Relationships between overall and life facet satisfaction: A multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) study

We extended research on the construct validity of overall and life facet satisfaction measures by (a) estimating relations among satisfaction constructs disattenuated for measurement error, and (b) controlling for spurious effects of common method variance, using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) data. Results indicated strong support for convergent and discriminant validity, as well as for significant method effects. Results also indicated that corrected correlations among latent satisfaction variables were similar to their observed counterparts, suggesting that the attenuating effects of measurement error tend to balance spuriousness interjected by common method variance. Suggestions for future research include determining boundary variables which influence the direction of the relationship between overall and life facet satisfaction, and for identifying subgroups of individuals within which these relationships are homogeneous.     

Job satisfaction and life satisfaction: A profile analysis

The form of the relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction was examined through a profile analysis of subgroups of respondents. Survey respondents were classified as high on job satisfaction and life satisfaction, low on job satisfaction and life satisfaction or in two intermediate categories (low on one, high on the other). Results of discriminant analysis indicated that the four subgroups could be systematically characterized by different profiles. Prediction of the subgroup in which an individual would be classified, based on the profile, was not highly reliable, however.     

The extended satisfaction with life scale: Development and psychometric properties

The development and psychometric properties of the Extended Satisfaction With Life Scale (ESWLS) are described in detail. The ESWLS is a 50-item self-report scale that measures satisfaction with life in nine domains. It can be completed by most people in under 20 minutes and can be used by researchers and clinicians. The readability of the ESWLS was estimated to be between the seventh and tenth grade levels. Internal consistency, estimated by coefficient α, ranged from 0.81 to 0.96 for the individual subscales. Two-week test-retest reliability coefficients ranged from 0.74 to 0.87. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses strongly supported the factor structure of the ESWLS. Preliminary evidence of convergent and discriminant validity is provided as well as preliminary norms.     

Relating social welfare to life satisfaction in the postmodern era of Hong Kong

Social welfare is supposedly beneficial not only to the needy receiving it but to citizens in general who expect social welfare to help the needy. Whereas direct benefits to the needy represent the gratification of material needs, the fulfillment of citizens–expectation registers an idealistic path to life satisfaction. These materialistic and idealistic paths may also be useful for explaining citizens–perception about the adequacy of social welfare. The reciprocal relationships between adequacy perception and life satisfaction are subject to an empirical study based on panel survey data obtained from Hong Kong, China. Results lend more support to the idealistic explanation than to the materialistic explanation in that the citizen’s postmodern orientation appeared to moderate the reciprocal relationships in some ways, whereas most of the citizen’s material conditions did not manifest moderating effects. Accordingly, the needy did not benefit from the perceived adequacy of social welfare and their life satisfaction did not have pervasive effects on the perceived adequacy in return. Results support the view that postmodernization would erode citizens–support for social welfare.     

Relationships between job satisfaction and life satisfaction: Test of a causal model

Review of theory and research on the relationship between job satisfaction and life satisfaction suggests the prediction that causal effects flow in only one direction: that is, that job satisfaction causes life satisfaction but that life satisfaction does not cause job satisfaction. Cross-lag correlation analysis and path analysis of longitudinal survey data so not support this prediction. Indeed, job satisfaction does not predict life satisfaction when the effects of other variables are controlled, not does life satisfaction predict job satisfaction. In light of this finding, various models of work and non-work are discussed.     

The relevance of social interactions on housing satisfaction

For most individuals, housing is the largest consumption and investment item of their lifetime and, as a result, housing satisfaction is an important component of their quality of life. The purpose of this paper then is to investigate the determinants of individual housing satisfaction as a particular domain of satisfaction with life as a whole, examining the effects of individual and household attributes (predictive), housing characteristics (hedonic), and more importantly, of social interactions originated in one's residential neighbourhood. To do so, we model housing as a composite commodity that satisfies dwelling needs, as well as other intangibles such as familiar relationships and socio-status aspects. We use the Survey of Living Conditions and Poverty (Spain). Specifically, using a self-reported measure of housing satisfaction, we estimate ordered probit models searching for the empirical specification that provides the best fit accounting for divergences driven by aspirations defined in the own household (internal norm), and by social comparisons (peer-effect or external norm).

