social support systems

Objective: This study investigates the common characteristics of countries with high happiness index scores using a cluster analysis of 20 nations. Design: The study is an ecological study where the unit of observation is the population in a country. Setting: Data were drawn from the World Happiness Report, World Bank, WHO, and World Population Review (2023–2025). Main outcome measures: The study focused on five variables: social support, GDP per capita, healthy life expectancy, crude death rate, and health expenditure. Results: Results revealed that countries in higher-performing clusters exhibited consistently strong social support systems, moderate to high GDP per capita, high healthy life expectancy, moderate crude death rates, and substantial public health spending. Among these factors, social support emerged as the most influential determinant, aligning with recent literature emphasizing the psychological and societal benefits of strong interpersonal networks. GDP alone was not a sufficient predictor of happiness; countries with high economic output but lower investment in health and social infrastructure ranked lower in overall well-being. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that countries with high happiness cannot be characterized by economic prosperity alone. The cluster analysis showed that high happiness may coexist with different combinations of economic, social, and health conditions. The study therefore characterizes countries with high Happiness Index scores as heterogeneous rather than uniform.

Background Perceived social support is an important psychosocial resource for competitive athletes, while perceived stress is closely associated with athlete burnout. Drawing on conservation of resources theory and the cognitive-transactional model of stress, this study examines the relationships among perceived social support, perceived stress, and athlete burnout. Objectives This study aims to investigate the associations among perceived social support, perceived stress, and athlete burnout in competitive athletes, with particular attention to the statistical mediating role of perceived stress. Results Using cluster sampling, questionnaire data were collected from 252 competitive athletes across various sports, including track and field, swimming, and football. The results showed that perceived social support was negatively correlated with perceived stress ( r = -0.478, p < 0.01) and athlete burnout ( r = -0.282, p < 0.01), whereas perceived stress was positively correlated with athlete burnout ( r = 0.421, p < 0.01). Mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect association between perceived social support and athlete burnout through perceived stress ( B = -0.161, 95% CI [-0.240, -0.093]). The direct association was not statistically significant after accounting for perceived stress ( B = -0.095, p = 0.109). Conclusion Perceived social support is associated with lower levels of athlete burnout, both through its overall negative association with burnout and through a significant statistical indirect pathway involving perceived stress. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening athletes’ social support systems and addressing perceived stress in competitive sports settings. Given the cross-sectional design, the findings should be interpreted as associations rather than evidence of causal mediation.