australian values study survey and the of a
TRANSCRIPT
AUSTRALIAN VALUES STUDY SURVEY Australia and
the rest of the world: A comparison
First Working
Report December
1983
Internal report made available to all foundation members of the Australian Values Study Survey and
A.C.P.
Copyright Australian Values Study Survey Steering Committee and foundation members.
Embargo Initial media rights vested with Australian Consolidated Press until March 1984.
The Australian Values Study Survey would welcome receipt of a copy of
any material which cites or uses any of this material, to ensure open
access to the study after its initial use by Foundation members.
Contact Points
Questions relating to this First Working Report may be addressed to
any member of the Australian Values Study Steering Committee or the
Research Directorate (see Page 6).
CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION
Overview 1
Limitations on interpretation and prediction 1
Why a study of values 2
Background of the study 3
THE AUSTRALIAN VALUES STUDY
Australian Project Management 6
Foundation Membership 6
The Australian Values Study Instrument 8
Content of the study 8
Fieldwork and the sample 9
AUSTRALIA AND THE REST OF THE WORLD: RESULTS
Overview 10
Family and home life 13
Australians are happiest at home
Australians support marriage
Faithfulness in marriage is still important
Sufficient reasons for divorce
RELIGION 17
Religious persons and church attendance
Religious beliefs Importance of God in
life Ten Commandments
WORK AND IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF WORKLIFE 22
Pride in work
LIFE SATISFACTION AND HAPPINESS 26
Satisfaction with life
Happiness
NATIONAL PRIDE AND WILLINGNESS TO FIGHT FOR ONE'S COUNTRY
28
Pride in Nationality
Willingness to fight
C O N T E N T S Continued
Page
ALCOHOL AND DRUGS 29
Alcoholism
Illegal drug taking
I N T R O D U C T I O N
OVERVIEW
The Australian Values Study is part of a major international survey
undertaken to compare fundamental values in different countries throughout
the world. The study, initially concerned with comparing European values,
has now been extended to twenty‐four countries (listed on page 5). It is
expected that within the next twelve months, four more countries will be
included.
The Australian Values Study began in January 1983. Steering Committee,
chaired by Dr. Don Edgar, Director of the Institute of Family Studies, was
set up, and a Research Directorate supplied by the Program in Public Policy
Studies of the University of Melbourne.
Australian Corporations, Government Departments and Research Institutes were
invited to participate in this international values classification study.
In March 1983, Gordon I. Heald, Research Co‐ordinator for the European Values
project visited Australia to finalise our participation in the project as a
world‐wide study.
The working report is a first account of the study.
Limitations on Interpretation and Prediction
Any sample survey incorporates significant sample error, and significant
differences can also occur where the wording of questions needs to take into
account differences of interpretation from country to country. This study,
like the others in the international survey is limited to a sample of
approximately 1,000 people. Findings can, therefore, only be taken as an
indication of national attitudes and not as an accurate description of such
attitudes at any one point in time. For this reason, all percentages should
be taken as indicative, as the degree of sample error and method error could
be greater than the inter country differences in many cases.
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WHY A STUDY VALUES An extensive literature and archive search has revealed a wide diversity
of interest in values research. Churches are interested in
fundamental values, advertising firms are interested in market segmentation,
manufacturers are interested in product purchase and work related behaviour,
and academics want to explore the theoretical framework connecting
values to behaviour.
Whilst conventional population studies (demographics) provide data on age,
income, education, occupation and family size, they are less helpful in
providing an indication of people's attitudes, opinions and life decisions.
Much attention has been paid in recent decades to the development of
economic and social indicators of material well‐being, and the quality of
life. However, until recently, a general theoretical framework for studying
individuals' value systems has not been available.
It is thought that fundamental changes are occurring in peoples' value
systems, which have profound implications for social policies and industrial
programs; for the family, churches, companies and institutions.
The Australian Values Study is seeking to establish the significant
characteristics of Australian values and attitudes, by comparison with the
findings from the cross‐national studies, and by comparison with panel
(long‐term) values studies being conducted by the Program in Policy Studies
at the University of Melbourne.
