Culture as a Moderator of Overall Life Satisfaction – Life Facet Satisfaction Relationships

The purposes of this study were to (a) provide additional competitive tests between three models of relationships between overall and life facet satisfaction [Bottom-Up (BU), Top-Down (TD), and Bidirectional (BD) models], and (b) explore whether culture moderates these relationships. Models were tested using data collected as part of Michalos' (1991) global study of student well-being from samples of college students in 32 different countries. The BD model received strongest support in 29 of the 32 samples (countries); the TD model was most strongly supported in the remaining 3 samples. Cluster analyses of samples in which the BD model was supported indicated a 7-cluster solution of reasonably homogeneous sets of OLS-LFS relationships. However, clusters were not easily interpretable in terms of evident cultural commonalities. We conclude that (a) a BD model describes OLS-LFS relationships globally, (b) and although culture appears to moderate OLS-LFS relationships, (c) additional research is needed to explain why.     

Personality and Life Events as Predictors of Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction: Do Life Events Mediate the Link Between Personality and Life Satisfaction?

This study examined the association among personality traits, life events and life satisfaction, and the underlying pathways from personality traits to life satisfaction. A total of 1,961 adolescents were recruited from 21 secondary schools in Hong Kong. The adolescent version of the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI-A), the Chinese Adolescent Life Events Checklist (CALEC) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) were employed to assess their personality, life events and life satisfaction, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed there was an additional value of the indigenously derived scales of CPAI-A, including the Family Orientation, Harmony and Ren-Qing scales, in predicting life satisfaction beyond the universal personality traits. Results also indicated that there was a partial mediation effect of negative life events on personality traits in the prediction of life satisfaction.     

Labor Unions and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from New Data

While a growing literature demonstrates the impact of socio-political factors on citizens’ quality of life, scholars have paid comparatively little attention to the role political organizations such as labor unions play in this regard. We examine labor organization as a determinant of cross-national variation in life satisfaction across a sample of advanced industrial polities. Our findings strongly suggest that unions increase the life satisfaction of citizens, and that that this effect holds for non-union members as well. Moreover, we also find that labor organization has the strongest impact on the subjective well-being of citizens with lower incomes. We confirm these hypotheses using both individual and aggregate-level data from fourteen nations. We show these relationships to have an independent and separable impact from other economic, political, and cultural determinants. The implications for the study of life satisfaction and of labor unions as political actors in general are discussed.     

Fiscal Decentralization and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Urban China

The impact of government structure on citizen welfare remains an open question. This study uses a repeated cross-section data (China General Social Survey) of Chinese urban households to test the hypothesis that fiscal decentralization increases individual welfare. The data used were collected in 2003, 2005 and 2006 and covered most of the provinces in China. We construct two measures of fiscal decentralization: one is based on revenue and the other on expenditure. Then we apply ordered Probit regression to investigate the impact of decentralization on individual life satisfaction after controlling a rich set of individual characteristics and several important macroeconomic factors. We find that greater revenue decentralization increases life satisfaction, a finding that is quite robust across different specifications. We also find that revenue decentralization is more important to the underdeveloped western region, the private sector employees and homeowners. In terms of income distribution, both the rich and the poor gain from revenue decentralization.     

Job Satisfaction Among Immigrant Workers: A Review of Determinants

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have investigated the well-being of international immigrants in host countries. An important indicator of immigrants’ well-being is job satisfaction. Job satisfaction reflects a pleasant emotional state, in which individuals positively appraise their job or work experience. In this article, we discuss the determinants of immigrants’ job satisfaction, based on research conducted over the past three and a half decades. The determinants observed in the literature can be categorized into work- and non-work-related groups. Work-specific determinants include workplace environments, job characteristics, and work-specific personal factors (e.g., competency-related factors, psychological states, and work-specific demographics). Non-work-specific determinants include general demographics, culture-related factors (e.g., language, cultural traits, and acculturation), and community-related factors. This review demonstrates that past research has made important strides toward our understanding of the influential factors leading to immigrants’ job satisfaction. We call for future research to continue to explore these factors, as well as new factors, given the limited empirical evidence that exists for this population group.     

Valuation of Air Quality in Chile: The Life Satisfaction Approach

Social Indicators Research - Chile is one of the worst countries in Latin America in terms of urban air pollution. This situation negatively affects the health and well-being of Chileans. This...     

