I'm married with family. It is something else: You need to turn yourself into a corporate-or-other slave to pay off the mortgage, cars, save for kids' schools, etc.

Absolutely no wonder that in "poor" countries they are happier. Living in constant stress about the job, with huge financial obligation, not even seeing your kids and spouse except for weekends and a week vacation a year -- compare this to my parents generation in communistic (then) Poland -- no debt, guaranteed jobs, free housing. Economically speaking yes this doesn't make sense. Psychologically - why they are looking (in the article above) in all the wrong places for explanations when it is so obvious.