Loved Ones' Welfare Is The Key To Happiness

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The research was done at Cambridge University. The study included the views from more than 10,000 people. The researchers say the personal happiness is highly influenced by the welfare of families and loved ones, though the people who participated the survey gave different answers when they where asked about the factors that affected their quality of life.

The study also found that women were more concerned with the health aspects, where as men gave the importance to the financial matters.

Many people linked their own happiness with that of the people closest to them, but phrasing that link in gender-specific terms. Men often linked the financial security aspects with well being, being the 'bread-winners' of the family. Women perceive themselves as the principal carers of children, elderly relatives or other family members and hence they were more concerned about health.

"Most policy-making on happiness has focused on improving conditions for individuals. Our research suggests that more should be done to support the actions of both men and women in caring for others, because that will have benefits for everybody''s quality of life," says the Professor Jacqueline Scott, who led the study.

The study will appear in a new book, Gender Inequalities in the 21st Century.