Life Domain Satisfactions as Predictors of Overall Life Satisfaction Among Workers: Evidence from Chile

Abstract

This article examines the subjective antecedents of life satisfaction of workers. Adopting a ‘bottom-up’ perspective, we assessed the unique influence that satisfaction with multiple life domains have on evaluative judgments of overall life satisfaction. Based on a nationwide sample of 530 Chilean workers, we simultaneously tested the effects of seven life domain satisfactions that have been consistently included in extant models of life satisfaction and subjective well-being. These were satisfaction with health, financial situation, social relationships, one’s self-worth, leisure-time, family, and work. Having controlled for age and gender, results showed that satisfaction with one’s financial situation was the dominant predictor of overall life satisfaction of workers, with a weight of .36. Satisfaction with family, work, and health had effects of .25, .14, and .14, respectively. Interestingly, satisfaction with one’s self-worth, leisure-time, and social relationships did not have statistically significant effects on life satisfaction, although the first two showed t values near the critical value.

Individual differences in the relationship between domain satisfaction and happiness: The moderating role of domain importance

“…Although there is no final agreement on the direction of causality, many studies assume a bottom-up relationship running from domain satisfaction to global life satisfaction (e.g. Easterlin, 2006;Loewe et al, 2014;van Praag et al, 2003). Reviewing several studies on the structure of well-being Schimmack finds only 'modest evidence' for top-down models, while acknowledging that most of the findings "are consistent with bottom-up theories" (Schimmack, 2008, p. 108).…”

Another Look at Job and Life Satisfaction among Employees: Evidence from a Developing Country

“…This scale has been one of the most widely used scales for the measurement of the construct. Research has established acceptable psychometric properties for the scale, including high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and convergent validity [23]- [26]. This instrument has been applied and validated in several different cultural settings with different socio-demographic groups of individuals [27]- [30].…”

Gender Differences in the Relationship Between Domain-Specific and General Life Satisfaction: A Study in Iran and Serbia

“…According to these models, GLS judgements are constructed by evaluating the conditions of life, thus implying that domain-specific satisfactions should be robust predictors of GLS. Previous studies have clearly shown that DS contribute to GLS (Loewe et al 2014;Renn et al 2009;van Praag et al 2003), but also suggest that the contributions of different domains of life to GLS might vary across contexts. The present study sought to examine the relationship between DS and GLS across two countries: Iran and Serbia, while also taking gender into account.…”