Searching for Happiness: The Importance of Social Capital

Abstract

After four decades of research, scholars of happiness continue to debate its causes. While it is generally agreed that a combination of internal and external factors play a role, predicting happiness well remains a challenge. Recent research has proposed that social capital may be a vital factor that has been overlooked. This paper attempts to address that omission. According to Coleman's (Am J Sociol 94:S95–S120, 1988) seminal work, three dimensions of social capital exist: (1) trust and obligations, (2) information channels, and (3) norms and sanctions. Using bootstrap hierarchical regression on data from the Canadian General Social Survey of Social Engagement Cycle 17 (2003), we identified blocks of social capital variables described by Coleman, as well as an additional factor of belongingness. Even after controlling for major demographic and individual characteristics, the majority of these blocks show significant relationships with happiness. Our findings support social capital as an important piece in predicting happiness.

Appendices

Appendix A: Description of Variables

Dependent variable

Happiness

1:

very unhappy

2:

somewhat unhappy

3:

no opinion

4:

somewhat happy

5:

very happy

Control variables

Age

1:

15–17

2:

18–19

3:

20–24

4:

25–29

5:

30–34

6:

35–29

7:

40–44

8:

45–49

9:

50–54

10:

55–59

11:

60–64

12:

65–60

13:

70–74

14:

75–79

15:

80 years and over

Male

1:

male

0:

female

Married

1:

married or living common law

0:

otherwise

Atlantic

1:

living in Atlantic

0:

otherwise

Quebec

1:

living in Quebec

0:

otherwise

Ontario

1:

living in Ontario

0:

otherwise

Prairie

1:

living in Prairie

0:

otherwise

Health

In general, would you say your health is…?

1:

poor

2:

fair

3:

good

4:

very good

5:

excellent

Income

Annual personal income of the respondent

1:

no income

2:

less than $5,000

3:

$5,000–$9,999

4:

$10,000–$14, 999

5:

$15,000–$19,999

6:

$20,000–$29, 999

7:

$30,000–$39, 999

8:

$40,000–$49, 999

9:

$50,000–$59, 999

10:

$60,000–$79, 999

11:

$80,000–$99, 999

12:

$100,000 or more

Unemployed

Unemployed at any time in the past 12 months?

1:

yes

0:

no

Mastery_scale

A 28-point ascending scale to indicate the amount of control over life as perceived by the respondent

Social trust

How much do you trust each of the following group of people?

People in your family

People in your neighbourhood

Strangers

1 cannot be trusted at all

2

3

4

5 can be trusted a lot

Institutional trust

How much confidence do you have in:

…the police?

…the health care system?

…banks?

…local merchants and business people?

1:

No confidence at all

2:

Not very much confidence

3:

Quite a lot of confidence

4:

A great deal of confidence

Obligations: help received

In the past month did anyone help you:

by doing domestic work, home maintenance or outdoor work?

by providing transportation or running errands?

by helping with child care?

by teaching, coaching or giving you practical advice?

by giving you emotional support?

by helping you in some other way?

Obligations: help given

In the past month did you help anyone:

by doing domestic work, home maintenance or outdoor work?

by providing transportation or running errands?

by helping with child care?

by teaching, coaching or giving you practical advice?

by giving someone emotional support?

by helping a person in some other way?

did you do unpaid volunteer work for any organization?

did you donate money or goods to any organization or charity?

1:

yes

0:

no

Information channels: relatives

In the last month, how often did you see relatives (outside of people you live with)?

In the last month, did you communicate with relatives by telephone?

1:

not in the last month

2:

once a month

3:

a few time a month

4:

a few times a week

5:

every day

How many relatives do you feel close to?

1:

1 or 2

2:

3–5

3:

6–10

4:

11–20

5:

more than 20

Information channels: friends

How many close friends do you have?

How may other friends do you have who are not relatives or close friends?

1:

1 or 2

2:

3–5

3:

6–10

4:

11–20

5:

more than 20

In the last month, how often did you see your friends?