The domains of life satisfaction: An attempt to order chaos

While life satisfaction is commonly measured as an aggregate of individual life domains, the characterisation of such domains is uncertain. This study attempts to group 173 different domains names derived from the literature under seven headings as used by the Comprehensive Quality of Life Scale (ComQol). It was found that 68% could be classified in this way. Moreover, due to the repeated use of some domain names, the ComQol classification included 83% of the total reported data. The ComQol domain data did not differ from single-item global measures of life satisfaction and the within-study variance was lower using the ComQol rather than the original domains. A hierarchy of domain satisfaction was found which was dominated by the domain of intimacy. The other ComQol domains were quite tightly clustered within a range of 1.08 standard deviations. No difference was found between normative data and data gathered from people with a chronic medical condition, but people selected on psychiatric criteria had a lower life quality, most particularly in the domain of intimacy. It is concluded that life satisfaction, and therefore subjective well-being, can be economically and validly measured through the seven ComQol domains.     

Behaviour and the life cycle: a consideration of the role of longitudinal time use studies

This paper discusses the application of time use data for the study of behavioural change over the life cycle. The longitudinal design reduces the need for complex statistical controls and sample matching procedures and simplifies the problem of distinguishing period effects from cohort and development effects.The data are based upon 24 hour time diaries of a panel of 453 persons in Halifax, Canada who were interviewed on the same day of the week in the Fall of both 1971 and 1981. Data for each gender are presented illustrative of the kinds of changes in time use which might be associated with aging or with changes in occupational, financial, educational, or familial status. Cross-sectional time use data from different periods can be used in conjunction with the longitudinal time use data to differentiate between behavioural change based upon maturation or other individual changes and that deriving from a broader base of cultural change.     

Convergent and discriminant validation of a children's life satisfaction scale: Its relationship to self- and teacher-reported psychological problems and school functioning

Two studies are reported that provide additional validity evidence for the Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS: Huebner, 1991a). In the first study, evidence for the convergent validity of the SLSS is provided by significant negative correlations with measures of depression and loneliness and a significant positive correlation with a measure of self-esteem. Additionally, as evidence of discriminant validity, the SLSS failed to differentiate a normally achieving group of students from a group of at risk students. In the second study, the pattern of correlations between the SLSS, selected demographic variables, IQ scores, and a measure of teacher-reported school behavior problems provided evidence of cross-method convergent and discriminant validity. The SLSS was also able to differentiate a group of emotionally handicapped students from non-emotionally handicapped students. The implications of the findings for further study of the subjective well-being of children are discussed briefly.     

The relationship between leisure and life satisfaction: application of activity and need theory

The purpose of this study was to better understand the complex relationship between leisure and life satisfaction. Components of two distinct, but potentially integrative, theoretical frameworks (i.e., activity theory and need theory) predicting the relationship between leisure and life satisfaction were tested with a sample of residents from a Midwestern community (n = 633). Findings provided support for both theoretical perspectives, but stronger relationships were found between satisfied needs than with participated activities. In spite of these findings, the various inconsistencies within the two theoretical frameworks suggest that future research is needed.     

Aspirations,achievements and life satisfaction

A statistical model is formulated and tested empirically in an effort to evaluate observed differences in satisfaction levels as a function of relative differences in perceived aspirations and achievements of the individual. Data for testing the model were developed from personal interviews with a random sample of 1946 Oregon adults. Scores for two domains, public safety and income security satisfactions, were employed in this paper. Effects of three independent variables — an individual's sex, income level and age — also were tested. The results show that differences in domain satisfaction seem to occur through different processes, depending on the domain and the independent variable employed. The statistical tests reported provide some information on the theoretical formulation but additional measures are required to provide a more rigorous test of the model.     

Sadomasochism and the social sciences: a review of the sociological and social psychological literature

Recent literature about sadomasochism in Sociology and Social Psychology is reviewed. Studies include survey research and questionnaire studies, content analyses, ethnographic research, and critical essays. The current state of our knowledge of sadomasochism, including its defining characteristics, sadomasochistic identities, and sadomasochistic subcultures is briefly summarized.     

