Yufi Adriani, Associate Professor, Faculty of Psychology, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta - Indonesia,

Researcher at Centre of Society and Islamic Studies – UIN Jakarta,

Vice Dean at State Islamic University Jakarta – Indonesia,

Practiced Psychologist at Centre of Psychological Services- UIN Jakarta.

1.    Describe your background, experience, and research as it relates to Quality-of-life studies.

I’ve been involved in researching the topic of happiness for the past 10 years, ever since I became a faculty member. I managed to focus myself toward the subject for an adequate period of time, including the pursuit of my PhD in positive psychology. In order to reach the utmost, maximum standard of wellbeing, happiness has played an important role according to the ‘quality-of-life’ studies.

The significance of some of my studies lies in the fact that it applies an established methodology to the Indonesian context; to elucidate the relationship between quality of life, happiness and religious expression in various forms. This is an area that had not previously been studied a staggering amount- especially in Indonesia. Hopefully in the future, parts of my research could introduce a whole new approach to the study of quality of life in Indonesia; in this, it would provide insight into Indonesian society that had not been available prior to its completion that has great value both within Indonesia as well as to the broader discipline of quality of life.

I have conducted a few happiness and well being-related research, the latest one being the collection of data from 1000 Indonesian students regarding their scale of happiness; then converting said data into a cohesive and ordered reference standard.

Further to this, I also linked happiness with tolerance and radicalism. My very first research on happiness dates back to the year of 2010, in which I queried a number of campus staff on their usual rate of happiness. Luckily, it resulted in most of them stating that they were moderately happy. Moving forward, my curiosity about happiness increased, therefore I tried to conduct happiness research with various subject.

As a psychologist, I also conduct online classes on staying happy during quarantine and how to be positive with your teens during the ‘stay at home’ period. In the future, me and my fellow psychologists will arrange another session with varied topics to help people improve their quality of life.

2.  What initially attracted you to the field of quality-of-life studies?

Exploring and understood happiness and the sources of this feelings are become the most attractive field in the quality of life studies. People defined happiness in a number of ways based on their individual perceptions, even though there were certain common elements. For some people, happiness simply reflected an absence of negative emotion. For others, however, there were specific conditions they saw as contributing to happiness. It was also notable individuals largely associated happiness with the presence or absence of circumstances external to the individual, and did not reflect on the internal dimension of the emotion. Its really important that we as a researcher and also government know how to make society happy which in turn could reduce depression, suicidal thoughts, intolerance and increase well being.

3. What are some areas of quality-of-life studies you feel are lacking attention? Any advice for future QoL researchers?

The specific conceptualisation of happiness based on my research experience is an important area for future study. Some studies indicate that Western literatures’ rendition regarding happiness and its sources may not fit with certain cultures, and specifically in Indonesian culture. Therefore, research on happiness should be conducted in a culture-free basis with advanced methodological research so it could be implemented in any country. Further to this, people may understand the nature and role of happiness in human experience in ways that are significantly different from people in the West. A greater understanding of this might help address some of the mental health issues that are increasingly prevalent in my country (Indonesia) among people of all ages, but would also help explain the very high self-reported levels of happiness among the population.

4. How long have you been a member of ISQOLS? Why did you choose to be a member of ISQOLS? How has your involvement in ISQOLS impacted your career/research/advancement in your knowledge of QoL studies?

I’ve been a member of ISQOLS since 2019. I have had such great experiences ever since. I could participate and send my thoughts through research papers to the conference committee, and then get feedback on whether my research is significantly relevant with quality of life issues or not. Being part of this community, I also feel motivated to conduct more research in this area, especially in exploring happiness as a psychological term in Indonesian individuals. Currently, (collaborating with my students) I am conducting a research in quality of life and happiness within various subjects such as disabled people, the elderly, and even branching off to the anime community.

5. Feel free to include any other important comments or things you'd like to share with the ISQOLS community.

As a part of this organisation, I would like to see more opportunities to share thoughts, ideas, culture background and religion- making those clauses an important part in quality of life research which in turn could be used to improve society’s well being.  Therefore, I’m looking forward to collaborate with as many members possible within this community.

Yufi Adriani, PhD