & Wang, Yajun & Fang, Xiangming, 2022. "When left-behind children become adults and parents: The long-term human capital consequences of parental absence in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    5. Vasoontara Yiengprugsawan & Sharon Friel & Sam-ang Seubsman & Adrian C. Sleigh, 2013. "Inequalities in Risks and Outcomes in a Health Transitioning Country," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(3), pages 21582440135, September.
    6. Kwon-Soo Kim, 2019. "The Influence of Hotels High-Commitment HRM on Job Engagement of Employees: Mediating Effects of Workplace Happiness and Mental Health," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(2), pages 507-525, April.
    7. Richard A. Burns & Dimity A. Crisp, 2022. "Prioritizing Happiness has Important Implications for Mental Health, but Perhaps Only if you Already are Happy," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 17(1), pages 375-390, February.
    8. Chantal Herberholz & Nattaya Prapaipanich, 2017. "Conspicuous Consumption Of Online Social Networking Devices And Subjective Well-Being Of Bangkokians," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(05), pages 1371-1395, June.
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