SILC Module on Well-being, 2018

Men were slightly more satisfied financially in 2018, with a mean financial satisfaction score of 7.3, compared to 7.0 for women. Men were also more satisfied with their time use, with a mean score of 7.6, while the corresponding figure for women was 7.4. See table WBA01.

In 2018, 21.7% of men reported being happy all of the time, increasing from 15.0% in 2013 (more than a six-percentage point increase over this period), while 13.7% of women reported being happy all of the time, increasing from 12.9% in 2013 (less than a one percentage point increase). See figure 3.1.

Meanwhile 19.8% of men reported feeling calm and peaceful all of the time in 2018, compared to 11.3% of women.

In 2018, individuals aged 16-24 had the highest mean overall life satisfaction score at 8.3. Those aged 65 or over had the highest scores for both financial and time use satisfaction with 7.6 and 8.5 respectively. The lowest mean score for financial and time use satisfaction was for those aged 25-49, with both scores at 6.8. See figure 3.2.

Comparing financial satisfaction mean scores between 2013 and 2018 shows an increase amongst the younger groups in particular - for example, in 2013 those aged 16-24 had a mean financial satisfaction score of 5.3, increasing to 7.3 in 2018. See figure 3.2.

Those aged 65 and over were the most likely to feel lonely, with over one in every five (23.3%) feeling lonely at least some of the time in 2018. This compares to 15.5% of people aged between 50- 64 and 15.1% of those aged between 25-49. See table WBA29.

People aged 16-24 were the most likely to be very nervous, with 25.8% reporting being very nervous at least some of the time in 2018, compared to 14.4% of those aged 50-64, who were the least likely. 

 

Unemployed people and those unable to work due to permanent illness or disability had the lowest mean satisfaction scores for all of the well-being indicators apart from time use.

Workers had the highest mean overall life satisfaction score in 2018 at 8.3. The lowest scores were for the unemployed (6.8) and those unable to work due to permanent illness or disability (6.5). See figure 3.3.

The mean financial satisfaction score for those at work increased from 5.8 in 2013 to 7.4 in 2018. The retired had the highest scores for financial satisfaction in both 2013 and 2018 with scores of 6.8 and 7.7 respectively. In 2018 the unemployed had the lowest score at 5.2, followed by those unable to work due to permanent illness or disability at 5.8.

Satisfaction with time use was highest amongst the retired and students at 8.6 and 8.0 respectively, and lowest for those at work at 7.1.

Over one in every ten (11.7%) of those unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability reported not having access to non-material help, with the corresponding rate for those at work standing at 4.4%. See table WBA12.

Over one in every four (26.2%) individuals unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability reported that they never felt downhearted or depressed, compared to over two in three (69.4%) of those at work. See table WBA30.

Those unable to work due to permanent sickness or disability had the highest percentage reporting feeling lonely at least some of the time at 39.7% in 2018, followed by 31.4% for the unemployed. Conversely, those at work were the least likely to report feeling lonely at least some of the time at 10.3%. See figure 3.4.

Students were the most likely to be happy all of the time (27.2%), compared to 18.0% of those at work and 11.1% of the unemployed. However, 2018 also saw an increase in the percentage of students reporting being very nervous at least some of the time, increasing from 16.6% in 2013 to 33.1% in 2018. See table WBA21.

As the level of education obtained increased, reported time use satisfaction decreased.

Those who had either primary or below level education or lower secondary level education scored the highest in terms of time use satisfaction with mean scores of 8.0 and 7.9 respectively. This compares with the score for third level degree (or higher) holders of 7.1, which was the lowest score for all education levels.  See figure 3.5.

Those with primary or below level education scored the lowest for perceived social inclusion with a mean score of 7.2, compared to 7.9 for those who held a third level degree or higher.

In 2018, those with primary or below level education also had the lowest mean overall life satisfaction score of 7.8, compared to 8.3 for those who held a third level degree or higher.

Those with a third level degree or higher were the least likely to report feeling downhearted or depressed at least some of the time at 6.6%, compared to 23.3% of those with no formal education/primary level education. See table WBA31.

Married people had the highest mean scores for overall life (8.3), financial (7.4) and personal relationships (8.9) satisfaction. Conversely, the lowest scores for these indicators were for people who were divorced or separated. See table WBA05 & figure 3.6.

Divorced individuals had the lowest mean score for trust in others at 6.3, while married and widowed people had the highest mean score of 7.2. See table WBA05.

Furthermore, 22.4% of divorced people felt they would be unable to obtain material help from others, compared to 12.7% of married people. See table WBA14.

There was little difference in the happiness levels of married, never married and widowed people, with 18.4% of married people, 18.5% of people who were never married and 16.9% of widowed people reporting feeling happy all the time. Married people were the least likely to feel very lonely, with 72.6% reporting that they never felt lonely, compared to 40.6% of divorced people and 39.3% of widowed people. See tables WBA23 & WBA32.

