11 February 2003
Australia Down in the Mouth
Australians aren't as happy as they were last winter, according to the latest results of social tracking research conducted by Ingenuity Research.
Tracking through 2002 showed a steady decline in overall happiness. The biggest drop was amongst 18-29 year olds, who were typically one of the happiest segments of the community a year ago and who have dropped to 6.4 in the most recent results.
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The most affluent members of the community remain one of the happiest groups, averaging 6.8 on the happiness scale, two points up from the overall average.
Financial caution is also the order of the day. The survey shows that people are less likely to feel that this is a good time to buy luxury items. Conversely, three key indicators have increased - people are more likely to say that the economy is uncertain, that it is time to tighten one's belt financially and they are particularly less likely to feel confident about their financial future.
While middle-aged people are the least likely to feel uncertain about the economy, those aged 18-29 felt the most uncertain.
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| Social Outlook Perhaps some of the mood changes can be explained by how people are seeing the world. Using a series of questions called Social Outlook, the Australians Today research programme shows that young people are thinking less (or perhaps trying not to think so much) about global issues. In fact they have retreated from many emotions, with the only significant increase showing in their pessimism. Interestingly, the next age group up, those aged 30-39, are slightly less pessimistic. Women are more inclined than men to feel a little indulgent at the moment, while men tend to have stronger egos - and increasingly so in the latest research results compared to earlier in 2002. | ||||
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How This Research Was Conducted These findings are part of the ongoing Australians Today research programme conducted by McNair Ingenuity Research in November 2002, and every three months prior to that. The survey was conducted by means of inviting people aged 18+ from across Australia to participate in the survey by telephone and then sending them a self-completion questionnaire to fill out. A total of over 2,000 people participated in this research programme during 2002. The combination of a telephone recruitment and self-completion questionnaire ensures a representative sample as well as giving participants the opportunity to complete the survey at their leisure. The recruitment interviews were conducted by trained interviewers according to standards set-out by Interviewer Quality Control Australia.
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You
can learn more about McNair Ingenuity Research by visiting www.mcnairingenuity.com
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McNair Ingenuity Research Pty Ltd ACN.
096 437 991 Level 4, 270 Pacific Highway, Crows Nest, NSW, 2065 Phone: +61 2 9966
9133 Fax: +61 2 9966 9277 www.mcnairingenuity.com |