Socio-economic status and life satisfaction in Turkey

The relationship between one's objective living conditions and his/her subjective well-being is a problematic one. This paper discusses the results of a survey conducted in Turkey to explore the impacts of socio-economic status on satisfaction with various domains of life, and satisfaction of basic, and social and psychological needs. The results from the univariate, bivariate analyses and the multiple discriminant analysis indicate that socio-economic status is a strong determining factor in satisfaction with life domains and satisfaction of needs.     

Measures of the perceived overall quality of life

Respondents participating in a national quality of life study were asked to assess their levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with each of a set of fifteen domains of their lives. They were also asked to describe their lives as a whole, using both satis-faction and semantic-differential types of scales. Canonical correlation analysis was used to find the combinations of domain-specific and global items with the highest correlation. The two indices derived from this analysis, the Index of Well-being and the Index of Domain Satisfactions, have been examined in relation to a variety of demographic and situational variables, including age, indicators of socioeconomic status, employment status, and size of community. The relationships discovered provide some preliminary evidence for the validity of these indices. The reliability of the measures (as measured cross-sectionally) and their stability over a period of some eight months are both acceptably high. We conclude that both of these measures form acceptable indicators of the perceived overall quality of life.     

Causal direction in a model of life satisfaction: The top-down/bottom-up controversy

In social indicator studies, there is some controversy about the causal direction between subjective well-being and domain-specific satisfaction variables; a “top-down” approach is distinguished from a “bottom-up” approach. In this paper, the effects in both directions are estimated in a model with reciprocal relationships as a starting model. It can then be determined which of the two effects for each pair of variables is strongest and which effect can be ignored in the model. This procedure is applied to four different datasets collected in the Netherlands, and to models with different exogenous variables. Comparing the best solutions obtained for all different models and datasets, it is shown that the direction of the effects is not consistent across models and datasets. We have to conclude that it is impossible to obtain a stable solution for the model of subjective well-being in this study. As a consequence, we also have to conclude that the results from other studies cannot be trusted in which the causal order in a model of subjective well-being is tested.     

African urban life: Components of satisfaction in Sierra Leone

This comparative study finds relatively high satisfaction with the quality of life in three Sierra Leonean towns, but there are notable differences between men and women and between the towns in which domains support this satisfaction. The standard of living achieved, and the job and income which make it possible, are the most important factors in satisfaction with the quality of urban life, but the limits on women's mobility are indicated by the greater emphasis they place on housing and neighborhood. Dissatisfaction among the relatively advantaged, with their own position and with the country's progress in development, reflects the political disaffection of some members of this group.     

Effect of family structure on life satisfaction: australian evidence

How do family arrangements affect subjective well-being? We investigate this issue using data pooled from the IsssA and HILDA, both large, representative national samples of Australia (pooled n=38 447). Our regression analysis of cross-sectional and panel data examines how large are the differences in life satisfaction according to marital status and cohabitation. We find that women and men in formal marriages experience higher levels of life satisfaction than do people in other family arrangements. Moreover, both multiple tests in the cross-section, and tests controlling for prior happiness in the panel analysis, suggest that this is a causal relationship. Aggregating up the levels of life satisfaction generated by different marriage and cohabitation arrangements across a lifetime, suggests that a life-long marriage is the most satisfying. Early divorce followed by an enduring second marriage is little worse (because little time is spent outside the married state). But divorce without remarriage, or long lasting cohabitation without formal marriage, reduce the lifetime sum of subjective well-being by 4–12% for both women and men.     

Education and income inequality: The role of a social protection system

In this paper we aim to understand the role a welfare state can play in stimulating risky but profitable activities like investment in education, and in reducing income inequality. We analyze how unemployment benefits may affect investment in education when the latter is characterized by uncertain returns. This is done in an overlapping generations model in which endogenous growth is introduced through human capital accumulation. We develop a numerical example of the model in order to reproduce some key differences between the European versus the North American economy; differences that, according to this model, result from the different degree of social protection characterizing both economies. Received: 02 June 1999/Accepted: 22 February 2000