Correlates of Tertiary Student Life Satisfaction

Abstract

What determines life satisfaction for young people? Many studies have looked at factors that correlate with an individual’s level of life satisfaction however the vast majority of those studies focused on elderly populations. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships of a number of research variables with life satisfaction for a tertiary student population. The relationships would be determined by correlating the research variables with life satisfaction. General intelligence, romantic relationship, academic goals, academic performance, health status, religiosity and social contact were measured, and correlated with life satisfaction. The sample in the current study comprised 129 undergraduate students from the University of Waikato. It was found that general intelligence, religiosity and social contact did not have any significant correlations with any of the other research variables, including life satisfaction. Romantic relationship, academic goals, academic performance and health status were found to have a significant positive correlation with life satisfaction. Success in a select group of life domains had a significant positive correlation with life satisfaction for undergraduate tertiary students. Having a successful romantic relationship, focusing on academic activities and being in good physical health all correlated positively with life satisfaction for undergraduate tertiary students. Practical implications of the results as well as future research possibilities are discussed.