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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
International Values Study
The Values Study is a major international survey undertaken to try to
ascertain values in different countries throughout the world. It
focuses on such areas as attitudes towards work, life satisfaction,
family, political, moral, religious and spiritual values, and a wide
range of social issues.
The study began in 1978, when Professor J. Kerkhofs, Professor of
Pastoral Sociology at the University of Louvain, Belgium, registered
a charitable foundation, the European Value Systems Study Group (EVSSG),
to undertake the study, chaired by Professor Ruud de Moor, Professor
of Social Science, Tilburg University. Its purpose was to analyse
and describe the moral and social value systems in Europe today. It also
aimed to provide a model to monitor changes in these moral
and social value systems for future studies. An academic steering
committee was set up, to be advised by a technical group composed of
the principals of four major research agencies involved in the project:
Madame H. Riffault, Faits et Opinions, France; Professor Dr. E. Noelle‐
Neuman, Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach, Germany; Professor Dr. J. Linz,
Data SA Spain; Mr. G. Heald, Gallup, England.
An extensive literature and archive search revealed: (1) there was a lack
of a general theoretical framework for the study of values and (2) the
existence of important limitations to the most widely used classifications
(e.g. Allport & Vernon; Kluckhohn & Strodbeck; Rokeach; Morris).
It was decided that original research based on in‐depth interviews,
group discussions and survey archive material, combined with extracts
from other studies (in particular Michigan and Chicago) would form
the basis of the questionnaire. It took approximately 18 months to
devise a pilot questionnaire and this was tested in 1980 in 868 face‐
to‐face interviews, each of 11/2 hours, in Germany, Spain and
Britain.
The final version of the international questionnaire is about a one‐hour
face‐to‐face fully precoded interview. In each country a scientifically
selected sample of approximately 1,000 people are interviewed, including
where possible, a booster sample of 200 young people aged 18 ‐ 24, to allow
in‐depth, analysis of younger people.
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In Europe about 15,000 interviews have been completed,and in the United
States there were more than 2,000, including special sub‐samples of Blacks,
Hispanics and young people. The overall world‐wide data collection was co‐
ordinated by Gallup in London where the data was processed centrally on an
IBM 4331 computer.
The survey has been paid for by different sources of funds in each
country: industry, government, charitable foundations, voluntary
organisations and church organisations.
By the end of 1984, it is expected 28 countries will have participated
in the Values Study, making it the largest‐ever social survey in the
world. To date, field‐work and processing have been completed in 21
countries world‐wide. The following list gives details of the number
of interviews, dates of fieldwork, and the agency responsible for generating
funds in each country.
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The following countries are expected to begin during 1983/84: Iceland, Malta,
New Zealand, Poland. Interest in the study has been shown by the Soviet Union,
China, Nigeria and South America.
Abbreviations: EVSSG European Values System Study Group
CARA Centre of Applied Research into the Apostolate
AVSS Australian Values Study Survey Group
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T H E A U S T R A L I A N V A L U E S S T U D Y
AUSTRALIAN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The Australian Values Study Survey is being managed by a Steering Committee
comprising:
Dr. Don Edgar, Institute of Family Studies, (Chairman)
Mr. Ian Brumby, Shell
Professor Alf Clark, Latrobe University
Mr. Gary Morgan, The Roy Morgan Research Centre
Professor Alex Wearing, University of Melbourne
Mr. Tony Winkelman, General Motors‐Holden
FOUNDATION MEMBERSHIP
Foundation Sponsors of the Australian Values Study Survey have been drawn
from major companies, instrumentalities, organisations and academic
institutions:
Australian Consolidated Press
ANZ Banking Group Ltd.
Australian Labor Party
BHP Co. Ltd.
CRA/MIM/Alcoa Cadbury
Schweppes
General Motors‐Holden Sales Pty. Ltd.
