Illness and Health Satisfaction: The Role of Relative Comparisons

Abstract

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Life satisfaction: The role of domain‐specific reference points

“…The impact of health on SWB is substantial (Dolan et al., 2008 ), and the literature suggests the association between health and well‐being relies, at least in part, on relative comparisons (Diener et al., 1999 ). For example, results from the German Socio‐Economic Panel suggest that becoming sicker than the reference group worsens health satisfaction (Thiel, 2014 ). To a certain degree, there is interdependence between SWB and health and also income, where well‐being affects health and income.…”