Friends make people happier than family, study finds

It has been found that being with family does not bring happiness to people as much as meeting mates, said the study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by American scientists.

According to Report, experts asked more than 400 volunteers to rank how much they enjoyed a recent moment with their friends and family. Participants had to evaluate what they did during such meetings and their experiences on a 6-point emotional scale.

In the end, spending time with companions has a higher level of subjective happiness than family. Researchers have attributed this to the fact that fun activities are on the agenda when meeting up with friends. On the flip side, being with children and partners often involves chores and other fun-sapping tasks.  

It turned out that 65% of the time spent with friends is related to communication. Together with the family, such cases were 28%. Simultaneously, the participants spoke positively about their relatives, not to mention household responsibilities.