Latino Happiness Report Finds Majority of Latinos Feel They are Happy; Family and Health Among Main Contributing Factors

March 20, 2024 at 11:02 AM EDT

Nation’s Leading Hispanic Public Media Company HITN’s Vida y Salud Brand Organized Study to Gather Insights on Happiness and Wellbeing within the U.S. Latino Community

The 2024 Latino Happiness Report, released today, indicates that 57 percent of the Latinos living in the U.S. consider themselves to be happy. An additional 30 percent say they’re at least somewhat happy with their lives while 13 percent report feelings of unhappiness. Conducted by leading Hispanic public media company HITN’s health and wellness brand Vida y Salud to support International Day of Happiness, the report sheds light on the happiness, mental well-being, and motivations of the U.S. Latino community.

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Released in support of the International Day of Happiness, the 2024 Latino Happiness Report sheds light on the happiness, mental well-being, and motivations of the U.S. Latino community. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Latinos comprise approximately 19 percent of the overall U.S. population with researches estimating they were responsible for 80 percent of net labor force growth. By understanding the key factors impacting Latino happiness, health and wellness, we can ensure greater overall health for this fast-growing, economically critical community. “Many of today’s societal issues have an outsized impact on Latino families,” Erika Vogt-Lowell, HITN Director of Programming and Acquisitions said. “Latino families report higher stress levels related to culturally specific concerns like discrimination and acculturation, in addition to the common stressors faced by other communities. It’s critically important to develop resources and tools that support our growing communities, both for their wellbeing and for the wellbeing of the nation as a whole.”

To complete the survey, Vida y Salud polled 230 of its Vida y Salud newsletter subscribers ages 18 and over. Key findings from the survey include:

The Importance of Family: Heath and family form the foundation of happiness for many in the Latino community. 26 percent of respondents ranked family as their top happiness factor, while 20 percent indicated that health was most integral to their happiness.

Room for Growth: At the same time, many Latinos consider health an area for growth, as 21 percent indicated they would like to increase their feelings of happiness around health. Family and relationships with friends/partners ranked as the second and third areas where Latinos wanted to see a growth in happiness.

Community and Resilience Matter: Community plays a key role in happiness, according to many survey respondents. Among those who indicated that they consider Latinos happier than other demographics, their top reasons for this choice were valuing close family relationships (22 percent) and adapting better to their environment and circumstances (20 percent).

Positive Outlook: A whopping 100 percent of Latinos surveyed report that they try to approach life with a positive outlook. Equally as significant, 77 percent of survey respondents said that happiness depends on ourselves, rather than on external factors, which indicates opportunities for Latinos to continue growing their happiness.

According to leadership at HITN and Vida y Salud, understanding the mindset and challenges of the Latino community will fuel their creation of useful educational content for both physical and mental wellness. “There is a strong connection between happiness and overall wellbeing,” said Vogt-Lowell. “Studies have shown that happiness can improve heart health, strengthen the immune system, reduce stress and extend longevity. Our Latino community has a high rate of cardiovascular risk factors, as well as other health challenges. By better understanding the role happiness plays in our lives, we can focus on sharing information that will have a positive impact on the health risk factors we face and that will help to create happier, healthier communities.”

A robust and trusted source of health and wellbeing information, the Vida y Salud platform offers more than 1,000 original videos, articles and tools focused on health topics and created with a focus on the Latino perspective. Vida y Salud users can also access support services and live chat with representatives about general health concerns.

Survey Methodology

Data was gathered through an online survey conducted between March 4, 2024 and March 15, 2024. Survey participants included email subscribers of the Vida y Salud newsletter.

About Vida y Salud

Founded over ten years ago under the editorial direction of Dr. Aliza Lifshitz, VidaySalud.com has the mission of informing, educating and raising awareness about health and wellness. Receiving up to one million visits per month, VidaySalud.com has become a unique resource for the Hispanic community in the United States, offering information based on scientific data through hundreds of articles and videos. Beyond its robust library of content and resources, VidaySalud.com provides free access to telemedicine service Pregúntale a Lisa where users can consult directly with doctors and psychologists via a live chat. For more information, visit www.vidaysalud.com.

About HITN-TV

HITN-TV is a leading Spanish-language media company that offers educational and cultural programming for the whole family. It reaches more than 44 million homes in the United States and Puerto Rico through DIRECTV, AT&T U-verse, AT&T TV, DISH Network, Verizon FiOS TV, Comcast Xfinity, Charter Spectrum, Mediacom, CenturyLink, Prism and Altice, Liberty Cable & Claro (Puerto Rico). Download the "HITN GO" Everywhere app available on Apple, Android, Apple TV, and Roku® with a wired subscription. For more information, visit: www.hitn.org and follow @HITNtv on social platforms.