What drives unhappiness? A cross-country analysis

Abstract

We study the sources of misery (lowest level of life satisfaction) using the European Quality of Life 2016, a cross-sectional survey for 28 European Union countries. We use the decomposition of misery, multivariate analysis and a structural equation model to assess which are the main sources to explain misery: risk of depression (mental health), unemployment, poverty or chronic health problems (physical health). Regardless of the methodological approach followed, we found consistently that the effect of mental health on misery is the largest, exceeding poverty and unemployment. Nonetheless, stigma and low access are the main barriers for mental health attention; therefore, policy goals should proactively promote attention, efficient prevention and early diagnosis of mental health problems.