Liberal Party of Australia
National Catholic Research Council/Zadok Centre
Ogilvy & Mather (Aust.) Pty. Ltd. Program in Public Policy Studies, University
of Melbourne
Shell Co. of Australia
Telecom Australia
The Pratt Group
USP Needham Pty. Ltd.
Uncle Ben's of Australia
Western Mining Corporation Ltd.
Exclusive initial publishing rights are vested in Australian Consolidated
Press.
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The survey is being conducted for, and on behalf of, the Steering
Committee by The Roy Morgan Research Centre Pty. Ltd., the Gallup
Affiliate in Australia. The Research Directorate is supplied by the
Program in Public Policy Studies and consists of:
Professor Alex Wearing
Mr. Colin Benjamin Ms. Michele Levine
Dr. Bruce Headey Ms.
Helen Vaughan
Program Co‐ordinator
Asst. Co‐ordinator and Research Director (Jan‐May 1983)
Research Advisor (May‐Dec 1983)
Research Fellow/Research Director (May‐Dec 1983)
Research Advisor
Executive Secretary
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THE AUSTRALIAN VALUE STUDY INSTRUMENT
The Australian Values Study Survey instrument has been developed after
an examination of other commercial and academic values studies,
includin the original European Values Study, the U.S. VALS Study, and
Australian Quality of Life Studies.
The result is a unique instrument which integrates a wide range of
reliable and independently validated survey scales.
Pilot studies for the Australian Values Study began in January 1983,
and the full questionnaire was field tested in April 1983 to ensure its
effectiveness in Australian conditions.
The final instrument comprises a personal interview of approximately 1 1/4
hours, and a self‐administered questionnaire of approximately 3/4 of
an hour in length. Included are questions specifically proposed by
foundation members of the Australian Values Study Survey Group.
CONTENT OF THE STUDY
The Australian Values Study Survey is specifically concerned with the
dynamic relationship between attitudes and behaviours of individuals
with regard to the following study fields:
. Leisure
. Work and Job Satisfaction
. Financial and Economic Situation
. Contemporary Social Issues
. Current Affairs
. Market Responses to Product Purchase
. Family and Home Life
. Religion and the Meaning and Purpose of Life
. Voting Intentions (State and Federal)
. Life Satisfaction
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FIELDWORK AND THE SAMPLE
The Australian Values Study used a "probability" sample of Australians,
in country areas as well as in all capital cities.
This method of sampling, used each week in the Morgan Gallup Poll, is
widely used throughout the world for public opinion research. It was
also used for the Values Study in the United States.
The smaller States ‐ Tasmania, South Australia and Australian Capital
Territory‐ were over‐sampled to make interstate comparisons possible.
For most purposes, the Australian data set will be weighted to reflect
the correct proportions of age, sex and State in the population.
Fieldwork (1,228 interviews) was conducted during August through
October. Coding, keypunching and cleaning of the data are complete, and
analysis is in progress.
As of November, a response rate of over 75% has been achieved on the
self‐administered questionnaire. Every effort is being made to get
maximum response rate. Up to three reminder letters and two
replacement questionnaires have been sent,as well as telephone calls
made, wherever possible, to those people who have not responded.
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A U S T R A L I A A N D T H E R E S T 0 F T H E W O R L D
R E S U L T S
OVERVIEW
This first Australian Values Study working paper presents some of the preliminary
findings of this important study. It focuses on three core value domains: family
and home life, work, and religion, it also examines a selection of interesting issues
such as national pride, willingness to fight for one's country, happiness, life
satisfaction, alcoholism and drugs.
Even from a very preliminary inspection of the data, a picture begins to emerge as to
what Australians are like: in what ways we are similar to people in other countries,
and in what ways we are unique. We begin to see what Australians want from life,
what is important to us, and what we are satisfied or dissatisfied with in our lives.
Home and the family are important to Australians, as are friends and close
relationships.
Security (making certain that all basic needs and expenses are provided for ) and
family life (a life completely centred on my family) were the two goals in life
most frequently chosen by Australians as being most important. Thirty‐eight percent
of men and women placed security first, and 30 percent (26% of men and 34% of women)
said a family life was most important.
