Keys to Happiness
Overview | Article Summary
| For Instructors | For
Students
Bailey, R.C., and Miller, C. (1998). Life satisfaction and life demands
in college students. Social Behavior and Personality, 51-56.
Overview:
How Satisfied Are You?
Are you satisfied with your life? If you answer is "Yes," what is it about
your life that is satisfying? If your answer is "No, what is it that is
limiting your satisfaction? People who are more satisfied by their lives
tend to experience greater physical and psychological health than people
who are less satisfied with their lives. From an economic point of view,
it is important to know what causes people to be satisfied with their lives.
From a psychological perspective, understanding life satisfaction is an
important theoretical and empirical undertaking.
Life satisfaction has been related to job satisfaction, interpersonal
relationships, socioeconomic status, education, family background, and
many other variables. All these relationships indicate that life satisfaction
is a multidimensional concept. Bailey and Miller (1998) explored the relationship
between college student life satisfaction and life involvement.
Overview | Article Summary | For
Instructors | For Students
Article Summary
What leads college students to be satisfied with their lives? According
to the scarcity hypothesis of life satisfaction, people who have fewer
life commitments and demands should experience greater life satisfaction.
Thus, the college student who relaxes on the beach is more satisfied with
life than the harried student involved in volunteer organizations, campus
government, and the honor society. On the other hand, according to the
expansion hypothesis, the busy, involved student is more satisfied with
life. Bailey and Miller (1998) explored these competing hypotheses in a
survey of college students' life satisfaction, involvement, and interpersonal
relationships.
A large number of college students were administered a questionnaire
regarding:
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life satisfaction
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personal responsibilities
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life roles
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decision-making
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time pressures
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stress
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school satisfaction
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dating satisfaction
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family satisfaction
Based on their responses to the life satisfaction item, Bailey and Miller
classified students into High, Moderate, and Low life satisfaction groups.
Approximately 70% of the students were classified as High, 20% Moderate,
and 10% Low on life satisfaction. As well, although not reported in the
article, male students rated themselves as slightly more satisfied with
life. Bailey and Miller examined differences on the other variables in
their questionnaire as a function of life satisfaction
The High and Moderate life satisfaction groups reported greater personal
responsibilities and time pressures than the Low life satisfaction group.
Even though the relatively more satisfied groups were busier, however,
they did not report any greater stress level than the Low life satisfaction
group. Thus, students don't need to experience any greater or lesser stress
in order to experience life satisfaction.
The High life satisfaction group reported greater school, dating, and
family satisfaction than the Moderate or Low life satisfaction groups.
Thus, in addition to business, satisfying interpersonal relationships appear
to play an important role in college students' life satisfaction.
Bailey and Miller's findings indicate that the sun worshiper described
above may not be the most content student; rather, the busy, involved student
combining academics with dating and family relationships is the more content
student. These findings support the expansion hypothesis of life satisfaction,
in which life satisfaction is related to approaching - as opposed to avoiding
- life.
Overview | Article Summary
| For Instructors | For Students
For Instructors
Links to the Lecture
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Correlation and causation. This article provides an ecological consideration
of correlation and causation. Use the following questions related to the
article to guide discussion: Is this a correlational study or a causal
study? If you wanted to improve you life satisfaction, should you become
busier? Seek out satisfying relationships? Why or why not?
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Life satisfaction. What is life satisfaction and how is it measured?
Bailey and Miller simply had students rate their life satisfaction on a
5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not very satisfied) to 5 (very much
satisfied). Other life satisfaction questionnaires contain many more questions.
Design a life satisfaction inventory or questionnaire in class while considering
construct validity.
Overview | Article Summary
| For Instructors | For Students
For Students
About the Authors
Roger Bailey is a professor and Christy Miller is a student in the Department
of Psychology at East Tennessee State University. East
Tennessee State University is a mid-sized school with 12,000 students
enrolled in over 100 degree programs.
About the Journal
Social Behavior and
Personality, published by the Society for Personality Research, contains
research and theoretical articles in social, personality, and developmental
psychology.
Links to Life
How satisfied are you with your life? How busy are you? How stressed out
are you? Try these different questionnaires and compare your results with
those obtained by Bailey and Miller.
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