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The relative contributions of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health, and social relationships to life satisfaction in the United States

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate racial/ethnic disparities in life satisfaction and the relative contributions of socioeconomic status (SES; education, income, employment status, wealth), health, and social relationships (social ties, emotional support) to well-being within and across racial/ethnic groups.

Methods

In two cross-sectional, representative samples of U.S. adults (the 2001 National Health Interview Survey and the 2007 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System; combined n > 350,000), we compared life satisfaction across Whites, Hispanics, and Blacks. We also evaluated the extent to which SES, health, and social relationships ‘explained’ racial/ethnic group differences and compared the magnitude of variation explained by life satisfaction determinants across and within these groups.

Results

Relative to Whites, both Blacks and Hispanics were less likely to be very satisfied. Blacks were somewhat more likely to report being dissatisfied. These differences were reduced or eliminated with adjustment for SES, health, and social relationships. Together, SES and health explained 12–15% of the variation in life satisfaction, whereas social relationships explained an additional 10–12% of the variance.

Conclusions

Racial/ethnic life satisfaction disparities exist for Blacks and Hispanics, and these differences are largest when comparing those reporting being ‘satisfied’ to ‘very satisfied’ versus ‘dissatisfied’ to ‘satisfied.’ SES, health, and social relationships were consistently associated with life satisfaction, with emotional support having the strongest association with life satisfaction.

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Acknowledgments

The views expressed in this paper are the authors and neither those of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) nor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We are grateful to the NCHS, the CDC, and the survey participants for making this study possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Northern Arizona University, P.O. Box 15106, Flagstaff, AZ, 86011, USA

    Steven D. Barger, Carrie J. Donoho & Heidi A. Wayment

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  1. Steven D. Barger
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Correspondence to Steven D. Barger.

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Barger, S.D., Donoho, C.J. & Wayment, H.A. The relative contributions of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health, and social relationships to life satisfaction in the United States. Qual Life Res 18, 179–189 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-008-9426-2

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