All in the name of work? Nonwork orientations as predictors of salary,career satisfaction,and life satisfaction

Career development increasingly demands a successful integration of work and nonwork domains. Based on work-nonwork conflict and enrichment theories, this study explored the relationship between nonwork orientations (i.e., family, personal life, and community) and both objective (i.e., salary) and subjective (i.e., career satisfaction) career success and life satisfaction over a period of six months among a sample of 548 employees from Germany. The results generally support the enrichment perspective. Family orientation showed a positive relationship with career satisfaction. All three nonwork orientations, especially family orientation, were positively related to life satisfaction. We also explored gender and age effects but found no differences in nonwork orientations between young employees aged 25–34 years and older workers aged 50–59 years. Men showed lower levels of personal life orientation than women, but no differences in family or community orientation based on gender were found. We also did not observe gender x age interaction effects. We discuss the study's implications for a whole-life perspective on career development, career success, and well-being.     

Enhancing quality of life by shifting importance perception among life domains

The purpose of this study was to (1) construct an index to indicate the strength of a tendency to upgrade importance of life domains with lower have–want discrepancy and downgrade importance of life domains with larger have–want discrepancy for an individual (termed shifting tendency) and (2) use this index to test if shifting tendency has a positive correlation with global life satisfaction. The dataset was gain from Wu and Yao, 2006, Social Indicators Research, 79, 485–502), in which 332 undergraduate students at National Taiwan University participated in the survey. The mean age was 19.80 years (SD = 1.98). They completed a quality of life questionnaire, which contains 12 life domains. Satisfaction, importance and perceived have–want discrepancy were measured for 12 different life domains. Global life satisfaction was measured as well. Results showed that shifting tendency had a positive and significant correlation with average domain satisfaction and global life satisfaction. In addition, shifting tendency and have–want discrepancy had unique effects in predicting average domain satisfaction and global life satisfaction, suggesting that shifting tendency itself can contribute to a better QOL. The role of shifting tendency on QOL was discussed.     

Demographic Correlates of Domain-Based Life Satisfaction Reports of College Students

Despite the interest in assessing quality of life issues among college students, there is limited research on domain-specific life satisfaction. This preliminary study investigated the demographic correlates of the Brief Multidimensional Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (BMSLSS) from a sample of 522 students at a Midwestern University. A 4 × 2 × 2 between-groups analysis of variance was performed to detect differences in overall life satisfaction score means and for each individual BMSLSS domain (family, friends, school, self, living environment, and globally) in relation to year in school, gender, and race, and the interactions of these variables. Mean overall scores did not differ significantly by gender, year in school, or race. However, main effects were observed for race in the School and Self domains, where Caucasian students reported greater satisfaction with school and self than minority students. These preliminary data may provide a useful reference for researchers engaged in quality of life research with college students.     

Measurement invariance of the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) by gender and age in Angola

Subjective well-being is a research arena that has grown almost exponentially: over the last 20 years, the number of publications on subjective well-being has increased approximately 16-fold (Diener, 2009). The cognitive aspect of subjective well-being or life satisfaction is referred to a conscious cognitive judgment of life (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin 1985), in which person’s quality of life is globally assessed (Shin & Johnson, 1978). The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS, Diener et al., 1985) is the most widely used instrument for its measurement. A reliable, valid and invariant measurement is critical for meaningful comparisons. The aim of this study is to examine the configural, metric and scalar invariance across age in the Portuguese version of the SWLS with a sample of 5630 Angolans. A standard measurement invariance procedure has been applied both across gender and age. Results shown that scalar invariance of the SWLS held across gender and age. This strong invariance allowed for meaningful latent mean comparisons. There were latent mean differences due to gender and age, but while gender differences were modest, the age differences were larger. Results are discussed in their relation with existing literature.     

Youth Developmental Assets and Perceived Life Satisfaction: Is There a Relationship?

