Graduate School of Management, NUCB Business School, Japan.
Department of Psychology, Keimyung University, South Korea.
Soc Sci Res. 2019 Aug;82:45-58. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.03.016. Epub 2019 Apr 2.
Life satisfaction (LS), as a major indicator of subjective well-being, is a rapidly growing concern all over the world. Despite their country's powerful economic status, Japanese people experience relatively low levels of LS. This paper investigates demographic, social and psychological variables associated with Japanese people's life evaluation, and identifies important factors in each age and gender group. Using a representative annual survey of Japanese respondents, we find that material well-being (household income satisfaction, satisfaction with standards of living) is most strongly associated with LS. Other factors such as marital status, affective experience, and education, are also significant predictors. The data show that LS decreases over the life course and that individuals in late adulthood are the least satisfied with their lives. Furthermore, there is evidence that a gender gap exists for levels of LS at each stage of life. We identify important factors associated with LS across gender and age groups and, overall, our intensive analysis of a wide range of potential factors provides a comprehensive model of life evaluation in Japan. We conclude with the argument that follow-up studies will benefit from a consideration of key social issues in the context of Japanese society such as relative wealth, ageing, and gender inequality.
生活满意度（LS）作为主观幸福感的主要指标，在全球范围内受到越来越多的关注。尽管日本经济实力雄厚，但日本人的生活满意度相对较低。本文调查了与日本人生活评价相关的人口统计学、社会和心理变量，并确定了每个年龄和性别群体中的重要因素。使用日本代表性年度调查的受访者数据，我们发现物质福利（家庭收入满意度、生活水平满意度）与 LS 最密切相关。其他因素，如婚姻状况、情感体验和教育程度，也是重要的预测因素。数据显示，LS 在整个生命周期中呈下降趋势，晚年个体对生活的满意度最低。此外，有证据表明，在生命的每个阶段，LS 水平存在性别差距。我们确定了与 LS 相关的重要因素，跨越了性别和年龄群体，总的来说，我们对广泛的潜在因素进行的深入分析为日本的生活评价提供了一个全面的模型。最后，我们认为，后续研究将受益于在日本社会的背景下考虑关键的社会问题，如相对财富、老龄化和性别不平等。
