Satisfaction in 10 countries: summary of findings

In line with earlier comparative research we found large differences in satisfaction across countries. Average satisfaction is highest in North-Western Europe and lowest in the East-European nations. The South-European nations score in between. This pattern is observed in average satisfaction with life-as-a-whole as well as in satisfaction with three life-domains (finances, housing, social contacts) with minimal exceptions. Within countries, individual satisfaction is hardly related to social position as measured by age, gender, education and income. This result is also in line with earlier results. On the other hand we observed high correlations between life-satisfaction and domain-satisfaction which differ in order in some countries from what was expected in Chapter 1. In Part II the results of the research in the different countries have been presented. In several countries comparisons are made between the new data and existing data. These comparisons have shown that minor differences in the wording of the questions lead to quite different responses. This result is not new but found in many studies (Sudman and Bradburn, 1974; Schuman and Presser, 1981; Converse and Presser, 1986; Billiet et al., 1986). This is an illustration of the necessity to correct for measurement error in order to be able to compar

Stability of Life-Satisfaction Over Time: analysis of change in ranks in a national population

This paper is about constancy of differences in life-satisfaction in society. It analyzes data of a large panel study in Germany, which involved yearly interviews between 1984 and 1994. Year-to-year correlation started at +.45 and increased gradually to +.54. The correlation between the first and later reports declined through the years, the correlation between the 1st and the 11th report was only +.29. Observed overtime correlation may result from six effects: Firstly the correlation is attenuated by error: 1) common measurement error, such as haphazard responding, and 2) error in estimating general satisfaction due to passing uplifts and hassles. Both errors may shrink as 3) respondents get experienced in answering questions about life-satisfaction and 4) when they mature. Next, 'true' correlation will depend on: 5) mayor changes in life, such as loss of job or getting married, and 6) stable stocks, such as personal capabilities and social relations. This paper develops models to disentangle these effects. The best fitting model suggests that almost half of the initial variance in life-satisfaction was due to error: 23% to error in responding (effect 1) and 19% to error in estimating one's satisfaction with life (effect 2). In 10 years the error component shrinks by 10%, largely due to learning effect 3) and partly due to aging (effect 4). In the end, life-changes explained 30% of the varianc