This study explored associations between youth developmental assets (i.e., support by parents/other adults; accountability to adults; empowerment; school support; values regarding risk behaviors; quantity of other adult support; empathetic relationships) and adolescents’ perceptions of overall life satisfaction. Public high school students (N = 3,477) completed a self-report questionnaire. Analyses were conducted to examine relationships between developmental assets and perceived life satisfaction while controlling for socioeconomic status. Results indicated that significant (p ≤ .05) associations were established for perceived support by parents/other adults for all four race/gender groups, self and peer values regarding risk behavior for black females, quality of other adult support for black males and white females and life satisfaction for adolescents. Significant (p ≤ .05) associations were also established for perceived support by parents/other adults for White males and Black males, accountability to parents/other adults for White females, quality of other adult support for White males and Black females and for empathetic relationships for all four race/gender groups. Results suggest that perceived life satisfaction is related to youth developmental assets, although moderated by gender and race differences. Further research is necessary to identify the particular characteristics of youth and specific aspects of adolescent life satisfaction associated with youth developmental assets in order to develop gender appropriate and culturally sensitive health promotion programs.     

The Satisfaction with Life Scale in Adolescent Samples: Measurement Invariance across 24 Countries and Regions,Age, and Gender

Measurement of adolescent life satisfaction across cultures has not received much attention in previous empirical research. The present study evaluated measurement invariance of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) among adolescents in 24 countries and regions (N = 22,710; age range = 13–19 years; 53% female). A single-factor model with residual covariance between a pair of items tapping past life satisfaction fitted well in 19 countries and regions and showed a partial metric invariance. In a subset of nine countries and regions, partial scalar invariance was supported. Partial metric invariance across all 24 countries and regions was achieved when custom model modifications in five countries and regions were included. Three SWLS items showed evidence of noninvariance across cultures. The measurement model was found to operate similarly across gender and age. Our findings suggest that caution is needed when using the SWLS for measuring life satisfaction among adolescents from different cultures.

     

Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction During the Transition to Post-Comprehensive Education: Antecedents and Consequences

The present four-wave longitudinal study, conducted in Finland, investigated the extent to which life satisfaction changed among adolescents during the transition from comprehensive school to an academic or a vocational track. The participants were 15-year-old adolescents (Time 1: N = 687, Time 2: N = 642, Time 3: N = 818, Time 4: N = 749) who filled in the Diener et al. (J Pers Assess 49: 71–75, 1985). Satisfaction With Life Scale twice during their final term of comprehensive school and twice after the transition either to upper secondary or vocational education. At comprehensive school they reported their academic achievement, expected educational track, educational aspirations, self-esteem, and background information, while at the last measurement point they reported their school engagement and attained educational track. Latent Growth Modeling showed, first, that life satisfaction increased during the educational transition. Second, the higher the adolescents’ academic achievement and self-esteem, the higher the level of their life satisfaction during the transition. Third, among girls, the lower their self-esteem, the more their life satisfaction increased during the educational transition. Fourth, among both boys and girls, a high level of life satisfaction during the transition predicted academic track and school engagement at the last measurement point. Finally, among girls, an increase in life satisfaction during the transition predicted school engagement and an academic track. The results support the stage-environment fit theory according to which the nature of the educational environment is more important than the transition per se for changes in adolescents’ life satisfaction (see Eccles and Midgley in Research on motivation in education. Academic Press, New York, pp. 139–186, 1989).     

Youth Life Satisfaction: A Review of the Literature

A central construct within the positive psychology literature is life satisfaction. Whereas adult life satisfaction has been studied extensively, the life satisfaction of children and adolescents has only received attention more recently. This article provides a review of the extant research on youth life satisfaction. Empirical studies (n = 141) on life satisfaction among youth are reviewed. The review details how life satisfaction among youth relates to various other important emotional, social, and behavioural constructs. Evidenced by the review are the conditions that foster positive life satisfaction and the implications of positive life satisfaction among youth. Future directions in life satisfaction research among youth are briefly discussed.     

