**4. Overview and contributions of the findings**

The present study provides an initial exploration of the conceptualization and determinants of happiness among Fijians from the college-educated, professional population. Respondent descriptions suggest a conceptualization of happiness which reflects and begins to extend global models of happiness and well-being, and how these are distinct across different collectivist contexts. The Fijian respondents described a psychological state of contentment and peace as well as the need for harmony and balance as central to the idea of happiness. In addition, there was a clear emphasis on activities which promoted contextual or social domains of community, such as extended family engagements, active involvement in church activities, and the description of happiness stemming from 'simply being with family'. These broadly align to findings from similar qualitative studies in Germany and South Africa [40], Taiwan and the USA [3], the USA, Canada and El Salvador [61], and the USA and China [17] in that more collectivist populations tend to define happiness in interpersonal and social harmony terms. Similarly, the large scale quantitative cross-cultural comparisons of Fave et al. [2, 42] on lay definitions of happiness determined that the concept descriptions fell into two domains: contextual or social, encompassing family, friends and relationships, and psychological, including inner harmony and peace, with the latter being prominent in non-Western, collectivist cultures.

However, there were also elements of the responses specific to Fijian history and traditions which are clearly shaping happiness and the experience of well-being. Despite being a middle-income country in terms of economics, Fijian community structures seem to provide a natural protective factor that enables a maintenance of well-being and satisfaction with life despite the challenging environment. For example, among the indigenous Fijians, the concepts of *Vanua*, describing one's native land community, and *Matagali*, a structured community group with shared land ownership, are important components of well-being. Although the present paper does not review these concepts in detail, for the purposes of the present discussion, it is clear that the connection to a *Matagali* creates a vertical collectivism and conformity that would promote the ideals of low-intensity emotions, maintaining harmony above all else, and working to support the needs of the community. In addition, the concept of *Vanua*, as a physical, relational, and spiritual home allows for happiness to come from simple entities including land, relationships, and contentment. Similar values were also reflected by the Indo-Fijian respondents, whose history in the Pacific is tied to labor migration, both indentured and free, and who do not have overt *Matagali* traditions. This may be due to a need to find community identity and political strength, with similar social systems developed to emphasize extended family and to thrive in rural village life. This also indicates the fundamental role of the practical environment of remote island nations in driving social structures and lifestyles which, in turn, become components of identity and well-being. Finally, the role of religion, both Hinduism and Christianity, is clear from almost all respondents. It is of interest that particularly among native Pacific Fijians, the strong involvement in Christian denominations is not indigenous but a product of the political history of colonialism. This again indicates that the unique political history of a collectivist country may also have influenced current lifestyle and cultural beliefs, and subsequently, components of happiness and well-being.

*Understanding Happiness in the Pacific Islands: A Qualitative Study with University Staff in Fiji DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106771*

### **4.1 Limitations and conclusions**

The aim of this study was to investigate potentially unique components of happiness in Fiji which has been indicated in the findings and therefore provides a valuable starting point for further systematic investigations. However, these findings should be considered in light of some limitations. The respondents were university staff currently living in the capital city which may impact the generalizability of their responses. Although they represent a range of childhood settings including remote and rural communities, it is likely that their views are now representative of the 'westernized' urban-based Fijians than those residing in village settings. Furthermore, the themes identified and discussed here were broadly seen across all respondents and the study did not aim to specifically explore gender or ethnic group differences. Indeed, the impact of traditional gender roles, which are prominent in traditional Fijian society, may have been minimized in this sample due to the professional working status of the female participants. Therefore, future research will need to consider how different socio-environmental factors moderate the happiness themes identified (as seen in [62]).

In summary, the concepts of happiness and well-being described by the Fijian respondents both support and extend the developing understanding of happiness and pathways to well-being as it manifests differently across the world, and in particular, among non-Western populations. The mix of indigenous, colonial, and environmental influences has uniquely impacted the Fijian understanding of happiness which supports the call for a more socioecological as opposed to a simply cross-cultural approach to psychological understanding [20]. The study also supports the importance of research on understudied populations and, in particular, the need to differentiate non-Western cultures beyond simple individualist or collectivist categories [19]. It also supports the call for a more 'contextualised analysis of well-being' [41] through qualitative, in-depth studies of different cultures.
