The Impact Of Voluntary Minimalist Lifestyle On Life Satisfaction

Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle is a low consumption and low material dependence lifestyle.Groups adopting this way of life tend to adhere to material simplicity,preferring products with simplified functions,insisting on the concept of reflecting ecological responsibility,abiding by prudent shopping attitude,and purchasing durable goods.Voluntary simplicity lifestyle,which was born in western countries in the 1930s,has attracted the attention of many researchers in developed countries for many years.However,this lifestyle has rarely been heard of in China,and has been neglected by domestic psychological research.Foreign studies have confirmed that voluntary simplicity lifestyle has a positive predictive effect on life satisfaction,and basic psychological needs can play a part of the intermediary role.In addition,in the study of materialistic values contrary to the concept of voluntary simplicity lifestyle,we find that self-esteem is a significant related factor.This study speculates that voluntary simplicity lifestyle can also predict the level of self-esteem and further affect life satisfaction.Combining the viewpoint of Self-determination Theory,the study assumes that basic psychological needs and self-esteem are psychological variables that may be affected by voluntary simplicity lifestyle in China.It attempts to explore the impact of voluntary simplicity lifestyle on life satisfaction through these two psychological variables and the intermediary mechanism.This paper is divided into two parts.In the first part,313 valid predictive questionnaires were collected to revise the Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle Scale(VSLs)developed by Iwata,a Japanese scholar.The revised VSLs had 12 questions,including prudent shopping,no envy of luxury,durable use of goods,and use of functional streamlined products.The reliability and validity of the scale were good,and there was no significant difference in disposable monthly income among the items.The second part uses the revised Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle Scale,Basic Psychological Needs Scale,Self-esteem Scale and Life Satisfaction Scale to conduct a questionnaire survey.A total of 503 valid questionnaires from 30 provinces in China were collected.Through the statistical analysis of the questionnaire data,the following results are obtained:(1)The score of voluntary simplicity lifestyle scale average value is M=3.743,standard deviation SD=0.645.The degree of acceptance of the Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle was in the upper middle level.(2)Voluntary simplicity lifestyle and its four dimensions,basic psychological needs and its three dimensions,self-esteem,life satisfaction,a total of 11 variables show a significant positive correlation at 0.01 level.(3)The results of regression analysis show that the voluntary simplicity lifestyle can have a significant positive impact on basic psychological needs,self-esteem and life satisfaction.(4)Basic psychological needs can partly mediate the relationship between voluntary simplicity lifestyle and life satisfaction.(5)Self-esteem can partially mediate the relationship between voluntary simplicity lifestyle and life satisfaction.(6)There is a chain mediating effect among the four variables of voluntary simplicity lifestyle,basic psychological needs,self-esteem and life satisfaction.According to the results of the study,it can be inferred that people in China have a high level of recognition of voluntary simplicity lifestyle.Individuals who adopt the voluntary simplicity lifestyle tend to have higher life satisfaction.The practice of voluntary simplicity lifestyle can act on the level of internal motivation.By reducing material desire,individuals can have more energy to achieve full development of self-determination,competence and relationship needs,improve the satisfaction of basic psychological needs of individuals,and then achieve a better level of self-esteem and higher life satisfaction.It is hoped that the voluntary simplicity lifestyle will receive more attention and try in our country,reduce the negative impact of materialistic values in recent years,and make people’s mental state healthier and happier life.