Abstract
Global satisfaction in 1,110 farm residents are measured as a weighted average of satisfaction with eight aspects of life, with the results supporting a goal-achievement model of well-being. In a stepwise regression analysis (R2=0.472), global satisfaction is most strongly related to satisfaction with control over one's life, followed by satisfaction with family and financial matters. The relative contributions of the satisfaction domains to global satisfaction are a function of gender and off-farm employment status.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbey, A., & Andrews, F. M. (1986). Modeling the psychological determinants of life quality. In F. M. Andrews (Ed.),Research on the quality of life (pp. 85–116). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center.
Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1974). Developing measures of perceived life quality: Results from several national surveys.Social Indicators Research, 1, 1–26.
Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976).Social indicators of well-being: Americans' perceptions of life quality. New York: Plenum.
Barlett, P. F. (1986). Part-time farming: Saving the farm or saving the life-style?Rural Sociology, 51, 289–313.
Barrow, G. M. (1989).Aging, the individual, and society (4th ed.). St. Paul: West Publishing Co.
Bharadwaj, L., & Wilkening, E. A. (1977). The prediction of perceived well-being.Social Indicators Research, 4, 421–439.
Campbell, A. (1981).The sense of well-being in America: Recent patterns and trends. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., & Rodgers, W. L. (1976).The quality of American life: Perceptions, evaluations, and satisfactions. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Clemente, F., & Sauer, W. J. (1976). Life satisfaction in the United States.Social Forces, 54, 621–631.
Coughenour, C. M., & Christenson, J. A. (1980).Is the small farm beautiful? A study of agricultural structure and quality of life. Paper presented at the 5th World Congress of Rural Sociology, Mexico City, Mexico.
Diener, E. (1984). Subjective well-being.Psychological Bulletin, 95, 542–575.
Dillman, D. A. (1978).Mail and telephone surveys: The total design method. New York: Wiley.
Dillman, D. A., & Tremblay, K. R., Jr. (1977). The quality of life in rural America.Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 429, 115–129.
Draughn, P. S., Little, L. F., Wozniak, P., Knaub, P. K., Weeks, O., & Smith, C. (1988). Multiple roles, lifestyle satisfaction, and marital happiness among farm wives.Home Economics Research Journal, 17, 63–76.
Draughn, P. S., & Rutledge, C. M. (1982). Working wives: Their impact on perceptions of role competency of middle-age husbands.Home Economics Research Journal, 10, 391–400.
Fernandez, R. M., & Kulik, J. C. (1981). A multilevel model of life satisfaction: Effects of individual characteristics and neighborhood composition.American Sociological Review, 46, 840–850.
Hankiss, E. (1980). Structural variables in cross-cultural research of the quality of life. In A. Szalai & F. M. Andrews (Eds.),The quality of life: Comparative studies (pp. 41–56). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Inglehart, R. (1978). Value priorities, life satisfaction, and political dissatisfaction among western publics.Comparative Studies in Sociology 1, 173–202.
Inglehart, R., & Rabier, J. (1986). Aspirations adapt to situations — but why are the Belgians so much happier than the French? In F. M. Andrews (Ed.),Research on the quality of life (pp. 1–56). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center.
Jones, C., & Rosenfeld, R. A. (1981).American farm women: Findings from a national survey (NORC Report No. 130). Chicago: National Opinion Research Center.
Kline, M., & Cowan, P. A. (1989). Re-thinking the connections among “work” and “family” and well-being. In E. Goldsmith (Ed.),Work and family: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 61–90). Newbury Park, CA: Select Press.
Knaub, P. K., Draughn P. S., Wozniak, P., Little, L. F., Smith, C., & Weeks, O. (1988). Wives employed off the farm: Impact on lifestyle satisfaction.Home Economics Research Journal, 17, 36–46.
Knaub, P. K., & Parkhurst, A. M. (1987). Strengths of dual-career families: Perceptions of husbands and wives. In H. J. Lingren, L. Kimmons, P. Lee, G. Rowe, L. Rottman, L. Schwab, & R. William (Eds.),Family strengths: Pathways to well-being (pp. 27–39). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Center for Family Strengths.
Marans, R. W., Dillman, D. A., & Keller, J. (1980).Perceptions of life quality in rural America. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center.
McKennell, A., Atkinson, T., & Andrews, F. M. (1980). Structural constancies in surveys of perceived well-being. In A. Szalai & F. M. Andrews (Eds.),The quality of life: Comparative studies (pp. 111–128). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Michalos, A. C. (1983). Satisfaction and happiness in a rural northern resource community.Social Indicators Research, 13, 225–252.
Michalos, A. C. (1986). Job satisfaction, marital satisfaction, and the quality of life: A review and a preview. In F. M. Andrews (Ed.),Research on the quality of life (pp. 57–83). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, Survey Research Center.
Miller, M. K., & Crader, K. W. (1979). Rural-urban differences in two dimensions of community satisfaction.Rural Sociology, 44, 489–504.
Molnar, J. J. (1985). Determinants of subjective well-being among farm operators: Characteristics of the individual and the farm.Rural Sociology, 50, 141–162.
Pleck, J. H. (1977). The work-family role system.Social Problems, 24, 417–427.
Rosenblatt, P. C., Nevaldine, A., & Titus, S. L. (1978). Farm families: Relation of significant attributes of farming to family interaction.International Journal of Sociology of the Family, 8, 89–99.
Rosenfeld, R. A. (1985).Farm women: Work, farm, and family in the United States. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
Scholl, K. K. (1983). Farm women's triad of roles.Family Economics Review, 1983(1), 10–15.
Steel, R. G. D., & Torrie, J. H. (1980).Principles and procedures of statistics: A biometrical approach. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Tremblay, K. R., Jr., Walker, F. S., & Dillman, D. A. (1983). The quality of life experienced by rural families. In R. T. Coward & W. M. Smith, Jr.,Family services: Issues and opportunities in contemporary rural America (pp. 26–40). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Voydanoff, P. (1989). Work and family: A review and expanded conceptualization. In E. Goldsmith (Ed.),Work and family: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 1–22). Newbury Park, CA: Select Press.
Wilkening, E. A. (1982). Subjective indicators and the quality of life. In R. M. Hauser, D. Mechanic, A. O. Haller, & T. S. Hauser (Eds.),Social structure and behavior: Essays in honor of William Hamilton Newell (pp. 429–441). New York: Academic Press.
Wozniak, P. J., Draughn P. S., & Perch, K. L. (1988). A multi-state study of off-farm employment.Home Economics Research Journal, 17, 10–19.
Wozniak, P. J., & Scholl, K. K. (1988). Employment decisions of farm couples: Fulltime or part-time farming?Home Economics Research Journal, 17, 20–35.
Wozniak, P. J., & Scholl, K. K. (1990). Employment motivations of farm spouses.Life-styles: Family and Economic Issues, 11, 321–342.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This project was sponsored by the Cooperative State Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station under the title “Farm Wife's External Employment, Family Economic Productivity and Family Functioning (S-191).” Approved for publication by the Director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station as manuscript number 92-25-6175. Please direct communications to Patricia J. Wozniak, Department of Experimental Statistics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.
Her research interests include family life and family economics, the application of statistics to the social sciences, and biostatistics.
Her research interests include farm families, changing roles of family members, and gerontology.
Her research interests include the impact of work on families.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wozniak, P.J., Draughn, P.S. & Knaub, P.K. Domains of subjective well-being in farm men and women. J Fam Econ Iss 14, 97–114 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01013800
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01013800