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Life satisfaction across adulthood: different determinants at different ages?
Karen L Siedlecki1, Elliot M Tucker-Drob, Shigehiro Oishi
1Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA.
The Journal of Positive Psychology
|September 28, 2011
Summary
Life satisfaction remains constant across adulthood, but fluid intelligence
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Gerontology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Individual values and well-being determinants may shift with age.
- Understanding these shifts is crucial for gerontology and psychology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how life satisfaction and its predictors change across the adult lifespan.
- To examine the relationship between the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and various demographic, cognitive, and affective variables.
Main Methods:
- Survey research involving 818 participants aged 18-94.
- Statistical analyses including correlation and invariance analyses to assess predictors of life satisfaction.
- Examined personality, affect, demographic, and cognitive variables.
Main Results:
- Few variables uniquely predicted life satisfaction.
- Fluid intelligence's influence on life satisfaction decreases with age.
- Negative affect consistently correlates negatively with life satisfaction across adulthood.
Conclusions:
- Life satisfaction's core nature is stable throughout adulthood.
- Cognitive abilities like fluid intelligence play a diminishing role in life satisfaction judgments in older age.
- Managing negative affect is key for maintaining life satisfaction across the lifespan.
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