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Arab Times
30-04-2025
- Health
- Arab Times
UK ranks among the lowest in global human flourishing index, study finds
LONDON, April 30: Britain ranks near the bottom globally for 'human flourishing,' according to a major international study that raises concerns about national well-being — particularly among younger generations. The Global Flourishing Study, which surveyed people in 22 countries across six continents, placed the UK 20th based on a composite score assessing happiness, health, financial security, personal relationships, and sense of purpose. Only Turkey and Japan ranked lower. Launched in 2022, the five-year research project draws on nationally representative samples and aims to survey more than 200,000 people annually. It seeks to create a comprehensive picture of what supports or hinders well-being worldwide. The initial findings, published in Nature Mental Health, are based on 12 core questions on flourishing, supplemented by detailed inquiries into participants' life histories, including childhood, education, family relationships, religious practice, and marital status. Researchers then developed a score from one to 10 to reflect each nation's overall level of flourishing. 'One of the big surprises from the data is the country rankings,' said Professor Tyler VanderWeele, an epidemiologist at Harvard University who helped lead the study. Indonesia topped the list, followed by Israel, the Philippines, and Mexico. These results diverge significantly from the widely cited World Happiness Report, which often ranks Nordic countries highest and places the UK in the top quarter of more than 100 nations. VanderWeele suggested the difference may stem from richer countries scoring high on financial metrics but lower on social connection and purpose. Notably, the study found that people in high-GDP countries were less likely to report a strong sense of meaning in life. The survey also examined religion's role in well-being and found that attending religious services during childhood was associated with higher flourishing in adulthood. However, researchers cautioned that this finding was correlational, not causal. The study was co-funded by the John Templeton Foundation, which supports research at the intersection of science and religion. One of the more concerning findings was the lower flourishing levels reported by young people in the UK, the US, and Australia. This contradicts earlier research showing a U-shaped well-being curve, where younger and older adults typically report higher life satisfaction than those in middle age. In the UK, those aged 18 to 24 reported significantly lower life satisfaction than older groups, including those over 80, said Dr. Tim Lomas, a psychologist involved in the research. 'The very youngest in the UK do seem to be particularly struggling,' he noted. Researchers hope that as the dataset grows over the coming years, it will reveal how major global events influence wellbeing. VanderWeele added that individuals can use the 12-question framework to self-assess their flourishing. 'I try to do this at least quarterly,' he said. 'Over time, you can track what's improving, what's stable, and what's declining.' However, some experts urged caution in interpreting the results. Professor Kate Pickett, an epidemiologist at the University of York, noted that self-reported well-being does not always align with objective health indicators. For example, Japan — ranked last in the study — boasts the highest life expectancy and lowest infant mortality rate among the 22 countries surveyed. Pickett also highlighted a potential pandemic-related impact on the findings. 'I'm very surprised there's no mention of the COVID-19 pandemic,' she said. 'Young people would have experienced significant disruptions—lockdowns, anxiety, interruptions to education and social life—at a particularly sensitive stage, which could have long-term effects on their ability to flourish.' She added that existing research already underscores the importance of investing in early childhood, securing livelihoods, focusing on prevention, and reducing economic inequality as essential steps to promote wellbeing.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
This fixation with mental health is making us miserable
According to a new study, Britain is worse for 'human flourishing' than Indonesia; ranked 20th, in fact, out of 22 countries surveyed on six continents, in this curious metric. Our young people in particular, we learn, suffer from a paucity of meaning in life and fulfilling relationships. As for the latter, no wonder: have you met a 20-something lately, and specifically a 20-something man advertising his wares on Tinder? On the surface, the results of the study do seem concerning, suggesting that Britain, in reality the end of the rainbow for all sorts of people the world over, is actually where happiness comes to die, where lives are lived in the hell of workaholism and packed commutes (or unemployment), broken infrastructure, fractured families, selfishness and dim prospects caused by wage suppression and cruelly high property prices. But is this really the right way to look at things? Sure, Britain does resemble a hellscape in parts, with the most depressing possible architectural styles that a welfare state could dream up; high street crime, feral youths running around in tracksuits wielding machetes, baby formula locked to supermarket shelves… But the reality is that all crap-ness is not created equal. Britain has its problems. It can be desperately shoddy and many people live lives that insult the notion of an advanced liberal democracy. But the implication that we should envy or even emulate Indonesia is ludicrous – it's an Islamic country with limited or no prospects and education for the vast majority. Friends were there recently on holiday and spoke to lots of local children, none of whom had even heard of Donald Trump (though they had heard of Manchester United). The study was partially bankrolled by the John Templeton Foundation, which was founded by the investor John Templeton, who