Each SILC respondent is asked to self-define their health status on a 5-point scale, from ‘very good’ to ‘very bad’. In 2018, 43.7% of individuals aged 16 and over defined their health status as ‘very good’, while 17.0% defined their health status as one of ‘fair’, ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’.

Those who described their health status as ‘very good’ had the highest mean scores across all the satisfaction indicators, in particular for overall life satisfaction, financial satisfaction and perceived social inclusion. See table WBA07.

People in very good health had a mean score of 8.6 for overall life satisfaction, with the corresponding figure for those whose health was ‘fair’, ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ falling to 6.8. People who described their health status as ‘fair’, ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’ had a mean perceived social inclusion score of 6.5, compared to those in very good health who had a score of 8.1. See figure 3.7.

Of those in very good health, 12.0% reported being unable to obtain material help from others. This rises to over one in five (22.8%) for those who described their health as ‘fair’, ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’. See table WBA16.

Furthermore, 25.0% of those in very good health reported that in the 4 weeks prior to interview they were happy all the time, compared to just 6.5% of those who described their health as ‘fair’, ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’. Just 8.7% of those in very good health said they felt lonely at least some of the time, compared to 37.8% of those with a health status of ‘fair’, ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’. See tables WBA25, WBA35 & figure 3.8.

Equivalised disposable income quintiles are obtained by ranking each individual’s equivalised disposable income from lowest to highest and creating five groups of equal size. Therefore, the fifth of the population with the lowest equivalised disposable incomes are in the bottom (first) quintile, while the fifth of the population with the highest equivalised disposable income are in the top (fifth) quintile.

In 2018 17.7% of individuals in the bottom equivalised disposable income quintile rated their overall life satisfaction as low, compared to 1.7% of those in the top quintile. See figure 3.9.

Due to a processing error, the 2013 and 2018 values for the Low, Medium and High satisfaction indicators were incorrectly reported.  Figure 3.9, Table 2.1, and related text has been corrected as of 11.00am on 13/10/21.

The mean score for each satisfaction indicator increases as equivalised disposable income rises. In 2018, those in the bottom income quintile had a mean overall life satisfaction score of 7.5 and a mean financial satisfaction score of 6.1, compared to the top income quintile with scores of 8.7 and 8.3 respectively.  See table WBA06.

Just 2.5% of individuals in the top income quintile felt that they were unable to obtain non-material help from others, compared with 8.8% in the bottom quintile.   See table WBA15.

In addition, just over three out of every four (76.1%) of those in the top income quintile reported that they never felt downhearted or depressed in the four weeks prior to interview, compared to over half (52.1%) of those in the bottom income quintile. Nine in ten (89.3%) of those in the top income quintile felt happy either all or most of the time, compared to over seven in ten (70.7%) of those in the bottom income quintile.  See tables WBA24 and WBA33.

Individuals living in rented properties scored lower than individuals in owner-occupied properties across almost all of the satisfaction indicators in 2018.  The mean financial satisfaction score for individuals renting at the market rate was 6.1, compared to 7.6 for individuals living in a property owned outright.  See table WBA08.

Individuals living in a property owned with a mortgage saw the largest increase in financial satisfaction between 2013 and 2018, increasing from 5.1 to 7.3.  Individuals renting at the market rate had the lowest increase between the two years, rising from 5.1 to 6.1.  See figure 3.10.

 

Over two in ten (21.2%) individuals renting at the market rate felt they were unable to obtain material help from others, compared to just over one in ten (10.8%) individuals living in properties owned outright.  See table WBA17.

Individuals living in properties owned with a mortgage were the most likely to never feel downhearted or depressed (67.4%), compared to 55.7% of those renting at the market rate and 53.9% of those renting below the market rate or living rent free.  See table WBA35.

The official poverty measures in Ireland are produced by SILC each year. In 2018, the at risk of poverty rate was 14.0%, the deprivation rate was 15.1% and the consistent poverty rate was 5.6%. See background notes for definitions.

In 2018, the mean overall life satisfaction and financial satisfaction scores for individuals who were defined as being at risk of poverty were 7.3 and 5.9 respectively compared with 8.2 and 7.3 for those not at risk of poverty. See figure 3.11.

Those experiencing enforced deprivation had a mean social inclusion score of 6.0, while those not experiencing enforced deprivation had a mean score of 7.8. In addition, just under 30% of those who were experiencing enforced deprivation felt that they were unable to obtain material help from others, compared to 11.0% of those who were not experiencing enforced deprivation. See table WBA09.

Those living in consistent poverty had a mean overall life satisfaction score of 6.6. This compares with the mean score for those not living in consistent poverty of 8.2.

Almost two in three (65.5%) individuals who were not at risk of poverty said they never felt downhearted or depressed in the four weeks prior to the interview, compared to one in two (50.2%) of those at risk of poverty. See table WBA36.