Happiness and Subjective Wellbeing in Mainland China

The study of happiness and subjective wellbeing (SWB) has received increased interest among scholars in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), who published their findings nationally in Chinese language journals. This paper introduces their work to the international audience. The first study appeared in the journals in 1999, and about 800 research papers have been published to date. The field is anchored in ten areas: the most salient are the general surveying of SWB; areas within health psychology; and personality research. There was a paucity of research in most areas, and a disproportional amount of research in relation to geographical area. Most research was conducted in Shandong (North East China) and Guangdong (South China), whereas no studies reported in the Chinese journals have been conducted in regions such as Inner Mongolia and Tibet. The majority of studies used augmented versions of Western scales as their measurement instrument, although Chinese scholars have developed their own scales. The research field is developing rapidly, but is limited currently by its infancy, overuse of student samples, inadequate descriptions of research methodology, and isolation from studies published outside the country. Recommendations are provided to overcome these issues and to advance the field further.