Victimization and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from a High Crime Country

This study quantifies the relationship between crime and life satisfaction for Jamaica, a country that records the highest rates for violent crimes relative to the rest of the world and has one of the highest regional crime expenditure. We utilize individual-level survey data from 2006–2014 that capture victimization and other characteristics related to life satisfaction. Controlling for potential confounders reveals that crime is significantly and negatively related to life satisfaction. More importantly, we find that for this high-crime country, the cost to life satisfaction of being a crime victim amounts to roughly 65% of annual household expenditure. We also find heterogeneous effects for reported assault and robbery even though only the monetary losses incurred from assault are economically significant.

     

Winding Road Toward the Chinese Dream: The U-shaped Relationship Between Income and Life Satisfaction Among Chinese Migrant Workers

This study examines the relationship between income and subjective well-being among rural-to-urban migrant workers in China. Our analysis of a recent survey uncovered a U-shaped relationship between income and overall life satisfaction for migrant workers in Shanghai. Furthermore, the positive correlation is curvilinear, showing that increasing income yields diminishing returns. Drawing upon ethnographic literature concerning migrant workers, we suggest several possible explanations. For the poorest migrant workers, small increases in income are correlated with longer working hours and increased social comparison with their urban neighbors. After migrant workers’ income reaches a certain level, however, they are able to save money, giving them hope for future social mobility. Furthermore, migrant workers with disposable income can purchase status symbols, helping them to partially overcome their stigmatized status. The positive effect of income on life satisfaction eventually reaches a plateau, however, as even the wealthiest migrant workers find that they cannot surpass the limitations presented by their outsider identity and lack of an urban residence permit. Other findings include a negative relationship between income and income satisfaction and a positive relationship between education and income satisfaction. We conclude that the unique context surrounding Chinese migrant workers alters the typical effects of certain factors upon well-being and satisfaction.     

Life Satisfaction in Australia: Evidence from Ten Years of the HILDA Survey

Employing data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, this paper examines the level, determinants and distribution of self-reported life satisfaction, as well as the prevalence and severity of dissatisfaction in Australia over the period 2001–2010. Against most objective measures Australia’s economic performance during this period was exemplary. Yet our results indicate a steady decline in life satisfaction from 2003 onwards, as well as a diminishing gap between the life satisfaction of males and females. Results also suggest that inequality in life satisfaction has generally declined. Geographic heterogeneity in the distribution of life satisfaction is apparent, and a number of socio-economic and demographic factors are found to serve an important role in determining an individual’s level of life satisfaction. Measures of the extent of dissatisfaction reveal an encouraging downward trend and provide policy makers with an alternative perspective from which to assess societal welfare.     

Healthy Days,Health Satisfaction and Satisfaction with the Overall Quality of Life

In this note we report results of 6 surveysusing the United States Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention indicators of healthstatus, taken from the Behavioral Risk FactorSurveillance System. Generally speaking, wefound that the CDC healthy days variables couldplay a useful role in survey research aimed atassessing the impact of measured health statuson people's satisfaction with their own healthand with the overall quality of their lives.More precisely, using stepwise regressions wefound: (1) The three healthy days variablesexplained from 16 to 27 percent of the variancein General Health scores. The limited activitydays variable remained as a significantpredictor in only one of the six regressionsand the not good physical health days variablewas most influential in every sample. (2) Thethree healthy days variables explained from 19to 32 percent of the variance in healthsatisfaction scores, and the not good physicalhealth days variable was again most influentialin every sample. (3) The three healthy daysvariables explained from 12 to 39 percent ofthe variance in quality-of-life satisfactionscores, with the not good mental healthvariable most influential in every sample. (4)The four CDC variables together explained from40 to 55 percent of the variance in healthsatisfaction scores, with the General Healthvariable always dominating the set ofpredictors by a fairly wide margin. (5) Thefour CDC variables together explained from 17to 28 percent of the variance inquality-of-life satisfaction scores, with theGeneral Health variable most influential inthree samples and the not good mental healthvariable most influential in the other three.(6) When the four CDC variables plus the healthsatisfaction variable were used as potentialpredictors, we were able to explain from 29 to40 percent of the variance in quality-of-lifesatisfaction scores. In every sample, theGeneral Health and limited activity daysvariables had no significant impact. (7) Usingstructural equation modeling, we found GeneralHealth does not have a direct effect onsatisfaction with the overall quality of lifebut rather only an indirect effect throughhealth satisfaction. The General Health, notgood physical health, and not good mentalhealth days variables account for 51% of thevariation in health satisfaction, and healthsatisfaction, not good physical health and notgood mental health days variables account for30% of the variation in satisfaction with theoverall quality of life.     

