Cross-cultural variations in predictors of life satisfaction: Perspectives from needs and values

Type Journal Article - Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Title Cross-cultural variations in predictors of life satisfaction: Perspectives from needs and values
Author(s)
Volume 25
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 1999
Page numbers 980-990
URL http://psp.sagepub.com/content/25/8/980.full.pdf
Abstract
The authors tested for cross-cultural difference in predictors of life satisfaction. In Study 1 (39 nations, N = 54,446), they found that financial satisfaction was more strongly associated with life satisfaction in poorer nations, whereas home life satisfaction was more strongly related to life satisfaction in wealthy nations. In Study 2 (39 nations, N = 6,782), the authors found that satisfaction with esteem needs (e.g., the self and freedom) predicted global life satisfaction more strongly among people in individualist nations than people in collectivist nations. The present investigation provides support for the needs and valuesas-moderators model of subjective well-being at the cultural level. The need for theories that account for culture-specific as well as universal predictors of life satisfaction will be discussed.

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