was keen on funding greater spiritual and religious knowledge. No wonder there is an implicit ticking off for countries, like Britain, who are not pervasively religious anymore. It's an obvious point to make – that secular countries come with some drawbacks – but the gains are infinite in comparison. In secular Britain, we have freedom to carve out our own fate, to approach knowledge and religion freely, without fear of cruelty or of artificial strictures. If British humans don't always flourish – and this is not a guarantee that any state can or should make to all – then we all, at least technically, have the option to bring flourishing about for ourselves. There is help for those stuck in abusive families; good education guaranteed for all, available right to the top; schemes; indeed any number of mechanisms for enabling people to get to where they want to be. And if it's religion we want or need, or meaning, well, there's nothing stopping us. There is one area where I take the implications of this study seriously: and that is our obsession with mental health and feelings. Eradicating shame about mental problems, from learning difficulties to illness, is a huge step forward. Not being punished for having feelings is also good. But we have taken it to satirical extremes, inspired by the therapeutic excesses of the US. If we spent less time working on why we feel triggered or debilitated by anxiety, and allowing all and sundry to use 'neurodiversity' as a get-out clause, we might find we had more energy and interest in the wealth of wonders our much-maligned society provides – and feel more like flourishing as a result. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
UK among lowest-ranked countries for ‘human flourishing' in wellbeing study
Britain ranks among the poorest countries for 'human flourishing', according to a major study that raises questions about the nation's wellbeing and younger people in particular. The survey, which spanned 22 countries on six continents, rated the UK 20th based on a combined score that considered a range of factors from happiness, health and financial security to relationships and meaning in life. The Global Flourishing Study drew on nationally representative samples to reflect the experiences of nearly half the world's population. The five-year project launched in 2022 with the aim of quizzing more than 200,000 participants annually and building a detailed picture of what helps and hinders human flourishing. In a flurry of papers released on Wednesday, researchers outlined key findings from the survey, which posed a dozen questions on flourishing, and many more about people's past and present lives. The latter included questions on childhood and family relationships, education, religious practice and marital status. Armed with the data, the researchers identified tentative predictors for human flourishing and produced a score that aims to give an overall sense of how well individual nations are doing, on a scale from one to 10. 'One of the big surprises from the data … is the ordering of the countries,' said Prof Tyler VanderWeele, an epidemiologist at Harvard University. The analysis in Nature Mental Health ranks Indonesia first, followed by Israel, the Philippines and Mexico. The UK, Turkey and Japan take the bottom three spots. The findings contrast sharply with the World Happiness Report, which is regularly topped by Nordic countries and ranks the UK in the top quarter of 100 countries surveyed. According to VanderWeele, the disparity might be driven by richer, more developed countries scoring well on financial security and measures such as 'life evaluation', but worse on relationships and a sense of meaning in life. The survey found, for example, that scores for finding meaning in life tended to be lower in countries with a higher GDP. Part of the survey focused on religion and found that attending religious services in childhood predicted greater flourishing as an adult, though the study cannot prove a causal link. The survey was co-funded by the John Templeton Foundation, which has long been interested in the intersection of science and religion. One of the more troubling findings, the researchers said, was that young people in countries such as the UK, the US and Australia seemed to be flourishing the least. Again, this counters previous work that shows a U-shaped relationship between wellbeing and age, with the young and old faring better than those in middle age. In the UK, 18- to 24-year-olds scored 'markedly lower' on life satisfaction than 25- to 29-year-olds, who in turn scored lower than the over-80s, said Dr Tim Lomas, a psychologist on the study. 'The very youngest in the UK do seem to be particularly struggling,' he said. As more data is gathered, researchers hope to see how flourishing varies as world events unfold. But VanderWeele said people could use the 12-question flourishing survey to assess the state of their own lives. 'I try to do this at least quarterly,' he said. 'Over time, you can see what's improving, what's staying the same, and what may be getting worse.' Prof Kate Pickett, an epidemiologist at the University of York, was cautious about some of the findings. One reason was that self-reported measures of wellbeing did not always reflect objective measures of a nation's health. Japan, which ranked lowest of the 22 countries, had a longer life expectancy and lower infant mortality than any of the others, she said. Pickett also suspects a pandemic effect. 'I'm very surprised there's not a single mention of the Covid pandemic,' she said. 'We know that in the two years prior to the survey, young people would have experienced all the negative impacts of that – lockdowns, anxiety, disruptions to education, training, social relationships and so on – at perhaps a more critical juncture than older adults, with lasting impact for all aspects of their flourishing.' 'We already know from a very large and robust body of evidence that we need to give children a good start in life, give people secure livelihoods, focus on prevention, and reduce economic inequality,' she added.
