Perceived Social Inequality and Happiness in Korea: Universal Effects across Different Socioeconomic Status Groups?

It is relatively well-known that discriminatory experiences affect psychological well-being of individuals, but little is known if and how perception of social inequality is associated with individual happiness and life satisfaction. Are people who think that their society is unfair likely to have lower levels of happiness and life satisfaction? If so, is there mediating or moderating effects of individual socio-economic status on the relationship between perceived social inequality and happiness and life satisfaction? This study addresses these questions by analyzing the 2009 Korean General Social Survey (KGSS). Ordered logistic regression analyses show that perceived social inequality decreases individual happiness and life satisfaction. Also, it is detected that its effect is not differential but universal across different socio-economic status groups. This finding implies that social justice as well as individual social economic standing is important for happiness of people in a society.