Subjective personal and social wellbeing in Lithuania

Abstract

This paper analyses subjective wellbeing in Lithuania. Data enables analysis of both – subjectively perceived personal and social wellbeing. The article is based on the European Social Survey data from the 6th round, Lithuanian population. Wherever comparability is possible, the Lithuanian data from the 5th and 4th ESS rounds are also employed. The personal well-being analysis is based on the hedonic approach. The cognitive and affective components of well-being are addressed. For the analysis of social subjective well-being, several variables are used: subjective socio-economic position, social optimism, social relations and the level of active involvement. As data shows, the levels of subjectively perceived personal and social wellbeing in Lithuania are only average. It should be noted that among all components of well-being, only an affective component of personal well-being and the bonding social capital could be treated as of high levels.