http://religionnews.com/2015/07/02/5-reasons-why-mormons-are-happier-says-researcher/

The reasons are interesting, and I think characteristic of why so many others are NOT happy, but certainly not unique to Mormonism.

I'd be curious to see research about why so Mormons are Unhappy. or closeted in unhappiness.

Has anybody ever seen research about this?

I used to work in an insane asylum. There were a lot of happy people there, too.

"He's much happier since his lobotomy."

Ignorance is Bliss.

Plus, it's easy- the thinking has been done.

That explains why the Mormon State of Utah is the perennial leader in Prozac and Porn addiction.

The article has a misleading title. It should have read:

"How Mormons Are Indoctrinated to Report That They Are Happy"

Objective measurements, as Koriwhore states, are more telling.

This is like the old joke about the guy standing with the "not henpecked husbands". When asked why he did so, he replied that he was standing where his wife told him to stand!

wait...if unhappy people are committing suicide more often; then there are less unhappy people to report their unhappiness?

They misread it. ... are SUPPOSED
TO BE

The Mormons are happy
Gentiles covet their Eden
Even as they sin and break
The covenants of the garden



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2016 05:46AM by donbagley.

It appears that both the researcher, Elisa Hunter, and the author of the article, Jana Reiss, are Mormon bloggers.

Biased would be an understatement of their findings.

More like a bent.

Nor do I believe that the depression rate in Utah is driven by the higher number of women who stay home and have a disproportionate number of babies. It has more to do with the cognitive dissonance that has been indoctrinated over a number of years, starting from early childhood.

Depression in adolescence and teens are at an all-time high in Utah. The author doesn't attempt to explain why that is so.

The happiness she alludes to is a facade masquerading the emptiness many Mormons suffer from. They aren't provided the means or wherewithall to develop their own self-help skills they need to be able to channel healthier patterns of behavior and thinking, that would be more in harmony with their truer selves.

Depression is "anger turned inward," when women have been taught (and many males,) to suppress their feelings, while not being able (or perhaps know how,) to channel them in constructive outlets.

Drunks self-report as "happier" than sober people, too.
Doesn't mean we should all go around drunk all the time.

The study may have some validity but not necessarily for the reasons you might think. The research I recall reading said that people who attended church had better outlooks on life even if they didn't believe in the religion or in God. I thought I had a link to the article saved but I wasn't able to find it this morning. The one below is to a LiveScience article which makes a similar point.

http://www.livescience.com/9090-religion-people-happier-hint-god.html

Apparently, the good that people get from attending church services has more to do with social contacts than anything having to do with the religion itself. I suspect we would also find that the assumption of a common belief also allows people to let down their guard in these interpersonal relationships.

Well, of the dozens of harried, overcommitted, tired moms I know, the MOST stressed-out-seeming and also, by far, the least happy-looking, is one of the two TBM friends I have. I am certain a lot of it is due to Mormonism, based on things she says in passing--callings, expectations to be the "perfect" stay-at-home wife and mother, etc.

Mormons always report that Mormons are happier, and often it's their church leaders telling them to log into surveys and say it's so.

"closeted in unhappiness"

Man, what a great album! I got that album on *vinyl* before the band (as yet un-named; come on, help me somebody...ziller?) that recorded it went big and sold out.

/s

I wonder how much of that is just because Mormons have to say how happy they are. if you're unhappy, you must not be living according to the gospel, right?

This article mentions how Mormons 'donate' so much time and money to 'charity'. Paying tithing and taking a church calling don't qualify as charity, IMO, especially when it's done because of social/church pressure, or to demonstrate to the ward what a righteous person you are.

Read the full research here.

https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1076&context=mapp_capstone

It addresses many of your questions- at least in part.

A master's thesis from an otherwise unknown researcher who appears to be LDS herself? Why would this convince anyone other than those who already believe in the church?

The thesis doesn't seriously address the issue of self-reporting bias as the most likely explanation for the Mormon "happiness bump".

I can tell that those who responded did not read the paper. All well.

https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1076&context=mapp_capstone

Did you just come here to bait people?

If you have a point to make, you should actually make it in words here instead of gesturing toward an offsite document and claiming that it supports your position.

BTW, are you the author of this master's thesis? If not, what's your interest in posting it here?

East Coast Exmo pegged this document as the scribblings of a Mormon wanting to get her Master's Degree finished ASAP.

Take a look at the bibliography. I simply checked the first ten sources. Of those ten, three were non-LDS. The others were from Mormon.org, LDS.org, BYU Religious Studies Center, General Conference, or the Ensign.

You can't get much closer to parroting the church's line than citing the Ensign as a credible academic resource.

Pablum.

but I would say two of my best friends, though one has passed away. One is much older than I am. She'd be in her later 80s, but moved and I haven't heard much from her.

She was one of the most giving people I've ever met and most of the people in the ward loved her. She had 11 children. Got married late and her 11th child was born at age 86 (whoops, had to leave that typo !!--she was 46). She stopped me one day when I was out walking and told me how she had read that JS's father and others drank alcohol and she said to me, "I sure could be a lot happier if I drank."

My other friend was miserable, too, and her children treated her poorly. Her 8.

I am MUCH, MUCH happier outside of mormonism than I ever was in. In fact, my ex told my TBM daughter, "Your mother was never happy as a mormon." I had never really considered that until he said it and he is right.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2018 11:12AM by cl2.

‘We’re incredibly happy, just ignore all those unhappy people over there in the corner! Nooo, there’s definitely more happy people over here, we’re not outnumbered by those miserable saps over there.’-every Mormon who participated in this study.
I’m not buying it. I’m just not. All but two Mormon friends of mine are on antidepressants, I personally know three new Mormon mothers who had to be hospitalized after giving birth just in the last year due to severe depression, and I know so, so, so many teens and young adults who were raised LDS who have taken their own lives. And I don’t know that many people, especially Mormons anymore. That’s not a picture of the happiest religion. It’s a picture of a religion that crushes your soul and sucks the life out of you until you’re desperate to end it. This study is self reported BS that was sought out by individuals with a massive bias. The actual numbers of people hospitalized for depression, people on antidepressants, and suicides among Mormons are cold hard facts that this study is trying to brush under a rug.

Pretty sure I rememeber hearing a radio station host talking about how Utah was ranked among the top "happiest" states in the nation. However, it was also number 1 for "most stressed" or something like that.

The cognitive dissonance is strong with these ones. haha

The researchers only interviewed the ones who didn't commit
suicide.

Maybe, just maybe some of this data would be plausible if the church, the teachings and the leaders allowed members to be themselves. But we all know that there is no middle ground. It's not okay to be different and see thing in a different light. Singles, divorcees, gays, trans, colored, thinkers, artists, introverts are not at peace unless they follow the church's way on all matters.

I actually read through about 25 pages of this dissertation and it reads like 100% church propaganda. Part of good research usually explores (acknowledges) the dissenting views and facts, then offers a tremendous rebuttal. Maybe, I am expecting too much.