Perceptions and Opinion of Happiness Among University Students in a Malaysian University. Asean Journal of Psychiatry

8/8/2019 Perceptions and Opinion of Happiness Among University Students in a Malaysian University. Asean Journal of Psychi

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Perceptions And Opinion Of Happiness Among University Students In A Malaysian University ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 11 (2) July December 2010: XX XX

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

PERCEPTIONS AND OPINION OF HAPPINESS AMONG

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN A MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITY

Redhwan Ahmed Al-Naggar * , Karim Alwan. Al-Jashamy**, Low Wah Yun***, Zaleha Mohd Isa **** , Mutee Izidin Alsaror *****

and Abdul-Gafoor Ahmed Al-Naggar ******

*International Medical School, Management and Science University,40100 Malaysia; **SEGi Medical School Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; *** Healthand Research Development Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya,Malaysia; **** Department of Community Medicine, Universiti KebangsaanMalaysia Medical Centre, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; *****Faculty

of Education, National University of Malaysia, Malaysia and****** Faculty of Medicine, Taiz University, Yemen

Abstract

Objective: This study was aimed to explore the perceptions and opinions of happiness among university students. Methods : This qualitative study wasconducted in January for the academic year 2010 among 33 Medical ScienceStudents from Management and Science University (MSU), Shah Alam,Malaysia. The facilitator wrote down the conversation during the discussion.The data obtained was classified into various categories. Due to the small

sample size, the data was analyzed manually. Results: All participantsmentioned that the main source of happiness is money. Good relationship withfriends and family is the second source of happiness among universitystudents. Some of the students mentioned that the stability of life and goodhealth are causes of happiness. Few participants mentioned that success in lifeis one of the causes of the happiness. ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 11 (2):

July-Dec 2010: XX XX.

Keywords: Happiness, Perceptions, University students

Introduction

In todays life, most people, if not all people, are in search of happiness [1].Happiness was rated as the most importantcomponent of quality of Life, moreimportant than money, sex and self-esteemamong its participants. Happiness depends

on many things, including income, labor market status, job characteristics, health,leisure, family, social relationships, security,liberty, moral values and many others [2].Happiness is affected by external factorssuch as leisure activities, social life, work satisfaction and marriage and internalfactors such as goals, personality and coping


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styles. Different people look for happinessin different places, depending on the societyin which they live. Some look for happinessin external factors such as material goods.

Others look for happiness in internal factor such as self actualization. People may look for happiness in different places, but onething that is common among people is their goal of finding happiness. Argyle et al [3]stated that when people are asked to definehappiness, they may report that they areexperiencing a positive emotional state suchas joy, or satisfied with life as a whole or

part of it. Happiness is the degree, to whichan individual judges the overall quality of

his own life as a whole favorably, and it isgenerally considered to be an ultimate goalin life; virtually everybody wants to behappy.

Happiness affects behavior in many positiveways. Happiness can enhance peopleshealth and longevity, work performance,sociability, altruism, creative thinking and

problem solving, and acts in favor of peoples mental health by acting as a buffer for stress [1]. People can increase their happiness in many ways, some of whichinclude eating, engaging in social activitiesand sexual intercourse, exercising and

playing sports, alcohol and other moodenhancing drugs, putting their skills to use,feeling successful and socially approved,listening to music, doing art work, practicingreligion, resting and relaxing [1&3]. Wilson[4] described the demographiccharacteristics that correlated withhappiness. Wilson describes a happy personas one who is young, healthy, well-educated,well-paid, extroverted, optimistic, worry-free, religious, married with high self-esteem, high job morale, modest aspirations,of either sex of a wide rate of intelligence.The objective of this study was aimed toexplore the perceptions and opinions toward

happiness among university students.

Methods

This qualitative study was conducted inJanuary of the academic year 2010 among33 Medical Science students from theManagement and Science University(MSU), Shah Alam, Malaysia. Universalsampling was used to conduct this study.Consent was obtained from all participants

before starting the focus group discussion.The students were divided into five focusgroups; two groups consisted of eightstudents, one group consisted of seven

students, one group consisted of six studentsand one group consisted of four students.The main themes discussed were: What isHappiness? What are the causes of theHappiness? What are the ways prevent youfrom Happiness? How do you handle thesadness? If I could live my life all over again, I would change almost. The mainresearcher was the moderator for the groupdiscussion. The moderator asked probingquestions and directed the group discussionin which all students participated were givenequal time for discussion. The moderator wrote down the conversation during thefocus group discussion. The data obtainedwere classified into various categories. Dueto the small sample size, the data wasanalyzed manually.

Results

Participants in this study were 33 students,the minimum age was 20 years old and themaximum age was 28 years old. Majority of the 23 participants (70%) were 22 years of age or younger. The majority of the

participants were female 24 (73%). Themajority of participants were Malays andMuslim (70%). The majority of the

participants were from urban areas 25 (76%)


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[Table 1].

