More friends and family equal a greater sense of well-being

More friends and family equal a greater sense of well-being

29 March 2016

People with a large number of family and friends tend to have much better overall life satisfaction, according to new research from Statistics New Zealand.

The research, released today, shows that high ratings of overall life satisfaction rise with increased numbers in people’s support networks; 89 percent of those with eleven or more in their support network gave a high rating of well-being. This compares with a high well-being rating for 60 percent of people who have no supportive family or friends.

“Support networks are important for people’s well-being. They provide a means of emotional support and companionship and assistance in times of need,” senior analyst Rosemary Goodyear said.

“Having large numbers of family and friends can encourage healthy behaviours and improve general well-being outcomes.”

Of the people who said they had no supportive family or friends, 14 percent reported feeling lonely all or most of the time in the past four weeks. The level of loneliness decreased as the number of supportive family and friends went up, with only 2 percent of those with more than 10 in their support network saying they felt lonely.

How we interact with family and friends used information from the 2014 New Zealand General Social Survey to look at the size and interaction of people’s support networks.

For more information about these statistics:

• Visit More friends and family equal a greater sense of well-being

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