Study title

Young Women's Happiness Survey 2016 and 2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3462

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3462

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• de Paola, Jennifer (University of Helsinki. Faculty of Social Sciences)

Abstract

The survey charted young Finnish women's views on happiness and the opposite of happiness. The data consist of responses from two age groups: 16 - 19 years old (N: 227) and 29 - 34 years old (N: 189). The data are mostly available in English, but other related materials such as the questionnaires are in Finnish.

The young women's views on happiness were examined with a word association task. The respondents were first asked to think about the word 'happiness' and write down the first five words or thoughts that came to their mind. Then, the respondents were asked to write down the first five words or thoughts that came to mind when they thought about the opposite of happiness. The words the respondents wrote down during the two word association tasks are included in the data in English and Finnish (e.g. in q1_1: family = perhe).

After the word association task, the respondents were asked to complete several sentences that related to happiness. The topics of the sentences surveyed the respondents' own happiness as well as their assumptions regarding the happiness of men and women in general. Finally, the respondents evaluated their own happiness and the happiness of other women in a similar life situation on a scale 0-10.

Background variables included the respondent's age, citizenship/nationality, municipality of residence, household composition, degree of religiosity, and whether the respondent felt that one or more people she knew were her good friends. Additionally, some background variables specific to the two age groups were included.

Keywords

emotional states; happiness; psychological well-being; satisfaction; women

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Higher and further education (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Social conditions and indicators (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Gender and gender roles (CESSDA Topic Classification)
• Youth (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (B) available for research, teaching and study.

Data Collector

• de Paola, Jennifer (University of Helsinki. Faculty of Social Sciences)

Time Period Covered

• 2016
• 2018

Collection Dates

• 2016
• 2018

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Helsinki area

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Women aged 16-19 and 29-34 living in the Helsinki area

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Non-probability: Availability

The two participant groups (16-19 years old and 29-34 years old) were contacted in 2016 and 2018. To form the first participant group consisting of women aged 16-19 (N: 227), the researchers contacted the principals of nine upper secondary schools, specialised in different subjects, from the Helsinki area. The voluntary participants were given approximately 45 minutes to complete the paper questionnaire.

To form the second participant group consisting of women aged 29-34 (N: 189), a link to an online questionnaire was shared through various closed groups on Facebook. The Facebook groups included, among others, groups for local inhabitants in general (e.g. Itäkeskus- itästadilaista laiffii, Puskaradio), neighbourhood-specific groups for parents (e.g. parents in Jätkäsaari and Ruoholahti), and groups meant specifically for women (e.g. Naistenhuone). Before sharing the link, the admins of each group were contacted and a permission was requested for sharing.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Semi-structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: English.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Number of Cases and Variables

79 variables and 416 cases.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

Background variable bv12 "Do you feel that one or more of the people you know are your good friends?" is included in the questionnaires for both age groups, but the data include responses only from the older age group (29-34 years old).

The data contain responses from two participant groups (women aged 16-19 and 29-34), which can be distinguished with variable [qnr]. The questionnaires were named as follows: 1 = 16-19 years old and 2 = 29-34 years old. The variables and their order in the data and the codebook were based on the questionnaire completed by women aged 16-19 (Questionnaire 1).

The data are available in English with the exception of open-ended responses, which were written in Finnish, Swedish and English by the respondents. Additionally, the words the respondents wrote down during the word association tasks are included in the data both in English and Finnish (e.g. in q1_1: family = perhe). Open-ended responses (q3_1-q3_7, q4_2 and q4_4) were included in separate avoF files based on the participant group. The open-ended responses cannot be connected to individual respondents. The avoF files were named as follows: 1 = 16 - 19 years old and 2 = 29 - 34 years old. The questionnaires are available in Finnish.

To prevent identification of participants, names of the respondents' upper secondary schools (participant group 1, women aged 16-19) were removed from the data. Additionally, response options "Widowed" and "Other, please specify" were combined into one category in variable bv14 denoting the respondent's marital status (participant group 2, women aged 29-34).

The data delivered to FSD did not include background variable 5 from Questionnaire 2 (women aged 29-34), which charted the respondent's employment status.

Weighting

There are no weight variables in the data.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

de Paola, Jennifer (University of Helsinki): Young Women's Happiness Survey 2016 and 2018 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2021-07-08). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3462

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

De Paola, Jennifer & Wagner, Wolfgang & Pirttilä-Backman, Anna-Maija & Lehtonen, Josetta (2021). Two Sides of the Same Coin or Two Different Currencies? Representations of Happiness and Unhappiness among Finnish Women. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science 55, 329-353. DOI: 10.1007/s12124-020-09579-4

Related Publications

De Paola, Jennifer & Wagner, Wolfgang & Pirttilä-Backman, Anna-Maija & Lehtonen, Josetta (2021). Two Sides of the Same Coin or Two Different Currencies? Representations of Happiness and Unhappiness among Finnish Women. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science 55, 329-353. DOI: 10.1007/s12124-020-09579-4