PAPER #87 - Variability of Happiness according to Income, Relationship Status Religious Affiliation and Health in Romanian Young Adults.

Problem Statement: Subjective feeling of happiness with life is an intensely studied domain in positive psychology because its correlates with health, mental health and social factors. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate levels of happiness depending on three major factors that are considered to influence level of happiness: religious believes, money and health. Research methods: N= 1444 (860 woman, 584 man) Romanian young adults were included in our study who just finished school and entered universities or started to work. Happiness religion, education, financial situation, relationships, were assessed with an online questionnaire. The present study is a part of a longitudinal research project aiming to investigate transition from adolescents into adulthood. Data presented in this paper belongs to the first wave of the study. Findings: All three important variables counted for variance in happiness level. Happiness level increased significantly according to monthly earnings and subjective evaluation of own health. The most unhappy participants were Greco-Catholics and those with no religion (atheists). Baptists, Buddhist and orthodox participants reported above average happiness. Conclusion: This data makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the role of sociodemographic factors in youth well-being and it provides further evidence to cultural generalizability of this model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]