Family, money, and health: regional differences in the determinants of life satisfaction over the life course.

ABSTRACT: We examine how family, money, and health explain variation in life satisfaction over the life cycle across seven global regions using data from the World Values Survey. With a life domain approach, we study whether the importance of the life domains varies by region and age groups and whether the variation explained by each factor is due to the magnitude or prevalence of each factor. Globally, family, money, and health explain a substantial fraction of life satisfaction, increasing from 12 percent in young adulthood to 15 percent in mature adulthood. Health is the most important factor, and its importance increases with age. Income is unimportant above age 50. Remarkably, the contribution of family is small across ages. Across regions health is most important in the wealthier, and income i

SUBMITTER: Margolis R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4013501 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature