posted 06-04-2003 11:29 PM            

J Soc Psychol 1996 Dec;136(6):783-90

Depression and life satisfaction in Nepal and Australia.
Simpson PL, Schumaker JF, Dorahy MJ, Shrestha SN.
Department of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Australia.
For this study of cultural differences in the extent of depressive symptomatology and life satisfaction, 311 Australian and 250 Nepalese university students completed the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). No significant differences were found in depressive symptomatology. Australian respondents reported significantly higher life satisfaction than Nepalese. A moderate significant inverse relationship was found between depressive symptoms and life satisfaction in the Australian respondents, with a smaller significant inverse relationship observed among the Nepalese respondents. The findings suggest that the experience of depressive symptoms may be partially independent of life satisfaction for this Nepalese sample.
PMID: 9043208 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Psychol Rep 1994 Feb;74(1):99-103

Effects of age, sex, and university status on life-satisfaction.
Hong SM, Giannakopoulos E.
Department of Psychology, University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia.
Diener, et al.'s 1985 Satisfaction With Life Scale was administered to 1749 adult Australians to examine differences between men and women, university students and nonuniversity students, and among 17- to 22-, 23- to 29-, and 30- to 40-yr.-olds. No significant differences in life-satisfaction emerged in relation to sex or university status, but age showed a significant effect as higher life-satisfaction characterized older subjects. No interactions were found for any combination of the three variables. The results are interpreted in terms of egalitarian sex-role ideologies regarding sex, status-specific criteria in the assessment and conceptualisation of life-satisfaction for university status, and maturity trends in viewing life events concerning age.
PMID: 8153242 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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J Psychol 1993 Jan;127(1):65-71

Loneliness and life satisfaction in Japan and Australia.
Schumaker JF, Shea JD, Monfries MM, Groth-Marnat G.
Department of Psycho-Social Health Studies, University of Newcastle, Australia.
We examined the relationship between loneliness and life satisfaction in 121 residents of Fukoku, Japan, and 139 residents of Melbourne, Australia, using the Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1983) and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980). Australian subjects reported significantly less loneliness and significantly greater life satisfaction than Japanese subjects. A high inverse correlation was found between loneliness and life satisfaction in Australian subjects, with a much smaller inverse relationship observed among the Japanese, suggesting that loneliness in Japanese subjects did not emotionally translate into life dissatisfaction as it did in Australian subjects. Instead, the experience of loneliness in Japanese individuals may remain largely independent of general life satisfaction.
PMID: 8510053 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]