Religion and positive well-being among Israeli and diaspora Jews: Findings from the World Values Survey

This study investigates the impact of selected religious indicators on two measures of positive well-being among Jews. Using data from subsamples of Jewish respondents from Israel (N?=?1,023) and the diaspora (N?=?859) taken from the World Values Survey, single-item measures of happiness and life satisfaction were regressed onto six measures of religiousness in the diaspora sample and onto the one religious measure available in the Israeli sample, adjusting for effects of age, gender, marital status, education, employment, and social class. Among Israeli Jews, affirming the importance of God in one's life is modestly associated with greater life satisfaction (β?=?0.07, p?<?0.05), but not with happiness. In the diaspora, the same measure is associated with greater happiness (β?=?0.13, p?<?0.01), as is more frequent attendance at synagogue services (β?=?0.14, p?<?0.01), but neither is associated with life satisfaction.     

Mexican‐Origin Parents’ Stress and Satisfaction: The Role of Emotional Support

Guided by a process model of parenting and the integrative model, this study examined sources of emotional support (i.e., partner, maternal, paternal) as related to stress and satisfaction resulting from the parenting role in a sample of Mexican‐origin young adult parents who participated in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) during Wave IV. Participants were male and female parents (26–35 years of age; 59% female; N = 737) who had children and a partner. Results from structural equation modeling revealed support from mothers as salient; high levels of maternal support were associated with high levels of parenting satisfaction. Tests of indirect effects suggested that parenting satisfaction played an intervening role in the link between maternal support and parenting stress. The pattern of results held across levels of linguistic acculturation but varied by gender. Understanding the mechanisms that predict parenting stress and satisfaction within the Mexican‐origin population may help in the identification of culturally sensitive intervention strategies.     

Predictors of Dutch and Finnish Children’s Satisfaction with Schooling

Considerable research has shown that there are clear links among satisfaction with schooling, overall life satisfaction, and physical and psychological well-being. In this investigation, we expand on that line of research by identifying the predictors of overall satisfaction with schooling of 331 Dutch and Finnish pupils aged 6–13. Similar to previous research, student age, student gender, and teacher likeability were strong predictors of students’ overall satisfaction with schooling. New findings from this investigation were that teacher gender and class size were significant predictors of overall satisfaction with schooling.     

Passion,vitality and life satisfaction for physically active old adults

In Arabic world, few studies are interested in psychological factors influencing the physically active old adults. The specific goals of the present research are the following: (i) test the factor structure and invariance tests for gender and physical activities for the Arabic version of the passion scale; (ii) test a model that describes a mediator role of subjective vitality in the relationships between passion and life satisfaction (iii) test the presence of differences for gender, physical activity practice, education level and age on passion. Two studies were conducted with 551 physically active Egyptian old adult (n = 354; n = 197). Passion, Subjective vitality and Life Satisfaction scales were administered. Passion scale composed of two subscales (harmonious and obsessive). Strong support for the complete invariance between groups. Subjective vitality was a mediator in the relationships between harmonious passion and life satisfaction. Education level and age had an effect on passion subscales.     

Mental health in Swedish children living in joint physical custody and their parents' life satisfaction: A cross‐sectional study

This study compared the psychological symptoms of 129 children in joint physical custody with children in single care and nuclear families, using a nationally representative 2011 survey of 1,297 Swedish children aged between four and 18 years. The outcome measure was the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and its association with three dimensions of parental life satisfaction was investigated. Linear regression analyses showed higher SDQ‐scores for children in joint physical custody (B = 1.4, p < 0.001) and single care (B = 2.2, p < 0.001) than in nuclear families, after adjustment for socio‐demographic variables. The estimates decreased to 1.1 and 1.3, respectively, after being adjusted for parental life satisfaction ( p < 0.01). Our findings confirm previous research that showed lower symptom scores for children in nuclear families than children in single care and joint physical custody. Parental life satisfaction should be investigated further as a possible explanation of differences in symptom load between children in different living arrangements.     

