Most Americans Happy, New Poll Says

A new poll conducted by the Gallup Organization finds that American citizens are generally happy with their lives. According to a survey of more than 1,000 Americans at least 18 years of age, a majority of Americans characterized their lives as "generally happy," while slightly more than half said they were "very happy." More than 80 percent of those polled expressed satisfaction with their personal lives while a slight majority said their lives were "very" satisfying. Gallup notes that the poll's findings differ significantly from the opinions of Americans when asked about the state of the union as a whole.

When asked if they were satisfied or dissatisfied with their personal lives, 84 percent of respondents answered "satisfied," with nearly 60 percent of those further characterizing their personal lives as very satisfying. A full quarter of satisfied respondents said their personal lives were "somewhat" satisfying. According to Gallup, the percentage of satisfied Americans represents a small increase over last year's result.

The Gallup findings contradict a study earlier this year by three Italian researchers who concluded that Americans were less happy now than they were three decades ago. The Italian study attributed decreased satisfaction among American citizens to increased hours at work and a degradation in social relationships. The findings of the study were presented this past summer at Siena University in Italy. Stefano Bartolini, one of the authors of the Italian study, told Reuters, "The main cause is a decline in the so-called social capital-increased loneliness, increased perception of others as untrustworthy and unfair."