Table: 1 Socio-demographic characteristic of the participants (n = 33)

Variable Number (%)Age (years)

22>22

23 (70)10 (30)

SexMaleFemale

9 (27)24(73)

RaceMalayIndian

Others

23 (70)2 (6)

8 (24)ReligionIslamChristianOthers

23 (70)5 (15)5 (15)

ResidentUrbanRural

25 (76)8 (24)

The definition of happiness

Group 1: Happiness is the situation wheresomeone is satisfied enough and enjoyinglife.Group 2: Happiness is coping with the entire

problems you face in life.Group 3: Happiness is any pleasant joyfulmoments and self- satisfaction with familiesand friends.Group 4: Happiness is a feeling of greatness,satisfaction, pleasure when our needs are

fully met.Group 5: Happiness is a state in which thereis emotional health, social and economicwell-being.

Sources of Happiness

All participants mentioned that the mainsource of happiness is money.Having money is one of the causes of thehappiness. If we dont have enough moneywell got problems. (Female, Malay, 22

years old).Good relationships with friends and familyare the second cause of happiness amonguniversity students.The cause of happiness is when we are sad,

there is someone in our family member beside us to give support. (Female, Malay,22 years old).The cause of happiness is when we can bewith the loved ones such as family or

friends. (Female, Malay, 22 years old)


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Some of the students mentioned that thestability of life is one of the causes of happiness.Having a moderate but stable life is one of

the causes of the happiness. (Female, Indian, 20 years old)Stability in all aspects of life is one of thecauses of the happiness. (Female, Malay,24 years old)Some of the students mentioned that one of the causes of happiness is a good health.Good health is the main cause of happiness. (Female, Malay, 23 years old)Few participants mentioned that success inlife is one of the causes of the happiness.

Security mentioned by only one participantsMale, Dusun, 21 years old

What do make you unhappy?

Majority of the participants mentioned thatnot enough money make them unhappy.Dont have enough money makes me not happy. (Female, Malay, 23 years old)Eight of the study participants mentionedthat family and friends problems make themunhappy. Five of them mentioned thatfailure in life or in exam make themunhappy. Four mentioned that negativethinking makes them unhappy. Three of thestudy participants mentioned that stressmakes them unhappy and other three

participants mentioned that doing mistakesin their life make them unhappy.Two of the study participants mentioned thatself-conflict makes them unhappy, and one

participant mentioned that load of study andgossips make her unhappy.Too much time of studying and busy doing

assignment and projects thus I have limit time to spend with my family, too much

gossip and controversy in facebook(Female, Malay, 21 years old).

I feel unhappy when sometimes I feel lonely(Female, Malay, 24 years old)

No social life makes me unhappy (Female,Malay, 24 years old)

When everybody hates me, that time I will be not happy (Female, Malay, 22)

How do you handle the sadness?

The majority of the participants (13)mentioned that talk and share with someoneelse is one of the ways to handle sadness.Sharing problems with trusted people either family or friends (Female, Malay, 23 yearsold) Communicate with other people to get

advice how to handle the problems(Female, Kadazan, 21)Majority of the study participants (11) statedthat praying and reading Al-Quran is one of the ways to handle sadness.Always pray and try to be close with God(Female, Malay, 22 years old)Majority of the female participants (5)mentioned that shopping is one of the waysto handle sadness; only one male used thisway to handle sadness. Three of the

participants mentioned that thinking positively is one of the ways to handlesadness.Three of the study participants mentionedthat jogging is one of the ways to handlesadness. Three of the participants mentionedthat sleep is one of the ways to handlesadness. Three of the participantsmentioned that eating is one of the ways tohandle sadness and other three of themmentioned that crying is one of the ways tohandle sadness.For me, crying is the way I handle thesadness because I feel relief after crying(Female, Malay, 21)Two of the study participants mentioned thatwatching TV is one of the ways to handlesadness, and another two mentioned that


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outdoor activities are one of the ways tohandle sadness.Does more activity that will make us

forget the sadness? (Female, Malay, 22).

Reading some motivation books, readingnovels, rest, smile, play game are some of the ways mentioned by only one participant.

If you could live your life all over again, you would like to change percentage (%),What are the things you would like tochange?

Four of the study participants mentioned thatif they could live their life again, they would

like to change all their life to correct their mistakes.I would like to change all my past life andcorrect all my mistakes. (Female, Malay,22 years old)Some of the participants mentioned that theywould like to change their finical status.I would like to change my economy status

and change my race. (Male, Malay, 21years old)Money status, confident, relationship withfriends (Female, Malay, 24)Five of the study participants would like tochange their attitudes, I would like tochange my attitude (Male, Malay, 25 yearsold), I want to change my attitude and be

better than now (Female, Malay, 21 yearsold)Three of the students want to change their weakness, one of the male participantswants to change his gender I would like tochange my gender. (Male, Malay, 22 yearsold)One of the male participants wants tochange his weight, I would like to changemy life styleThree students mentioned that they do notwant to change anything in their previouslife.

I dont want to change anything; I am pleased with what God give me (Male,Dusun, 25 years old).I love myself, why should I change?