Physical Activity, Life Satisfaction, and Self-Rated Health of Middle School Students

Little research has examined the association between life satisfaction, self-rated health (SRH), and physical activity concurrently for middle school students. A convenience sample of 245 students in grades 7 and 8 was surveyed about physical activity, life satisfaction, and SRH using the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2005 Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey. ANOVA analyses revealed significantly reduced life satisfaction for females who reported not engaging in vigorous physical activity during the past 7 days [p < .01, effect size (ES) = .75]. Significantly reduced life satisfaction was detected for both males (p < .001, ES = .66) and females (p < .0001, ES = .80) who reported not playing on sports teams. Additionally, logistic regression analyses showed the odds of reporting fair/poor SRH increased 5.4 times for males (CI = 1.30–22.39, p < .05) and 30.9 times for females (CI = 3.74–255.43, p < .001) who reported not playing on sports teams. Preliminary findings suggest physical activity and sports participation is associated with improved life satisfaction and SRH for middle school students. In addition, although some gender differences were observed, consistent findings for sports participation suggest sports participation may carry multiple social, mental, and physical benefits for youth.     

The Adolescent Religious Coping Scale: Development,Validation, and Cross-Validation

Research literature on adolescent coping is growing, but typically such studies have ignored religious coping strategies and their potential impact on functioning. To address this lack, we developed the Adolescent Religious Coping Scale and used its seven subscales to examine the relationship between religious coping and emotional functioning. A cross-sectional research design was used with both a validation sample of Christian school students (Sample 1, N = 500, ages 12–19) and a cross-validation sample of Christian youth group attenders (Sample 2, N = 62, ages 11–18). Emotional functioning was assessed positively (life satisfaction) and negatively (hopelessness). Factor analyses supported factorial validity, and alpha levels supported reliability of the seven religious coping subscales (Positive God-Focused Coping, Seeking Religious Support, Constructive Distraction, Questioning, Avoidance, Denial, and Deferring). For both samples, religious coping was significantly related (unique variance) to religious support, parental support, and emotional functioning, respectively. In general, positive religious coping strategies were related to more support and better functioning, whereas the reverse was true for negative religious coping strategies. Moreover, many of these results were maintained even after controlling for variance due to age, gender, and religious attendance. As such, clinicians working with religious adolescents should consider encouraging these teens to optimize use of positive religious coping strategies and minimize reliance on negative ones as part of a holistic approach to handling stress. Religious coping findings are discussed regarding their comparison to general adolescent coping and with respect to future research directions.     

Satisfaction with Life and Food-Related Life in Persons of the Mapuche Ethnic Group in Southern Chile: A Comparative Analysis Using Logit and Probit Models

In order to identify variables which have an influence on satisfaction with life among Mapuche persons of the Araucanía Region, Chile, a survey was applied to 400 Mapuche subjects in Temuco. The questionnaire included the SWLS (Satisfaction with Life Scale) and SWFL (Satisfaction with Food-related Life) scales, life-styles, food, and sociodemographic characteristics. Multinomial logit and probit models were proposed, in which the dependent variable was satisfaction with life. Both models proved significant (P < 0.01), but the logit model provided a better explanation of the construct. The results indicate a significant relation between satisfaction with life on the one hand and access to means of satisfying the basic needs associated with the concept of quality of life and maintenance of identity on the other. The probability of a high degree of satisfaction with life in a Mapuche person rises if he (she) possesses a greater number of goods, lives in the country, has higher education, has a partner, spends more than Ch 100,000 (US100,000 (US 200) per month on food, frequently consumes Mapuche food, leads an orderly life and is satisfied with his food. The discussion relates the results to the factors which influence the construction of cultural identity and the impact on this of traditional food practices     

An interaction model for the role of self-evaluations and antagonistic pursuits in subjective well-being

Popular theorizing about happiness pursuit emphasizes universal paths to happiness, but other theorizing acknowledges different people achieve happiness in different ways (i.e., subjective well-being, SWB). The present work extended this latter perspective by examining how antagonistic pursuit of a grandiose identity (‘narcissistic antagonism’) – generally thought to reduce narcissistic people’s SWB – may relate to increased cognitive well-being (i.e., a component of SWB) for narcissistic people with lower self-esteem. In Study 1, participants (N = 417) reported their narcissism, self-esteem, narcissistic antagonism, and general life satisfaction (to index cognitive well-being). In Study 2 (pre-registered), participants (N = 450) reported their narcissism, self-esteem, narcissistic antagonism, general and domain-specific life satisfaction, and general affect (to index affective well-being, which is a different component of SWB). Both studies revealed narcissistic antagonism related to increased life satisfaction only for more (vs. less) narcissistic people with lower (vs. higher) self-esteem. Study 2 not only replicated this interactive pattern on satisfaction across various life domains but also revealed the interaction may be related to increased negative affect. Broadly, results highlight how different people may enhance features of SWB in different, even ‘dark’, ways.     

