A Meta-Analytic Review of Sex Differences in Subjective Well-Being
Abstract
A meta-analytic review was conducted on 97 studies to determine the magnitude of sex differences in subjective well-being. Overall, no sex differences were found in the cognitive component of subjective well-being known as life satisfaction. For the affective component, happiness, it was found that women report significantly greater happiness than men. Since the sex difference was found only in one component, it appeared plausible that this effect is due to women reporting more extreme emotional experiences than men. In addition, males' life satisfaction proved to be higher than females' for elderly but not younger respondents. The experiences of marriage and employment appeared to increase women's life satisfaction relative to men's. The experience of employment also raised women's happiness.
Description
Program year: 1985-1986Digitized from print original stored in HDR
Subject
subjective well-beinglife satisfaction
gender differences
emotional experience
age
employment
marital status
cognition
affect
Citation
Curbow, Melanie (1986). A Meta-Analytic Review of Sex Differences in Subjective Well-Being. University Undergraduate Fellows. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /CAPSTONE -CurbowM _1986.