In the last month, how often did you communicate with your friends by telephone?

1:

not in the last month

2:

once a month

3:

a few time a month

4:

a few times a week

5:

every day

Information channels: political participation

In the past 12 months, have you done any of the following activities:

…searched for information on a political issue?

…volunteered for a political party?

…expressed your views on an issue by contacting a newspaper or a politician?

…signed a petition?

…boycotted a product or chose a product for ethical reasons?

…attended a public meeting?

…participated in a demonstration or march?

1:

yes

2:

no

Information channels: civic participation

In the past 12 months, were you a member or participant in:

a union or professional association?

a political party or group?

a sports or recreation organization (such as hockey league, health club, golf club)?

a cultural, education or hobby organization (such as theatre group, book club, or bridge club)?

a religious-affiliated group (such as church youth group, choir)?

a school group, neighbourhood, civic or community association (such as PTA, alumni, block parents, neighbourhood watch)?

a service club or fraternal organization (such as Kiwanis, Knights of Columbus, the Legion)?

any other type of organization that you have not mentioned?

1:

yes

0:

no

Norms and sanctions

How safe do you feel from crime walking alone in your area after dark?

1:

very unsafe

2:

somewhat unsafe

3:

reasonably safe

4:

does not walk alone

5:

very safe

When alone in your home in the evening or at night, do you feel:

1:

very worried

2:

somewhat worried

3:

never alone

4:

not at all worried

If you lost a wallet or purse that contained two hundred dollars, how likely is it to be returned with the money in it if it was found:

by someone who lives close by?

by a complete stranger?

1:

not at all likely

2:

don’t know

3:

somewhat likely

4:

very likely

Belongingness

How would you describe your sense of belonging to:

…your local community?

…your province?

…Canada?

1:

very weak

2:

somewhat weak

3:

don’t know

4:

somewhat strong

5:

very strong

Appendix B: Coefficients and Standard Errors of Bootstrap Hierarchical Regression Model

