居住地是否影響以及如何影響原住民的幸福感？過去國外關於少數族群和主流族群間的幸福感研究，對於誰有較佳的生活福祉尚無定論，不過，礙於這類研究少數群體的樣本少，未能進一步分析影響其幸福感的機制。國內針對原住民幸福感的研究，一來鮮少探討居住地之於幸福感所扮演的角色，二來多數研究沿用既有模型，著重在物質層面，未能考量到原住民的生活樣態與文化慣習。有鑑於此，本研究利用「臺灣原住民社會變遷與政策評估調查」進行次級資料分析，將自變項區分出「資源與機會」和「支持與文化」兩部分，並以居住地作為調節變項。本研究結論分為三點：第一，經由迴歸模型分析顯示，充裕的「資源與機會」有利於原住民幸福感，與過去的研究結果一致，尤其是「族群平等感受」對於都會區族人有特別明顯的效果。第二，原鄉族人豐厚的「支持與文化」，使其在資源與機會相對稀薄的環境中仍能維持幸福感，特別是原鄉族人在社區參與、族語能力有較好的表現會越快樂，可以由部落強調集體性的文化特質與社會連帶觀點來解釋。第三，本研究最重要的發現，是確認「資源與機會」和「支持與文化」兩條影響原住民幸福感的路徑。本文強調納入「支持與文化」的觀點，有別於過去幸福感的討論著重在物質層面，窄化我們對於原住民生活的理解，侷限在經濟或貧窮的觀點和思維之中。

This study aims to examine the influence of place of residence on happiness of indigenous people by using a nationally representative data of the Taiwan Indigenous People Survey (TIPS). Existing studies on happiness focus more on the monetary aspect, neglecting factors such as culture and lifestyles, which might be related to where they reside. This study examines the lifestyles of indigenous people by dividing independent variables into “resources and opportunities” variables and “support and culture” variables; also considers place of residence as the moderator variable. There are three main findings: (1) Overall, abundant “resources and opportunities” make indigenous people feel happy. In particular, the sense of fairness in the workplace has a significant effect for those who reside in urban areas. (2) People living in indigenous villages with abundant “support and culture” can help them feel happier, especially when they are highly involved in their communities and speak their native languages with little effort. We can explain these findings through indigenous people’s lifestyles and social solidarity. (3) Most importantly, this study confirms that both “resources and opportunities” and “support and culture” are two paths that affect happiness of indigenous people.