Gender Differences in Happiness: The Effect of Marriage, Social Roles, and Social Support in East Asia

• In Event: 308 - Section on Sociology of Sex and Gender Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Gender, Work and Family: Session I

Abstract

Studies in Western countries and cross-national comparisons have shown that there are several important factors contributing to the level of happiness of individuals. Utilizing the East Asian Social Survey Health Module (2010), the present study examines this relationship in four East Asian countries: China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. East Asian countries are interesting cases for this inquiry, due to the cultural contexts such as traditional gender relations. Therefore, we focus on gender differences in predictors of happiness of individuals and attempt to answer three questions: (1) Do gender differences in happiness exist in East Asian countries? (2) Does marriage still serve as the norm and thus contribute to individual’s happiness? (3) Does conforming to traditional gender roles contribute to or deteriorate individual’s happiness? (4) Is the availability of social support (i.e., emotional, financial, and instrumental) positively associated with happiness of individuals? We find that there are gender differences in the level of happiness and its determinants in East Asian countries. The result also indicates that marital status is a strong indicator of happiness in East Asian countries, especially for men but not necessarily for women. In addition, full-time employment is positively associated with men’s happiness in China but negatively associated with women’s in Japan. Finally, social support is positively associated with an individual’s happiness, especially for women.

Authors

• Makiko Hori, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

• Yoshinori Kamo, Louisiana State University