Life events and functional somatic symptoms: A population study in older adolescents

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of negative life events on functional somatic symptoms (FSSs) in adolescents, based on data from 957 participants of the population cohort TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey. Life events experienced between age 16 and age 19 were assessed with the Kendler's Life Stress interview. FSSs at age 19 and age 16 were measured with the Youth and Adult Self‐Report. The hypotheses were tested by the use of a latent change model. Life events predicted FSSs, even when adjusted for pre‐event levels of FSSs, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and socio‐economic status (B = 0.006, 95% CI [0.003, 0.008], β = .32). Whereas illness‐related life events did not predict FSSs independently (B = −0.003, 95% CI [−0.005, 0.09], β = .05), non‐illness‐related life events did (B = 0.007, 95% CI [0.004, 0.010], β = .31). A past‐year diagnosis of anxiety and/or depression had a significant influence on the association between life events and FSSs (B = 0.37, 95% CI [0.30, 0.46], β = .71), while female sex, exposure to childhood adversities, and family malfunctioning had not. In conclusion, our findings show that FSSs are associated with negative life events in older adolescents. We did not find evidence for stronger effects of illness‐related events.     

Children’s Perspectives and Evaluations of Safety in Diverse Settings and Their Subjective Well-Being: A Multi-National Approach

There is a need to explore variations in children’s safety perceptions for different settings (home, school and neighbourhood) and their relationship with subjective well-being (this including satisfaction with safety and satisfaction with life as whole) by comparing a variety of cultural contexts. A further objective is to explore to what extent gender, age group (10 and 12-year-olds) and level of SWB (measured using the SLSS -Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale- and the BMSLSS -Brief Multidimensional Student’s Life Satisfaction Scale) play a role in this prediction. Results obtained through binary logistic models with samples from Spain (n = 2,724), Algeria (n = 2432), South Africa (n = 2192) and Israel (n = 1914), show that children’s perceptions of safety are predicted by their different perceptions and evaluations of school, home and the nearby area. Perceptions of safety in the nearby area and satisfaction with safety (O.R. = 1.080) contribute to predicting higher levels of satisfaction with life as a whole to a greater extent than scores on the SLSS (O.R. = 1.036) and the BMSLSS (O.R. = 1.050) scales. The country participants live in (especially when combined with satisfaction with safety) and, to a lesser extent gender, also make important contributions. The age group they belong to plays a significant role in predicting higher perceptions of safety at home, in the area nearby, at school, and in predicting higher satisfaction with safety. Results open the door to the introduction of specific interventions (e.g. improving parent-child communication, enhancing public spaces for children to play and promoting children’s participation at school), aimed at promoting higher satisfaction with safety and also indirectly at higher satisfaction with life as a whole, on the basis of achieving positive changes of those factors which make the highest contribution.

     

Autonomy support,basic need satisfaction and the optimal functioning of adult male and female sport participants: A test of basic needs theory

Grounded in Basic Needs Theory (BNT; Ryan and Deci, American Psychologist, 55, 68–78, 2000a), the present study aimed to: (a) test a theoretically-based model of coach autonomy support, motivational processes and well-/ill-being among a sample of adult sport participants, (b) discern which basic psychological need(s) mediate the link between autonomy support and well-/ill-being, and (c) explore gender invariance in the hypothesized model. Five hundred and thirty nine participants (Male = 271; Female = 268; M _age = 22.75) completed a multi-section questionnaire tapping the targeted variables. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that coach autonomy support predicted participants’ basic need satisfaction for autonomy, competence and relatedness. In turn, basic need satisfaction predicted greater subjective vitality when engaged in sport. Participants with low levels of autonomy were more susceptible to feeling emotionally and physically exhausted from their sport investment. Autonomy and competence partially mediated the path from autonomy support to subjective vitality. Lastly, the results supported partial invariance of the model with respect to gender.