The high home ownership may be a reflection of the important position of the home and
family in Australian life. The vast majority of Australians
(95%) live in houses, rather than flats, apartments or boarding houses.
Only in Northern Ireland is this figure higher, at 96%. However, Australians
show the highest home ownership rate, with 73% owning their own home.
The important position of home and the family is further illustrated by Australians'
attitudes towards marriage and its position in today's society.
The majority of Australians don't see marriage as an out‐dated institution. Despite
their general support of marriage, they demonstrate high expectations and clear
priorities with respect to marriage. However, more than any other nationality,
Australians are prepared to accept that certain conditions are sufficient reasons for
divorce. This somewhat complicated picture is explained in the next section, where
results relating to specific questionnaire items are examined.
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When it comes to work, Australians take a great deal of pride in their
work,and consider that it is important to have "an interesting job", one
where "you feel you can achieve something" and to have "pleasant people to
work with". "Good job security" was also frequently mentioned, and the
majority of Australians (66%) felt it was important that a job did not
"disrupt family life".
These preliminary findings of the major international survey provide
initial comparisons of fundamental values in countries throughout the
world.
Australia showed many similarities to America and Ireland (both Northern
Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). However, Americans and the Irish
appear more religious than Australians, who are closer to the British in
this respect.
One of the methods used to assess peoples' beliefs and values today was
to ask them whether they believed the Ten Commandments still fully
applied to them today. The result showed that, in spite of a relatively
low church attendance (22 percent of Australians claimed to attend church
at least once a week) Australians were
more likely than Europeans to believe the Ten Commandments apply to them
personally. For example, 75 per cent of Australians believed 'Thou
shalt not commit adultery", compared to 62 percent in Europe overall.
The French were consistently lower than any other European country
on all Ten Commandments with, for example, only 48 per cent of French
believing "Thou shalt not commit adultery". The lowest rated Commandment
was "Thou shalt keep the Sabbath Holy",, with which only 28 per cent of
Australians agreed. Generally, the first three Commandments were rated
much lower than the remaining seven, suggesting that people were much more
concerned with the social rather than the divine aspects.
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In Australia, like Britain, many people maintained a conventional Judeo‐
Christian belief, with a vast majority, (79%) believing in God, 62 per cent in
sin,and 57 per cent in Heaven. However, only 42 per cent believe "There is a
personal God", and 37 per cent that "There is some sort of spirit or life
force".
Australians were less willing to believe in the more negative elements. Only 36
per cent believed there was a Devil, and 34 per cent in Hell. The study revealed
a significant number of people (25 per cent) believing in re‐incarnation.
International data tapes are expected to be available to the Australian Values
Study Survey early in 1984. For this working report, data from ten European
countries and Japan were drawn from the Reference Material for the 1983
International Conference on Human Values. Yoka Kaihatsu Centre (The Leisure
Development Centre). All results relating to America, South Africa, Sweden and
Finland are from a paper entitled, "A Comparison between American, European and
Japanese Values", presented by Gordon I. Heald at the Annual Meeting of the
World Association for Public Opinion Research, at Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA,
May 21, 1982.
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FAMILY AND HOME LIFE
Australians are happiest at home:
A larger proportion of Australians than people in any other country, say
they often feel "relaxed", "happy" and "secure, safe and sound" at home.
Few Australians (7%) say they often feel "anxious" or "aggressive" at home.
Table 1 presents the percentage of people in each country who reported they
often felt "relaxed", "happy", "secure, safe and sound", "anxious" and
"aggressive", respectively.
(A key to abbreviated country names appears on Page 5.)
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Australians support marriage:
Only 13 per cent of Australians agree that "marriage is an out‐dated
institution". Great Britain, Ireland and West Germany are similar to
Australia in this attitude. France is clearly the most strongly in
agreement with the statement. The relatively high percentage of
Italians and Spaniards who agree with the proposal is significant.
