Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine
Volume 34, Issue 5, 2002, Pages 239-246

Life satisfaction in 18- to 64-year-old Swedes: In relation to gender, age, partner and immigrant status (Article) (Open Access)

Fugl-Meyer A.R.* , Melin R. , Fugl-Meyer K.S.
  • a Dept. of Neurosci. Rehab. Medicine, Uppsala University, University Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
  • b Dept. of Neurosci. Rehab. Medicine, Uppsala University, University Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden
  • c Dept. of Neurosci. Rehab. Medicine, Uppsala University, University Hospital, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden

Abstract

Satisfaction with life as a whole and with 10 domains of life was assessed in a nationally representative Swedish sample of 1207 women and 1326 men aged between 18 and 64 years, using a generic self-report checklist (LiSat-11), with levels of satisfaction ranging along a six-grade ordinal scale from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 6 (very satisfied). The main findings are that, with marginal exceptions, life satisfaction is gender independent, while age is systematically and positively associated with vocational and financial situations. Having no partner and being a first-generation immigrant implies for most LiSat-11 items a relatively low level of satisfaction. Factor analysis of the domain-specific items yields a gender-independent four-factor structure, which is robustly independent of different scaling reductions. Gross levels of satisfaction (dichotomized scales 1-4 vs 5-6) of seven domains were significant classifiers (odds ratio 1.7-3.9) of gross level of satisfaction with life as a whole. This investigation provides reference values for LiSat-11, which, with its ease of administration may be an adequate instrument for analysing, in terms of subjects' cognitive appraisal of emotions, aspirations-achievement gaps.

Author Keywords

Life satisfaction Immigrant Age Gender Epidemiology Quality of life

Index Keywords

immigrant leisure sexual behavior Spouses motivation mental health human social life psychologic assessment daily life activity sex difference middle aged Self Report work controlled study health status family size achievement quality of life epidemiological data Sweden social status Humans family life life satisfaction Adolescent male female cognition risk factor rehabilitation medicine socioeconomics population research psychometry Article emotion Questionnaires adult human experiment age Sex Factors Age Factors normal human Emigration and Immigration factorial analysis Personal Satisfaction reference value finance health survey

Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0036743719&doi=10.1080%2f165019702760279242&partnerID=40&md5=46e02d92b4c8b54979afac01bd8bbf67

DOI: 10.1080/165019702760279242
ISSN: 16501977
Cited by: 240
Original Language: English