Objective and Subjective Indicators of Happiness in Brazil: The Mediating Role of Social Class

Abstract

The authors tested the proposition that monetary household income affects subjective well-being (E. Deiner, E. M. Suh, R. E. Lucas, & H. L. Smith, 1999) through the mediating mechanisms of objective and subjective social classes. The present authors drew a representative sample in a door-to-door survey format from a Brazilian urban center. Using a back-translated version of E. Diener, R. A. Emmons, R. J. Larson, and S. Griffin's (1985) Satisfaction With Life Scale, the present authors demonstrated a significant relation with income. However, this effect was mediated by objectively and subjectively measured social classes. These effects reinforce, extend, and internationally generalize the Person x Situation perspective elaborated by E. Diener et al. (1999).