School Satisfaction Among Adolescents: Testing Different Indicators for its Measurement and its Relationship with Overall Life Satisfaction and Subjective Well-Being in Romania and Spain

This paper presents results from two samples of adolescents aged 13–16 from Romania and Spain (N = 930 + 1,945 = 2,875). The original 7-item version of the Personal Well-Being Index (PWI) was used, together with an item on overall life satisfaction (OLS) and a set of six items related to satisfaction with school. A confirmatory factor analysis of the six school satisfaction items shows good fit statistics when relating them to a latent variable. However, said latent variable does not show a good fit when related to the OLS or the PWI. Tests have led to the conclusion that the item that best summarises satisfaction with school is “satisfaction with my life as a student”. Adding this item to the PWI-7 has shown a good fit with Structural Equation Modeling and higher standardised loading on the OLS. The analysis developed here, while confirming that the inclusion of a domain on satisfaction with school life contributes to the PWI with unique variance (2.5 % in this research), also offers an explanation for the surprising results obtained for adolescents in other countries (e.g. in Australia, Tomyn and Cummins in Soc Indicat Res 101(3):405–418 2010) by showing that satisfaction with friends at school and satisfaction with classmates did not significantly contribute to satisfaction with school. Our results suggest that school satisfaction is highly related to satisfaction with teachers, but weakly related to overall life satisfaction, while satisfaction with school friends and satisfaction with classmates are highly related to overall life satisfaction, but weakly related to satisfaction with school. Satisfaction with life as a student seems to be the item that best reconciles this “paradox” (in adults’ eyes), at least with our samples of Romanian and Spanish adolescents.     

Predictors of Life Satisfaction among Urban Iranian Women: An Exploratory Analysis

This paper explores life satisfaction among married and unmarried Iranian women in urban areas. Data is analyzed from a sample of 335 women of which 61% are married and 39% are unmarried (i.e., single, divorced, or widows). Data is collected through the use of self-reported questionnaires administered during 1992 and 1994. A series of path analysis and cross tabulations suggest that for married women life satisfaction is directly linked to their satisfaction with marriage, employment, and their leisure experiences. There is an inverse relationship between satisfaction and the women's activity, however. For unmarried women, satisfaction is affected by their leisure experiences and educational level. The study suggests that any effort to reduce or increase the educational, employment, or leisure activities of women will directly affect women's general satisfaction and therefore affect Iranian society as a whole.     

Counting Importance: The Case of Life Satisfaction and Relative Domain Importance

The purpose of this study was to explore whether the use of relative domain importance as a weighting mechanism at the individual level improved the correlation between the global life satisfaction and domain satisfaction measures. Results from telephone interviews with adults 50 years old or above in Chicago suggest that compared to simple average of domain satisfactions, using discrete domain importance rating as a weighting factor did not improve the correlation between global life satisfaction measure and domain satisfactions. However, the correlation was improved by using domain ranking. The findings suggest that the weighted average of domain satisfactions using domain ranking is a better indicator of global life satisfaction than the simple sum or average of domain satisfactions.     

Quality of Life Satisfaction among Workers and Non-Workers in Uruguay

In this paper we use data from a population survey on quality of life dimensions conducted in Uruguay to analyze the self reported well-being among workers and non workers. Along with the literature, we find that the probability of being happy is greater for workers than non-workers. Specifically, we find evidence that workers tend to be more satisfied with their economic situation and heath, but less content with their leisure time. A number of personal and family characteristics were identified to play a role in explaining the differences in reported satisfaction between the two groups: age, gender, family size, having a life partner. Although, the self reported satisfaction with the family situation seems to be similar for workers and non-workers.     

Determinants of Life Satisfaction Among Immigrants from Western Countries and from the FSU in Israel

This study examines the integration of immigrants via their satisfaction with life in the new country. While most studies on immigrant integration have focused on objective integration parameters such as education, occupation and salary (e.g., Borjas in Friends or strangers: the impact of immigrants on the US economy. Basic Books, New York, 1990), subjective parameters have traditionally received less attention. However, in recent years it has become increasingly clear that subjective perceptions carry considerable weight in the social-integration process of immigrants (McMichael and Manderson in Human Organ 63(1):88–99, 2004; Massey and Redstone in Soc Sci Q 87(5):954–971, 2006). The study group consists of Jewish immigrants who arrived in Israel during the past two decades from two different regions of origin: Western countries, and the Former Soviet Union (FSU). All of these immigrants are generally highly educated and skilled, but they came to Israel from different societies and contrasting motives. The objective of this study is to learn about the integration of these immigrants via their satisfaction with life in Israel and to understand the factors that explain it, taking into account the differences between the immigrant groups. The findings, based on the 2007 Ruppin representative survey data (The data for this study was obtained with the support of the Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption.), point to significant differences between the two immigrant groups under discussion. Western immigrants are more satisfied with their lives in Israel than FSU immigrants and have higher scores in most of the independent variables tested. The multivariate analyses for predicting an immigrant’s life satisfaction reveal that those reporting the greatest satisfaction are women, religious, with a high standard of living, with no academic education, and stronger Israeli identity (personal and as perceived by others). In addition, different variables play a role in predicting the life satisfaction for each immigrant group. This knowledge may be of service to Israeli policymakers dealing with the immigration and integration of highly skilled immigrants in Israeli society.     

