AIM

To examine the differences in subjective well-being among people with different household income.

METHOD

Data were obtained from the national survey conducted in June 2005, in which a representative sample of 896 participants were administered a questionnaire on several measures of subjective well-being as follows: happiness, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with different life domains (personal and national well-being index). One-way ANOVA was performed to test the differences in subjective well-being measures between participants grouped into six categories according to their monthly income.

RESULTS

Happiness and life satisfaction ratings, as well as ratings of satisfaction with several life domains differed significantly between groups of people with different monthly income. Respondents with higher income felt happier (P<0.001), more satisfied with their life as a whole (P<0.001), more satisfied with their material status (P<0.001), health (P<0.001), achievement (P<0.001), future security (P=0.001), economic situation (P=0.001), state of the environment (P=0.003), and social conditions in Croatia (P=0.003). However, no significant differences were found between the two groups with the lowest income (0-70 euros and 71-130 euro per person per month), nor between the two groups with the highest income (401-530 euros and 531+ euros per person per month).

CONCLUSION

Our study showed that income and material wealth had an influence on subjective well-being in contemporary Croatian society, which is undergoing major social and economical changes.