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.