The dynamic process of life satisfaction: The role of job and marital satisfaction, life events, personality and mood

The main purpose of this study was to show the importance of studying within subject variations in life satisfaction. Consequently, I (a) examined the existence of substantial within-subject fluctuations in life satisfaction, and (b) showed that this variation is not random, but rather is systematically related to both personological and situational factors, and their interactions. The dynamic association between work and marital experiences (satisfaction, events) was also investigated. Finally, I examined the nomological network of two parameters—the mean and standard deviation—of life satisfaction.; To achieve these goals, a diary study of 82 fully-employed, married adults was conducted. Participants completed (a) an initial questionnaire battery, consisting of personality inventories, and general ratings of satisfaction; and (b) diary logs assessing current mood, event reports, and ratings of satisfaction twice a day each weekday over a period of three weeks; spouses also completed assessments of the participants' typical levels of satisfaction.; Findings indicate that a substantial proportion of the variance in life satisfaction lies at the within-individual level. Moreover, changes in life satisfaction were systematically related to changes in job and marital satisfaction, negative events at work and positive events in the “other” domain, positive and negative mood, and neuroticism and extraversion. Furthermore, neuroticism moderated the association between negative events in the marriage or other domains and life satisfaction, and extraversion moderated the association between positive events in the marriage and life satisfaction.; Job satisfaction was significantly associated with both concurrent and lagged marital satisfaction; however, job events were unrelated to marital satisfaction, and marital events were unrelated to job satisfaction. The mean-level parameter of life satisfaction showed substantial associations with personality and reports of satisfaction. The standard deviation parameter was related to variability in domain satisfaction and negative mood, but was not related to personality.; This study increases our understanding of the nature and antecedents of the dynamic process of life satisfaction as it unfolds in a natural context. My hope is that these findings will stimulate new work that examines intra-individual variations in life satisfaction, and that uses more complex designs and theoretical models to investigate work-family links.