Table 2 shows for each country the proportion of people who tended to
agree with the statement, "Marriage is an out‐dated institution", and
the proportion of people who tended to disagree with the statement.
.
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Faithfulness in marriage is still important:
The high expectations and clear priorities of Australians with respect to
marriage are exemplified by their views on requirements for successful marriages.
People were given a list and asked which were important for a successful
marriage. "Faithfulness", together with "mutual respect and appreciation",
topped the list, each being considered very important by 91 per cent of
Australians. This was a higher percentage of the population than in any other
country.
"Understanding and tolerance" was the next priority, being considered very
important by 84 per cent of Australians.
Similarities of the partners was of somewhat less concern for Australians than
for people in other countries. For instance "agreement on politics" was
considered very important for only 8 per cent of Australians,compared with 10%
over all other countries. "Being of the same social background" and "shared
religious beliefs" were very important for 20 and 22 per cent of Australians
respectively, compared with 22 and 23 per cent of people overall. Table 3
presents, for each country, the percentage of people who said each item on the
list was very important for a successful marriage.
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SUFFICIENT REASONS FOR DIVORCE
More Australians appeared ready to accept that there are certain conditions which
provide sufficient reasons for divorce.
People were given a list and asked which they would consider sufficient reasons for
a divorce. A consistent pattern of values, whereby priority is given to
faithfulness and a close personal relationship, emerges with respect to the issue
of divorce. As with important things for a successful marriage, faithfulness again appears to
be of great importance. Ninety per cent of Australians believe that a sufficient
reason for a divorce is "when one partner is consistently unfaithful". "When either
partner is violent" is also considered sufficient reason for divorce by 88 per cent
of Australians.
"When one partner has ceased to love the other" is considered a sufficient reason
for divorce by 71%. Illness, financial poverty, inlaws and inability to have
children are not considered sufficient reasons for divorce by most people (95% to
97%). Table 4 presents, for each country, the percentage of people who said each
item on the list was a sufficient reason for divorce.
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RELIGION Religious Persons and Church Attendance:
Compared with European countries and America, fewer Australians are
religious; only 56 per cent claim to be "a religious person".
People were asked the following question "Independently of whether you go
to church or not, would you say you are a religious person, not a religious
person or a convinced atheist?" Table 5 presents the percentages of people
in each country who considered themselves to be "a religious person", "not a
religious person" and "a convinced atheist", respectively.
More Italians claim they are "a religious person" (83%) than any other
nationality, closely followed by Americans (81%) and South Africans (80%).
Compare these results with Europe,where only 63 per cent claim they are
religious, and Japan where the figure is a low 25%. Except for the
Italians,there was little variation in the results across the European
countries. Contrast this with weekly church‐going, which varied from 82% in
the Republic of Ireland to 22% in Australia and 3% in Denmark. (See Table 6.)
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Religious beliefs:
The Americans and Irish believe in God (95%) more than any of the other
countries. Seventy‐nine per cent of Australians believe in God. Belief in God was
75% overall in Europe, dropping to 62% in France and 58% in Denmark. Seventy‐one
percent of Americans believe in life after death, compared to 49% in Australia,
43% in Europe and 31% in Japan. In contrast, only 67% of Americans believe in
Hell, but this was much more than the 34% in Australia, 23% in Europe, or the 15%
in Japan. Table 7 presents the percentage of people in each country who believe
in God, life after death, Heaven and Hell respectively.
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A further question asked about beliefs adds texture to the above results.
People were shown a list of statements, and asked which came closest to their
beliefs. Table 8 lists the statements, and shows what proportion of people
in each country chose each statement.
Australians were reasonably evenly divided between belief in "a personal God"
(42%) and belief in "some sort of spirit or life force" (37%).
The difference between the beliefs of Italians and the Irish is very
interesting. In both countries the vast majority believe in God. However,
in Ireland most people believe in "a personal God" (73%) rather than "...a
spirit or life force" (16%), whereas in Italy many more people believe in
"...a spirit or life force" (50%) than "a personal God".
