Article | Management area | Year 2015
 

Understanding the relationships between age, gender, and life satisfaction: the mediating role of stress and religiosity

by Boonying Kongarchapatara; George P. Moschis; Fon Sim Ong
  
  Journal of Beliefs & Values: Studies in Religion & Education 35(3), p.340-358 23 Dec 2014

Abstract

Although hundreds of investigations have examined the relationship between age and life satisfaction, a recent review of these studies reveals that relatively little is known about the nature of this relationship, especially between genders and across cultures, and the mechanisms that link age to life satisfaction. Using a large-scale study in Malaysia, the present research explores the mediating effects of stress and religiosity that might be responsible for the empirical findings reported in previous studies. Contrary to previous findings based on US studies, this study finds that women are more satisfied with their lives than men in the early and later stages of life. Chronic stress and religiosity were found to partially mediate the relationship between age and life satisfaction, suggesting that these may be mechanisms that explain the findings of previous studies.

Keywords: life satisfaction, age, gender, stress, religiosity