Social cohesion is a key ingredient to whatever you may call it: life satisfaction, happiness, wellbeing.
Here’s another NZ-related survey (it also contains some interesting international comparisons at the end of the survey).
http://www.mywellbeing.co.nz/mw/repo...013-report.pdf
Here’s the intro to the research:
First results provide wellbeing snapshot
The first results to come out of the Sovereign Wellbeing Index provide a revealing snapshot of wellbeing in New Zealand, thanks to the thousands of Kiwis who have already taken part in the survey.
The results tell us:
• How we are feeling and functioning in our lives
• What factors contribute to 'super-wellbeing', and whether this is the same for everyone
• How New Zealand compares with other European nations.
So, what have we learned so far?
Some of the more interesting insights have been:
• Females and older people are ‘flourishing’ more
• For both males and females, 50 is when the ‘good life’ starts
• Money makes us happy
• Nearly two thirds of young people show signs of depressed mood
• Positive perception of our own social position increases with age and income.
Perhaps surprisingly, the results to date have shown that New Zealand compares poorly to European nations in most of the measures.
Meanwhile, the common contributing factors to 'super-wellbeing' – enjoyed by the top 25% of New Zealanders – also make for interesting reading.
With regard to social cohesion - maybe not defined exactly the same as in the Bertelsmann report but still looking at similar aspects, i.e. connectedness - this survey arrives at a different conclusion. Quote: "Three out of four New Zealanders do not feel close to people in their local area."