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Importance of God in life.
respondents were asked to rate, on a scale of 1 to 10, how important God was
in their lives. The advantage of this scale, compared to a frequency of
church‐attendance scale, is that it overcomes the problem of measuring
religious commitment among the unchurched. It also facilitates comparison
between Catholic and Protestants,where church attendance practices are
different.
Twenty‐six per cent of Australians say God is very important (10) in
their life. The average score for Australians was 6.2.
American Blacks, more than all others, say God is extremely important in their
lives with an average score as high as 9.0. They are followed by USA
Hispanics (8.9), South African Whites (8.6) and South African Blacks
(8.5). The average rating for America overall on this question was 8.2,
exceeded only by South Africa. The country in Europe closest to America in
terms of religious attitudes was the Republic of Ireland (8.0). Other
European countries with comparatively high scores were Northern Ireland (7.5),
Italy (7.0) and Spain (6.4). The lowest were France (4.7), Denmark
(4.5).' and Sweden (4.0), Japan was also very low (4.5). Table 9 presents
the average importance score for each country. It must be remembered that
these average importance scores are based on a sample of people from each
country and should be seen only as indications of national attitudes.
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Ten Commandments
Respondents were asked for each of the Ten Commandments whether they
still applied fully to them today. The Australian responses were closest
to the British. America and Ireland were similar to each other, both
countries showing greater adherence to all commandments than Australia
and Britain. In Japan there was a large percentage of respondents
replying "don't know", mainly because the Ten Commandments are a
Judeo‐Christian concept, with which the Japanese are less familiar.
Table 10 presents the percentage of people in each country who believe
each Commandment still applied fully to them today.
The Ten Commandments are ranked in descending order for the European
average.
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WORK AND IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF WORKLIFE
Pride in work:
In reporting a comparison between American, European and Japanese values, Gordon Heald,
Research Co‐ordinator for the European Values project, claims: "One of the most
surprising results was that the Americans were the most likely to claim a great deal of
pride in their work (84%), followed by the British (79%) and the Irish (71%). In
contrast, the European average was (36%), with a surprising 15% in West Germany and
13% in France. Japan was no different from Europe, with 37%. It could almost be
claimed that there appears to be an inverse relationship between these results and
national growth rates!"
Australians, like Americans, take great pride in their work. Eighty‐three per cent
claim to take a great deal of pride in the work they do. Table 11 presents, for each
country, the percentages of people giving each response.
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Important job characteristics:
In Australia, the most important aspects of a job are, in rank order, "a
job that is interesting" (76%), "a job where you feel you can achieve
something" (73%), "pleasant people to work with" (72%). Very low on most
Australians' list of priorities came "generous holidays" (22%), "not too
much pressure" (29%).
People were shown a list of job characteristics and asked "Say which ones
you personally think are important in a job?" Table 12 presents the list
of characteristics and their order of ranking for each country studied.
* US figures not yet available.
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Surprisingly, Australians along with Danes rank good pay lower in their
priorities than other countries' studied.
By contrast, Europeans emphasized pay more than Australians. European
rankings were as follows: (1) good pay, (2) pleasant people to work
with, (3) good job security, (4) a job that is interesting, and (5) a
job that meets one's abilities.
In general, the Japanese specified fewer job characteristics as being
important to them personally. The priorities in Japan were a total
contrast to Australia, America and Europe, with the following results:
(1) a job that meets one's abilities, (2) pleasant people to work with,
(3) good pay, (4) good job security, and (5) good hours. Generous
holidays and a not too much pressure in a job were higher priorities in
Japan than in any other country. A job in which they feel they can
achieve something, and interesting work, are very low priorities to the
Japanese, ranking tenth and twelth, respectively.
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The Australian survey also asked people about some other aspects of work life,
relating to some recent issues in work satisfaction. "A job that doesn't
disrupt family life" was considered important by 66% of people, "a job that
ensures workers good health" by 59 per cent and having "friends at work" by 53
per cent.
Men placed somewhat more emphasis than women on pay, job security
and their own opportunity for development and responsibility in
their job.