Very Happy Youths: Benefits of Very High Life Satisfaction Among Adolescents

This study investigated the characteristics of adolescents reporting very high levels of life satisfaction. Participants (N = 410) were divided into three life satisfaction groups: very high (top 10%), average (middle 25%), and very low (lowest 10%). Results revealed that very happy youths had significantly higher mean scores on all included school, interpersonal, and intrapersonal variables, and significantly lower mean scores on depression, negative affect, and social stress than youths with average and very low levels of life satisfaction. Life meaning, gratitude, self-esteem, and positive affect were found to have a significantly more positive influence on global life satisfaction for the very unhappy than the very happy. Findings suggest that very unhappy youths would benefit most from focused interventions aimed at boosting those variables having the most influence on their level of life satisfaction. Results are discussed in light of previous findings and suggestions for future directions are briefly discussed.     

Regional Heterogeneity of Life Satisfaction in Urban China: Evidence from Hierarchical Ordered Logit Analysis

Given sheer geographic size and unequal regional development, common wisdom may attribute the heterogeneity of individual subjective wellbeing largely to regional disparity in China. Using a hierarchical ordered logit model and the Subjective Survey for Chinese Livelihood Index in 2012, this study however finds that regional factors only account for 3.7 % of total variance of individual subjective wellbeing in urban China. It implies that regional differences are not important for explaining individual happiness though some regional variables are statistically significant. Correspondingly, the Chinese governments should make policies down to individual level to promote people's life satisfaction. Other findings on income and social demographical variables are consistent with the current studies.     

Personal Values as Mitigating Factors in the Link Between Income and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from the European Social Survey

Using data from the first two rounds of the European Social Survey, we examine the link between income, reference income and life satisfaction across Western Europe. We find that whilst there is a strong positive relationship between income and life satisfaction, reference or comparison income exerts a strong negative influence. Interestingly, our results confirm the importance of personal values and beliefs not only as predictors of subjective well-being, but also as mitigating factors in the relationship between income, reference income and life satisfaction. While our findings provide additional empirical support for the relative utility hypothesis, they are also consistent with Rojas’ (J Econ Psychol 28:1–14, 2007) Conceptual-Referent-Theory (CRT), which is based on the premise that the salience of income and comparison income depends on one’s intrinsic values and personal beliefs.

Affective and Daily Event Predictors of Life Satisfaction in College Students

The current study examined how well affect and daily events predict life satisfaction in 72 college students. Surveys assessing mood, affect balance, health, and sleep quality provided estimates of affect and daily events. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) was used as a measure of general life satisfaction. The current results indicated that the SWLS was significantly correlated with feelings of depression, anger, vigor, and confusion, with physical health and frequency of physical illness, with positive and negative affect, and with sleep quality. The predictor variables used in the current study accounted for 54.1% of the total variance of the SWLS. However, only depression, vigor, confusion, frequency of illness and negative affect were significant predictors of life satisfaction in both a standard regression model and in a hierarchical forward regression model. More practically, an increase in subjective life satisfaction was predicted by decreases in depression, decreases in negative affect, decreases in the frequency of illness, and increases in vigor. These results indicate that judgements of life satisfaction, as measured by the SWLS, were significantly predicted by affect and daily events.     

中国国有林场职工的生活满意度及影响因素分析

以河北、浙江、山东等14个省（市、自治区）490个林场10000位职工的问卷调查为依据,采用Multinomial Logistic Regression方法深入分析职工生活满意度的影响因素。结果表明：53.6%的国有林场职工对生活感到不满意,68.2%的职工感觉生活压力很大。同时,职工年龄、工作年限、配偶工作、收入、住房面积、工作时间、工作环境、社会保障、林场与职工之间的关系以及职工对未来的信心程度等因素都对生活满意度具有显著的影响。