Chapter 11

Satisfaction with Life

The Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al, 1985) was designed to assess the satisfaction people felt with their lives as a whole, allowing them to consider and weigh their life domains (such as health or finances) in whatever way they choose (Fineburg, 2002).  It is a very short measure, consisting of only five statements with a 7-point rating scale; it results in a global score that ranges between 5 and 35 and an interpretation that ranges between 'Extremely Dissatisfied' and 'Extremely Satisfied'. The scale itself takes only about a minute to complete and this aspect was particularly important within the current research due to a pressing need to keep interviews as short as possible (see Question 45, Appendix B).  The scale has been tested in many countries and settings worldwide, where it was found to have high validity for research purposes.

The importance of including measures of quality of life has not received enough attention in relation to social and economic issues, according to Marsella, Levi & Ekblad (1997).  Too much focus concentrated on improving material levels of living without addressing the psychological creates an imbalance, and one that fails to take into consideration 'actual peoples' perceptions of life satisfaction and subjective well-being (Marsella et al, 1997, p55).  The present research, although limited in many ways, has attempted to address this perceived shortcoming and, along with considerable efforts to be holistic, empowering and participative throughout, has included the Satisfaction with Life scale in order to record this important aspect of women's lives.

A person's well being may be defined as an all-embracing sense that life has been, and continues to be, good.  It is an ongoing perception that life is fulfilling, meaningful and pleasant (Myers, 1993).  Subjective well-being is a field of psychology that attempts to understand people's evaluation of their lives (Diener, Suh, & Oishi, 1997).  Life satisfaction, as a cognitive component of subjective well-being, focuses on a person's feelings and relates, in many ways, to the achievement of life goals. Even small successes on the path towards realising these individual goals can contribute to feelings of life satisfaction.  Where matters of health and well-being are concerned, improving positive states of health with the appropriate allocation of public funding can reap rewards and long-term benefits that have yet to be measured or calculated (Gandjour, 2001).

As such, the psychological measure used in this research proved a very useful method of estimating the Satisfaction with Life (SWL) scores of the women participants.  The overall average score recorded for the entire sample was 23.33, which equates with them feeling "Slightly Satisfied" with their lives.  However, a lot more tellingly, the results from this scale were found to be especially important in identifying links between levels of life satisfaction and the various experiences and situations of the different groups of women in Inishowen.  In a research report of this size and scope only a few of these areas can be looked at in any great detail - those chosen for closer examination are therefore restricted to only six: marital status, long-term perception of poverty, present financial circumstances, paid work and perceived income balance.

11.1 Marital Status and Satisfaction with Life

As can be seen in Table 30, married women living with their husband have the highest average (mean) SWL score of 24.22; this score indicates that they are, in general, only slightly satisfied with their lives.  Single women, with an average score of 24.22, and women living with their partners, with an average score 23.29, are also in this 'Slightly Satisfied' category.  All of the others, women who are divorced, separated and widowed, are deemed to be slightly dissatisfied with their lives.  In previous research (e.g.Glenn & Weaver, 1979), currently married individuals consistently report greater subjective well-being than those who were never married, and these, in turn, report higher levels than those who were previously married and are now divorced, separated or widowed. 

Such similar comparisons for marital status are found to be very much the same across the world - with the benefit of being married over being divorced or separated smaller for societies where there was a high tolerance for divorce (Diener, Gohm, Suh & Oishi, 2000).  This high tolerance for divorce may not exist in the Inishowen area and may, therefore, go some distance in explaining the worryingly low levels of SWL in these groups of women.  What cannot be explained, however, is the generally low levels evident across the sample as a whole; feeling only slightly satisfied, at best, is not a result that could be considered a recommendation for any woman's status in life.