WHAT MAKES THE FILIPINO HAPPY? While it can help, money is certainly not at the top of the list.

Elsewhere, new studies show that the rise in riches still increases happiness even among those who already have much. However, Filipinos still point to the non-material as the enduring cause of their joy and well-being.

A study on 1,279 Filipinos from different economic classes revealed that, first and foremost, having a happy, harmonious and healthy family is what makes them most happy. The sample was randomly taken from Metro Manila cities and nearby Camanava (Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela) and Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) areas. The subjects’ ages ranged from 12 to 70 years old.

Ma. Gladiola M. Santos who holds a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of the Philippines and is dean of the College of Sciences of Adamson University conducted the study. Her paper, “Filipino concept of subjective well-being and its correlates,” which embodies her study’s results will be presented at the Asian Psychological Association convention in Malaysia at the end of this month.

Santos’ study is a foil to the recent research findings that challenge the so-called Easterlin Paradox that has long been held—that happiness does not necessarily increase with income. That is, after a point of satiation has been achieved.

Contrast this to the new research findings from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business showing “a clear positive link” between wealth and “subjective well-being” based on global surveys.

Variety of answers

“I agree very much with your (this writer) stand that it is the Easterlin Paradox that applies to us Filipinos,” Santos said.

She said the question “What makes you happy?” elicited a rich variety of answers, namely:

1) From the most expected, such as being with family and friends, to the least expected such as clean and transparent government;

2) From the global, such as international understanding, to the very domestic, like understanding from a sister;

3) From the most strikingly grand response, such as spiritual meditation and preaching the word of God, to the most trivial, such as clothes, bags and shoes;

4) From the special, like receiving honors and recognition, to the commonplace, like receiving text messages.

“But whether global, special or trivial and mundane, the responses expressed the concepts of well-being of the respondents,” Santos said. “This can imply that Filipinos are a happy bunch of people who are able to derive satisfaction from a rich variety of things. And it appears that whatever status he or she is in, the Filipino is predisposed to be happy.”

Filipinos are happy people, Santos said, pointing out that almost 80 percent of the respondents rated their levels of happiness as high to very high. Only about 17 percent rated themselves low, while the remaining 3 percent said they were unhappy and dissatisfied with life.

Twelve themes stood out in the Santos study. The most prominent was the familial theme. Filipinos believe that happiness comes, first and foremost, from having a happy, harmonious and healthy family. “They regard being with the family, being able to spend time with them as very precious,” she explained. “They also value the importance of having a family that is complete and being able to provide for the kids and see them succeed in the future.”

Next to the family as a source of happiness is being with friends, the psychologist declared. “Our interest in good interpersonal relationships goes beyond the family group.”

A close third is achievement, be it in career, studies or any of life’s goals.

This is followed by leisure. From their responses, Santos pointed out, one can see that leisure can take the simplest form like watching TV and movies, malling, sports, drinking with friends and even gambling, to the more sophisticated ways like travel or taking holiday trips.

“This capacity to entertain themselves helps in strengthening their resiliency,” she said. Filipinos are great entertainers themselves, with a great number excelling in music, here and abroad.

Material possessions came fifth as a source of happiness, Santos said. “This, of course, shows the practical side of the Filipinos. But more than anything, it proves that economics is not the topmost source of well-being.

Not far behind in rank is emotional health, a theme that, she said, consists of belonging to a partner, being appreciated and understood, having peace of mind, humor or laughter.

Surprisingly, the spiritual life occupies only the seventh rank. Faith in God, joining spiritual activities and doing good to others were the variations on this theme. Filipinos are supposed to be known for their religious piety but they have also been criticized for their “split-level Christianity.”

Close at eighth and ninth are good physical health (of the self) and the pursuit of beauty and the arts.

“To some,” Santos added, “being able to watch the sunset and other natural and artificial wonders is enough to complete the day.

Responses related to global peace, national prosperity and clean government came “sparingly.” So were responses about sex and pets as sources of happiness. Santos was tempted to conclude that “sex is only as important as one’s pets as a source of happiness.”

Looking at the potential correlates of subjective well-being (SWB), she made some conclusions: The happy Filipino seems to be one who is more mature in age, married, religious, earning enough, with a good occupation, not necessarily one who finished a high school education. The Filipino woman seems generally happier than her male counterpart. Self-esteem is highly correlated with happiness, but the personality of the individual (say, extrovert or introvert) is not.

A lot of psychological research has been done of pathologies, Santos said, but more recently, positive psychology has shifted research concerns to more affirmative issues. “Hence, instead of analyzing what makes people disordered, we turn to understanding why people feel well and from there, construct a model where people can base their search for greater well-being.”

What the study revealed could have implications on modern psychotherapy, Santos said. The positive traits found in the study could be “the emphases for strengths-based approaches to therapy which are being advocated today by humanistic, cognitive-behavioral and even feminist psychologists.”

She added that educators could also help train the child’s mind about the many possible sources of happiness. Santos urged educators to integrate the trait of optimism in the courses they are teaching.

The study has its limitations, she admitted.

The number of respondents could not be representative of the entire Filipino people, Santos said. “But I hope this could be the first phase of a ladderized study that would involve bigger samples from different regions until we can get a truer estimate of the picture of the Filipino.” (Inquirer News Service)