Women were slightly more concerned with relationships at work,
e.g. "pleasant people to work with", "meeting people", and work in
relation to homelife. "A job that doesn't disrupt family life", "a
job that doesn't interfere with spouse's career" and "good hours" were considered important by more women than men.
Women were also more likely than men to mention stress and pressure as being
of concern; "a job that is n't too stressful", or "not too much pressure".
The aspects of worklife which are important are different for people of
different ages.
There are some clear trends: younger persons are more concerned than older
people with good pay, overtime for cash, job security, good hours and
generous holidays, an interesting job with opportunities for further
training, and friends and pleasant people at work.
Older people place more importance than younger people on a job which the
family considers worthwhile.
The age group 25 through 34, demonstrate priorities which are different from
both the older and the younger groups. For instance, they place higher
importance than the others on jobs which are useful for society and respected
by people in general.
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LIFE SATISFACTION AND HAPPINESS Satisfaction With Life:
Asked to rate their satisfaction with life overall, on a scale of 1‐10, the
Danes (8.2) and Swedes (8.0), followed by Australians (7.9) the Irish (7.8)
and Americans (7.7) were the most satisfied. France(6.7), Italy (6.6),
Spain (6.6) and Japan (6.6) were the least satisfied, except for the South
African Blacks (5.3) who were significantly less satisfied than all other
people studied. (See Table 15)
Table 15: Satisfaction with Life (Scale 1‐10 average) (Section 1‐Q25)
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Happiness
Australians generally consider themselves happy, with 34% describing
themselves as "very happy" and another 61% claiming to be "quite happy". The
Irish (39%) and the British (38%) exceeded the Australians in professing to be
"very happy", but in Europe overall only 21% claimed to be "very happy". The
Japanese were very low on happiness (15% "very happy") as were the West
Germans (10% "very happy"). (See Table 16)
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NATIONAL PRIDE AND WILLINGNESS TO FIGHT FOR ONE’S COUNTRY
Pride in Nationality:
Sixty‐four per cent of Australians said they were very proud to be
Australian, whereas only 38% of Europeans expressed such pride in their
nationality. Americans showed ever greater national pride than Australians
with eighty per cent saying they were very proud to be American.
In Europe, national pride was greatest among the Irish (66%), followed
by the British (55%). Only 21% of Germans were very proud of their
nationality, 19% of the Dutch, 33% of the French, and 30% of the Japanese.
In many European countries pride in nationality is regarded as a rather
out‐dated concept although other questions revealed that respondents
in these countries were not particularly "international" in their outlook.
(See Table 13.)
Willingness to Fight:
Sixty‐eight per cent of Australians expressed willingness to fight for their
country. This is second only to America, where 71 per cent expressed
willingness to fight, and is high, compared to only 43% in Europe and
22% in Japan. Of all the European nationalities, the British were
significantly more willing to fight than the others. (See Table 14)
It is interesting that the Irish, although very proud to be Irish indicate
relatively low willingness to fight for their country.
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Alcoholism:
Alcoholism is considered a very serious problem by 54 per cent of
Australians. In France, Italy and the Republic of Ireland this proportion is
significantly higher. Seventy‐four per cent of the French and Italians and
71 per cent of the Irish believe the problem of alcoholism to be very serious
in their countries.
The problem of alcoholism is not considered as serious in Japan as elsewhere.
Only 17 per cent of the Japanese believed alcoholism to be a very serious
problem. The large proportion of people in Japan (11%) who said they "don't
know" how serious the problem is, may mean that this issue receives less
public attention in Japan than elsewhere, whether or not it is as serious a
problem. (See Table 16)
Illegal drug taking:
The vast majority of Australians believe that illegal drug‐taking is a
serious problem in Australia. When asked "How serious a problem do you
think illegal drug taking is?" 62 per cent said "very serious" and a
further 32 per cent said "quite serious". The highest concern about illegal
drug taking was reported in Italy, where 90 per cent of people believe it to
be a very serious problem (See Table 17.)
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