Predictors of Subjective Well-Being in an Eastern Muslim Culture

Abstract

The majority of the studies addressing human happiness have been conducted with Western Judeo-Christian cultures; other countries with different sociocultural milieus are underrepresented in research investigating this issue. The present work was undertaken to determine the prevalence and predictors of personal well-being in an Eastern Muslim culture, Pakistan. The study also aimed to compare the current ratings of subjective well-being with those obtained from other areas of the world. To make this survey representative of the vast majority of Pakistani people, a total of 1,000 people, with an age range of 16–80, living in diverse areas of Lahore (the provincial capital) were contacted. Ten localities ranging from upper-class areas to congested inner-city locations and to Kacchi Abadies (temporary houses built in caravan) were visited. Apart from demographic information, responses of the survey subjects were collected on multiple dimensions: personality traits, self-esteem, work satisfaction, marital satisfaction, religiosity, and social support. General well-being was assessed using Faces Scale and Ladder Scale of Life Satisfaction. The current findings, consistent with previous worldwide reports, showed that the number of happy people exceeds those who are unhappy, and also that Eastern people are as happy and satisfied as people from many Western countries. Work satisfaction, social support, religious affiliation, social class, income level, and marital status and satisfaction were found to be the better predictors of subjective well-being.