Variables	Coef.	Std. err.	t	P > |t|	Conf interval
Age	−0.0101439	0.002236	−4.54	0	−0.01455	−0.00574
Male	−0.0437977	0.01512	−2.9	0.004	−0.07361	−0.01398
Married	0.1682807	0.013712	12.27	0	0.141242	0.195319
Atlantic	0.0005923	0.018215	0.03	0.974	−0.03533	0.036511
Quebec	−0.013001	0.021074	−0.62	0.538	−0.05456	0.028555
Ontario	−0.0242927	0.01726	−1.41	0.161	−0.05833	0.009743
Prairie	−0.0274024	0.01942	−1.41	0.16	−0.0657	0.010893
Health	0.1285453	0.007092	18.13	0	0.114561	0.14253
Income	0.0044611	0.002752	1.62	0.107	−0.00097	0.009889
Unemployed	−0.0248472	0.018304	−1.36	0.176	−0.06094	0.011247
Mastery_scale	0.031246	0.001811	17.26	0	0.027676	0.034816
Trust_family	0.0624439	0.01364	4.58	0	0.035546	0.089341
Trust_neighbourhood	0.0112093	0.00728	1.54	0.125	−0.00315	0.025564
Trust_stranger	−0.010892	0.006762	−1.61	0.109	−0.02423	0.002442
Trust_police	0.0400792	0.009892	4.05	0	0.020573	0.059586
Trust_healthcare	0.0241841	0.0089	2.72	0.007	0.006635	0.041734
Trust_banks	0.0235579	0.008325	2.83	0.005	0.007142	0.039974
Trust_business	0.0214546	0.011182	1.92	0.056	−0.00059	0.043504
Rhelp_chores	0.0157004	0.013369	1.17	0.242	−0.01066	0.042064
Rhelp_transportation	0.0042811	0.014273	0.3	0.765	−0.02386	0.032427
Rhelp_childcare	0.0008789	0.01598	0.06	0.956	−0.03063	0.032391
Rhelp_teaching	−0.0149689	0.01544	0.97	0.333	−0.04541	0.015475
Rhelp_emotion	−0.0672723	0.013823	−4.87	0	−0.09453	−0.04001
Rhelp_other	−0.0116746	0.021439	−0.54	0.587	−0.05395	0.030601
Ghelp_chores	0.0026329	0.012383	0.21	0.832	−0.02178	0.027051
Ghelp_transportation	0.0110134	0.012106	0.91	0.364	−0.01286	0.034886
Ghelp_childcare	0.0244669	0.013143	1.86	0.064	−0.00145	0.050385
Ghelp_teaching	0.0075806	0.01401	0.54	0.589	−0.02005	0.035207
Ghelp_emotion	−0.0201869	0.013653	−1.48	0.141	−0.04711	0.006736
Ghelp_other	−0.0312004	0.016897	−1.85	0.066	−0.06452	0.002119
Ghelp_volunteer	0.0079876	0.014288	0.56	0.577	−0.02019	0.036163
Ghelp_donate	−0.0070713	0.015085	−0.47	0.64	−0.03682	0.022676
Relative_see	0.0043683	0.006127	0.71	0.477	−0.00771	0.01645
Relative_phone	−0.0077681	0.007298	−1.06	0.288	−0.02216	0.006624
Relative_close	0.0397616	0.005531	7.19	0	0.028856	0.050668
Friend_close	0.0178798	0.00693	2.58	0.011	0.004214	0.031546
Friend_other	0.0136832	0.006443	2.12	0.035	0.000978	0.026388
Friend_see	0.026618	0.006807	3.91	0	0.013194	0.040042
Friend_phone	0.0037556	0.00747	0.5	0.616	−0.01098	0.018486
Search_political	−0.0288868	0.013917	−2.08	0.039	−0.05633	−0.00144
Volunteer_political	0.0484995	0.038122	1.27	0.205	−0.02668	0.123674
Contact_newsppaper	−0.0365304	0.019897	−1.84	0.068	−0.07577	0.002705
Sign_petition	0.0022113	0.013377	0.17	0.869	−0.02417	0.02859
Boycott_product	−0.0177564	0.015198	−1.17	0.244	−0.04773	0.012214
Attend_meeting	−0.0207156	0.014142	−1.46	0.145	−0.0486	0.007173
Partcipate_demonstra	−0.0053966	0.023462	−0.23	0.818	−0.05166	0.040869
Member_proforg	−0.0299317	0.011586	−2.58	0.01	−0.05278	−0.00709
Member_political	0.0405098	0.028646	1.41	0.159	−0.01598	0.096998
Member_sports	0.002438	0.012828	0.19	0.849	−0.02286	0.027734
Member_education	−0.0092161	0.01514	−0.61	0.543	−0.03907	0.020639
Member_religious	0.0177512	0.015761	1.13	0.261	−0.01333	0.048831
Member_school	−0.0110948	0.01585	−0.7	0.485	−0.04235	0.020161
Member_service	0.0018436	0.021482	0.09	0.932	−0.04052	0.044206
Member_other	0.006251	0.024377	0.26	0.798	−0.04182	0.054321
Walk_alone	−0.0131691	0.006327	−2.08	0.039	−0.02565	−0.00069
Home_alone	0.0350363	0.018074	1.94	0.054	−0.0006	0.070677
Wallet_close	0.0097042	0.00723	1.34	0.181	−0.00455	0.023962
Wallet_stranger	0.0060467	0.006336	0.95	0.341	−0.00645	0.018541
Belong_community	0.064539	0.005706	11.31	0	0.053287	0.075791
Belong_province	0.0082137	0.006538	1.26	0.21	−0.00468	0.021107
Belong_Canada	0.0195731	0.006226	3.14	0.002	0.007297	0.03185
Constant	1.970661	0.095658	20.6	0	1.782028	2.159294

1. Number of observations = 15,660; Population size = 15,961,659; Replications = 200; Design df = 199; F(61,139) = 34.10; Prob > F = 0.0000; R-squared = 0.1977