(Female, Malay, 23 years old)I will never change anything because thiswill make me regret. I just want to changemy future and not my past. (Female,Malay, 22 years old)

Discussion

Religion and Happiness

Several studies based on national samples

indicated that happiness correlatessignificantly with religiosity [5&6]. Pollner [7] stated that religious experiences can

provide a sense of meaning and purpose indaily life. Religiosity may provide socialand psychological benefits. Religion mayincrease feeling of efficacy, control andsecurity and may therefore provide greater

benefits for the cognitive aspects of subjective well-being [5]. Several studiesdemonstrated a significant positivecorrelation between happiness andreligiosity after controlling for the possiblecontaminating influence of personality [8-12]. Different other studies showed a

positive relationship between religion andhappiness [13-17]. Meanwhile, other studies didnt find a relationship between thereligion and happiness [18-20]. Positive andsatisfaction effect of the religion, family,friends, leisure time on happiness and lifewere confirmed in the previous studies [21],religion increases the personal happiness[22&23].

Income and Happiness

All participants of the present studymentioned that the main source of happinessis the money. One of the determinants of


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happiness in most studied has been the onerelating to an objective measurement of economic status. In rich countries; it has

been found that differences in wealth within

nations showed only small positivecorrelation with happiness [24]. Rather,happiness tends to lie in the quality of friendship and of family life once peoplerise above the poverty level [25]. However,it has been found that an increase in incomedoes not necessary lead to a higher level of happiness [26]. A study found that a certainlevel of economic well-being would seem to

be a necessary condition of happiness, butafter people reach a certain level of income,

more money does not lead to greater happiness. Similarly, it has been found thatincreased income and possession of moreand more material goods have little impacton the feeling of well-being. Rather,happiness tends to be associated withfriendships and family life once people riseabove the poverty level [25]. Two economicfactors have been considered in their relationship with happiness: unemploymentand income, with regard to theunemployment, most studies mentioned thateither unemployment or beyond theconsequent loss of income are significantsource of unhappiness and dissatisfaction[27&28]. Income level seems to beassociated with happiness [29] showed a

positive relationship between income andhappiness. Similar study reported thatsubjective relative income seems to be animportant source of financial satisfaction[30]. Psychology study has found a positivecorrelation between economic well-being(socioeconomic status) and happiness [31].A research on happiness in the EuropeanUnion explores that income is the mostimportant determinant [32].

Some of the students mentioned that one of the causes of happiness is a good health.

Similar study reported that bad health isstrongly associated with unhappiness [30],health status has the highest positivesignificant effect on life satisfaction.

Furthermore as health status improves lifesatisfaction and happiness increase [21].Happiness is associated with success inmany domains of life [33].

References

1. Argyle M. 2001. The Psychology of Happiness. 2 nd Ed. East Sussex:Routledge.

2. Ahn N., Garcia, J.R., Jimeno, J.F.The impact of unemployment onindividual well-being in the EU.Europen Network of EconomicPolicy Research Institutes, Working

paper, 2004; 29: 1

3. Argyle M, Martin M., Lu L. Testingfor stress and happiness: the role of social and cognitive factors. In C.D.Spielberger and I.G Sarason (Eds.),Stress and Emotion, 1995;15: 173-187.

4. Wilson W. Correlates of avowedhappiness. Psychological Bulletin,1967: 67, 294-306

5. Diener E, Suh, EM, Lucas RE andSmith HL. Subjective well-being:three decades of progress.Psychological Bulletin, 1999; 125:276-302.

6. Lewis CA., Cruise S. M. Religionand happiness: Consensus,contradictions, comments andconcerns. Mental Health, Religion &Culture, 2006; 9: 213225.


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quality of life (pp. 156). Michigan:The Survey ResearchCenter/Institute for Social Research.Argyle, M. (1989). The psychology

of happiness. London: Routledge.1986.

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389-402.25. Lane RE. 2000. The Loss of

Happiness in Market Eeconomies.Yale University Press, New Haven.

26. Moller V. 2005. ResearchingQuality of Life in a DevelopingCountry: Lessons from the SouthAfrican Case. In I. Gough & A.McGregor (eds.), New approachesand research strategies. CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge.

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28. Gerlach K, Stephan G. A paper onunhappiness and unemployment inGermany. Economics Letters, 1996;52: 325330.

29. Veenhoven R. 1989. National wealthand individual happiness. In:Grunert, K.G., O lander, F. (Eds.),Understanding Economic Behaviour.Kluwer Academic Publishers,Dordrecht.

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31. Fuentes, N., Rojas, M. Economictheory and subjective well-being:Mexico. Social Indicators Research,2001; 53: 289314.

32. European Foundation for theImprovement of Living and WorkingConditions in Europe. Quality of lifein Europe. Life satisfaction in anenlarged Europe, Dublin, 2004.

33. Okun M, Levy R, Karoly P,Ruehlman L. Dispositional happinessand college student GPA: Unpackinga null relation. Journal of Researchin Personality, 2009; 3: 711715.

Corresponding Author: Dr. Redhwan Ahmed Al-Naggar, International Medical School, Management and Science University (MSU), 40100, Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia.

Email: [email protected]

Received: 25 July 2010 Accepted: 10 August 2010

Documents

Perceptions and Opinion of Happiness Among University Students in a Malaysian University. Asean Journal of Psychiatry