Survey reveals secondary students’ lower happiness scores

The Happiness Score calculated by a recent survey has shown that local secondary school students are not happy with their lives, with a score of 2.97 out of 5 points.

The survey was conducted via questionnaires. A total of 2,015 questionnaires were issued, with 1,655 valid responses received. Among responding students, 725 were boys and 930 were girls. Students across varying educational levels were surveyed, with percentages ranging from 11% in Form 6 to 22% in Form 5. The survey was commissioned by the General Association of Chinese Students of Macao and carried out by the University of Saint Joseph (USJ).

The Happiness Score was calculated through five statements measuring students’ reported feelings of happiness or satisfaction. Two statements received below-average scores, i.e. 3 points. Lower scores indicated lesser agreement with the statements. The two statements that received below-average scores were: “My current life is generally close to my ideals” and “I would want to change almost nothing if I had the chance to relive my life.” The former statement had an average score of 2.74, and the latter had a score of 2.49.

The qualitative section of the survey also revealed that relationships were ranked as the most stressful aspect of life by responding students. They expressed concerns about their abilities relative to their peers, and worried that they lacked common topics for conversations with friends.

Nonetheless, the qualitative response section also discovered that respondents usually sought emotional support from their friends. As such, the research team likened friendship to a two-sided coin.

The association urged parents and teachers to foster confidence in children and pupils, and to play a supporting role in helping students face challenges rather than imposing undue pressure due to concerns about potential failures. AL