The eudemonic and hedonic role of happiness in a population with high levels of life satisfaction / El rol eudemónico y hedónico de la felicidad en una población con altos niveles de satisfacción con la vida

Abstract

The hedonic perspective of happiness focuses on studying positive emotions and life satisfaction, while the eudemonic perspective prioritizes a meaningful life which leads to high functioning and the development of individual talents. It was hypothesized that well-being will be positively related to the domains associated with family and affective satisfaction and negatively associated with issues related to economic and physical security, and that the structure of happiness would primarily be comprised of elements of hedonic happiness. Measurements from a national survey (BIARE, 2014) were used, and the sample size was 39,274 men and women between the ages of 18 and 85. Via confirmatory factor analysis techniques, a model was confirmed with two factors which correlated negatively, one of which consolidates eudemonic elements while the other refers to negative affect. The findings contribute to explaining why the population of Mexico, the subject of this study, shows high levels of happiness even though it ranks below the average on almost all the quality-of-life indicators.