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.     

Life change,health status and life satisfaction: A reconsideration

Recent research has suggested that life changes may be unrelated to health status indices and to overall satisfaction with life. Yet research has also reported that life changes appear to be related to measures of psychological distress. To attend further to clarification of the role of life change as a predictor of health status and life satisfaction, this paper examines the relationship between negative life change self-reports and indices of health status and life satisfaction. The data come from a survey of 1423 Northwestern Wisconsinites interviewed in 1974 by the Wisconsin Survey Research Laboratory. The findings indicate that self-reports of negative life changes were related to overall life satisfaction, controlling for health status, feelings of alienation/attachment, and personal disruption. Implications of the findings are discussed in conclusion.     

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.     

Life satisfaction and regional development: A case study of Oklahoma

This paper analyzes the relation between regional development and perceived life satisfaction measures. Using Oklahoma it is identified that people in less developed regions tend to be equally (or more) satisfied in almost every aspect of their lives. This leads to the conclusion that aspirations, in addition to the attainment of aspirations, depend on the level of development.     

A life satisfaction measure based on judgment theory

A life satisfaction measure is developed in this paper drawn from a judgment-type theory. This measure is based on the theoretical notion of life satisfaction being a function of a comparison between perceived life accomplishments and a set of evoked standards. These standards are classified as to their derivative sources (e.g., the life accomplishments of relatives, friends, associates, past experience, self-concept of strengths and weaknesses, and average person in a similar position) and different forms (e.g., standards based on ideal, expected, deserved, minimum tolerable, and predicted outcomes). Two studies were conducted on the elderly to ascertain the internally consistent and possessing construct validity correlations through high and internally consistent and possessing construct validity correlations through high and positive correlations with the Delighted-Terrible Life Satisfaction Scale; through significant and positive correlations with cognitive age, income, employment, education, marital status, social contact, activity, religiosity, morale, television viewership, and selfrated health; and through nonsignificant correlations with chronological age, gender, and parenthood.     

A life satisfaction measure: Additional validational data for the Congruity Life Satisfaction measure

Meadowet al. (1992) have developed a measure of life satisfaction based on judgment theory, referred to as Congruity Life Satisfaction (CLS). This paper reports the results of a major study involving six samples from different countries testing the construct validity of the CLS measure. The results of these studies provide additional validational support for the CLS measure.     

Predicting overall life satisfaction: The role of life cycle and social psychological antecedents

Assessments of subjective well-being have been guided by a diversity of assumptions about overall life satisfaction's antecedents. Need hierarchy, affect, discrepancies between aspiration and attainment, and feelings of personal efficacy have all been suggested to be important predictors of satisfaction. But social psychological antecedents of satisfaction, such as indices of alienation, have heretofore not been considered, despite their link to the sociological tradition. These analyses suggest that for 1423 rural Wisconsinites, feelings of alienation are important predictors of overall life satisfaction. However, the impact of each of the two dimensions of alienation considered here varies with the respondent's position in the life cycle. Implications of these findings for research on life satisfaction are noted.     

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.     

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.     

The construct validity of the life satisfaction index a and affect balance scales: A serendipitous analysis

This paper addresses the problem of construct validity in measures of life satisfaction and well-being through an analysis of unsolicited comments made by respondents during face-to-face interviews. This serendipitous examination focuses on two established indicators: The Life Satisfaction Index A and the Affect Balance Scale. The observations volunteered by respondents cast doubt upon the construct validity of a number of the items in each of the scales as measures of the subjective states they purport to index. The findings indicate avenues for improving existing scales but the author concludes that greater use of qualitative approaches may be the most constructive solution.     

A first glance into the black box of life satisfaction surrounding childbearing

The vast majority of studies looking into the relationship between childbearing and subjective well-being use overall measures where respondents either report their general level of happiness or their life satisfaction, leaving substantial doubt about the underlying mechanisms. However, life satisfaction and happiness are intuitively multidimensional concepts, simply because there cannot be only one aspect that affects individuals' well-being. In this study, by considering seventeen specific life satisfaction domains, these features come out very clearly. Whereas all the domains considered matter for the overall life satisfaction, only three of them, namely satisfaction with leisure, health and satisfaction with the partnership, change dramatically surrounding childbearing events. Even though we cannot generalise (since these results stem from one particular panel survey, i.e., Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia data), it appears that the typical anticipation and post-child decrease of life satisfaction, so often found in existing studies, stems from changes in these three domains.

     

A new look at life and job satisfaction with sunbelt MBA's

Work and extra-work correlates of life and job satisfaction for a sample of MBA graduates (N=1495) are compared to those for a probability sample from the general public using the Rice, Near, Hunt model for analysis. For both groups, the unique relationship between life and job satisfaction is quite weak, however, predictability of job satisfaction is significantly different for MBA's.¹     

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.     

Quantifying the costs of drought: new evidence from life satisfaction data

We estimate the cost of droughts by matching rainfall data with individual life satisfaction. Our context is Australia over the period 2001 to 2004, which included a particularly severe drought. Using fixed-effect models, we find that a drought in spring has a detrimental effect on life satisfaction equivalent to an annual reduction in income of A$18,000. This effect, however, is only found for individuals living in rural areas. Using our estimates, we calculate that the predicted doubling of the frequency of spring droughts will lead to the equivalent loss in life satisfaction of just over 1% of GDP annually.

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.     

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.     

Multiplicative and additive models of job and life satisfaction

Overall job satisfaction has often been specified as a multiplicative function of the satisfaction with and the perceived importance of more specific job facets. Correspondingly, overall life satisfaction may be conceptualized as a multiplicative function of satisfaction with and importance of various life domains. So far empirical research has tended to reject the multiplicative model. Correcting for the effects of acquiescence bias and using more appropriate statistical methods than in most previous studies, the multiplicative model is here shown to fit the job satisfaction data significantly better than alternative additive models. For the relationships between life domains and overall life satisfaction, however, the multiplicative model is again rejected. Possible reasons for these diverging results are discussed.     

The life course of Canadian women: An historical and demographic analysis

The life course of Canadian women over the last 100–150 years is examined, using data extracted from census and vital statistics publications. Cohort analysis and synthetic cohort analysis are employed as means to focus upon changes in the occurrence and timing of age-related life course transitions related to the family. Three substantive themes emerge: the increased predictability, standardization, and compression in age-related family life course transitions. Major changes and continuities are outlined, as well as implications related to the atypical life course experience of the cohorts of women who produced the “baby boom,” and to the emergence of temporally-related mechanisms of social control.