Abstract
The quantity and quality of interpersonal relations is an important driver of people’s well-being. Latin Americans’ high well-being levels can be explained by the abundance of close, warm and genuine interpersonal relations in all relational spheres of life. The quantity and quality of relations people have are independent of their economic condition; in other words; income does not buy good relations. Public policy should not assume that economic growth and higher income translates into better interpersonal relations; on the contrary, it is recommended for public policy to take into consideration the potential negative impact that some pro economic growth policies may have on the quantity and quality of interpersonal relations.
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Appendix
Appendix
Interpersonal relations under consideration, criteria for high quality/quantity classification and percentage of high quality/quantity in Latin America and the United States
Interpersonal relation | High-quality/quantity criterion | Percentage Latin America | Percentage United States | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Nuclear family quantity | Sharing positive emotions with close family | Percentage always or very often | 64.6 | 49.4 |
We in the family spend a lot of time doing things together | % strongly agree or agree | 76.4 | 61.1 | |
Frequency take time to share with partner | % at least several days a week | 80.4 | 84.9 | |
Frequency take time to share with children | % at least several days a week | 75.9 | 63.3 | |
Sharing at least one meal a day with children | % strongly agree of agree | 95.1 | 92.8 | |
Frequency take time to share with adult children | % at least once a week | 64.5 | 38.1 | |
Nuclear family quality | Frequency of manifestations of affection with your partner | % frequent or very frequent | 77.3 | 64.9 |
Frequency of manifestations of affection with your children | % frequent or very frequent | 86.7 | 62.8 | |
In our family everyone’s decisions are respected | % strongly agree of agree | 89.2 | 70.1 | |
I take into consideration the well-being of my family when taking important decisions | % strongly agree of agree | 88.7 | 66.1 | |
Being with family is an activity that gives the most meaning to my life | % strongly agree of agree | 93.6 | 79.8 | |
Reading or playing sports with children frequently | % strongly agree of agree | 84.6 | 90.4 | |
We help and support each other in the family | % strongly agree of agree | 86.0 | 66.7 | |
Extended family | Visiting grandparents in childhood | % at least once a week | 61.6 | 41.6 |
Frequency of extended family gatherings | % at least once a month | 37.6 | 16.4 | |
Manifestations of affect with siblings | % frequent or very frequent | 58.9 | 26.3 | |
Frequency of meeting grandparents | % at least once a week | 39.9 | 21.9 | |
Rest of family | Frequency of meeting cousins | % at least once a week | 20 | 5.8 |
Frequency of meeting aunts/uncles | % at least once a week | 19.7 | 6.6 | |
Friends | Sharing positive emotions with friends | % Always or very often | 41.8 | 34.2 |
Friends you can talk about feelings and problems | Mean value | 3.99 | 3.40 | |
Friends you can count in case of financial problems | Mean value | 2.42 | 1.67 | |
Coworkers | Meeting with coworkers outside working place | % at least once a week | 42.2 | 17.9 |
Talking with coworkers about interests, feelings and aspirations | % at least once a week | 54.4 | 41.9 | |
In the working place we help and support each other | % agree or very much agree | 80.1 | 61.0 | |
Neighbors | Talking with neighbors about interests, feelings and aspirations | % at least once a week | 33.2 | 24.6 |
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Rojas, M. (2020). Relational Wealth: Quantity and Quality of Interpersonal Relations. In: Well-Being in Latin America. Human Well-Being Research and Policy Making. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-33498-7_8
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