Comparison of satisfaction with happiness in families with children between the Czech ‒ Latvian people

¹ University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic
² Riga Stradiņs University, Latvia

Abstract

It is an assumed opinion that the family is the main unit of society. The society and the family are in reciprocal influence: the healthier the families are, the healthierthe society and vice versa. Subjective wellbeing and satisfaction with life are important factors in family stability. Feeling of happiness and the image of a happy family in contemporary Czech and Latvian society are the focus of the research. In the research the data from an international survey on the lifestyle of contemporary families that have been collected during 2013 – 2014 in the Czech Republic and Latvia were used. A self-administered questionnaire data were collected in both countries as well. A mixed approach with emphasis on the quantitative approach to research was used in data analysis. The results showed a significant similarity, although the ‘feeling of happiness’ differed and varied in each specific family. So it was possible to use the same categories of „a happy family“ that had been found in both samples of data (Czech and Latvian)material, and they were: financial prosperity, good relationships and success in the family, cohesion within the family, doing things and spending leisure time together and a healthy family.

The research results allow us to conclude that the family has a high value in people’s minds despite the rapid changes in the family structure and de facto high rate of divorce in both countries.