Does Happiness Foster Social Bonds? A Research Synthesis Using an Online Finding Archive

Abstract It is widely agreed that social bonds should be strengthened but is not clear how that can be achieved. One way could be to foster happiness, since happiness seems to foster social bonds. If so, two desirables can be achieved together: happier people and stronger social bonds. This raises the following questions: Does happiness really foster social bonds? If so, is that effect universal? How strong is the effect? Does the strength vary across persons and situations? What are the causal mechanisms? To answer these questions we took stock of the available research findings, restricting to longitudinal studies examining the effect of earlier happiness on later social bonds. We used the World Database of Happiness (WDH), a findings-archive consisting of data about happiness in the sense of the subjective enjoyment of one’s life-as-a-whole. To date, the WDH contains the results of 16 follow-up studies on the relation between earlier happiness and later social bonds, which together yield 33 findings. We found strong evidence for a causal effect of happiness on the formation and stability of primary social bonds on happiness, in particular, with marriage, love and friendship. Happiness fosters social bonds and this effect seems to be universal. Consequently, fostering happiness can be used as a means to strengthen social bonds. This is another reason to opt for policies that aim to achieve greater happiness for a greater number.