NSCB: Family, health still main sources of happiness for Pinoys

A pleasant family life and good health remain as Filipinos’ main sources of happiness this year, a government survey revealed Wednesday. The results of a survey of 356 randomly selected Filipinos conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) last August showed that both Filipino men and women ranked their families as their primary source of happiness. The same importance given by Filipinos to their families was observed in previous NSCB polls conducted in 2007 and 2008, when survey respondents also ranked “family" as their No. 1 source of happiness.
The results of the survey were posted on the agency’s website on Wednesday. “The family is definitely a very (if not the most) important source of happiness among us. It is therefore important that we preserve the family as the social unit that can bind us together," NSCB Secretary-General Romulo Virala said in an article posted on the agency's website . Good health came in second place, while spiritual work was ranked as the third most important source of happiness by Filipinos this year. According to the NSCB, middling sources of happiness among Filipinos include: work, peace and security, food, education and love life. Most of the respondents, on the other hand, regarded cultural activities and community work as aspects of their lives where they derive happiness the least. The survey was conducted by the NSCB three months ago among low-income families, government workers and members of the private sector from two districts in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. For men from poor families, sex ranks first The NSCB also noted an “intriguing" finding, which showed that men from low-income families regard sex as their primary source of happiness. This ranking is in stark contrast with the findings among low-income women, majority of whom said that their families make them the happiest. Men from low-income groups ranked family only as their 10th source of happiness, ranked lower than technological know-how and sports. “The men are not very happy with their family, however, a great mismatch with the women and a cause for concern," Virala said in his article. The government agency likewise noted a “large disparity" in the rankings of sex life between men and women across economic classes. Filipino men generally regarded sex as their 10th most important source of happiness, while women ranked it second to the last. The NSCB also noted how the relative importance of friends has gone down since 2007, when it was ranked 4th. Respondents for this year’s poll only ranked friends as their 12th most important source of happiness.—JV, GMANews.TV