Skip to main content

Life Satisfaction Among Rural Low-Income Mothers: The Influence of Health, Human, Personal, and Social Capital

Applied Research in Quality of Life volume 4, pages 365–386 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

The satisfaction with life among rural low-income mothers was assessed using a sample of 163 mothers who participated in a multi-state, three-year longitudinal study. Dependent variables included those that represented various forms of capital (health, human, personal and social) as well as the mothers’ levels of life satisfaction from prior years. Nearly two-thirds of the rural mothers were satisfied with their life in all three years. Their level of satisfaction appeared to be constant, however, such persistence had a time frame of only one year. The variables that affected their satisfaction with life were symptoms of risk of depression (health capital) and income adequacy (personal capital). These findings provide important insight on a marginalized, yet often overlooked, population.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Notes

  1. The definition of the concept of quality of life and its measurement vary among social scientists. See Diener and Suh (1997) and Felce and Perry (1995) for more complete reviews of the various models of quality of life.

  2. Satisfaction is a term that is used interchangeably with well-being, happiness, subjective well-being, welfare, and utility.

  3. For the complete project description, see (Bauer 2004, pp. 1–4) and http://fsos.cehd.umn.edu/projects/rfs.html.

  4. Note that while the odds ratios are included for categorical variables, a unit increase in these variables has no real meaning. For the categorical variables, we focus on the direction of and the significance of estimated effects.

  5. The depression score variable is an index, a variable with ordinal properties. Thus, a ‘unit increase’ in the depression score has little meaning. But with a wide range of values, from 0 to 62, the odds ratios indicate that these small increases in the level of depression have important effects on satisfaction with life.

References

  • Ackerman, N., & Paolucci, B. (1983). Objective and subjective income adequacy: their relationship to perceived life quality measures. Social Indicators Research, 12(1), 25–48. doi:10.1007/BF00428859.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Almedom, A. M. (2005). Social capital and mental health: an interdisciplinary review of primary evidence. Social Science & Medicine, 61(5), 943–964. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.12.025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews, F. M., & Withey, S. B. (1976). Social indicators of well-being. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Argyle, M. (1987). The psychology of happiness. Sussex: Routledge East.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauer, J. W. (2004). Basebook Report. Low-income rural families: Tracking their well-being and functioning in the context of welfare reform. Retrieved December 20, 2007, from University of Minnesota, Rural Families Speak Web site: http://fsos.cehd.umn.edu/projects/rfs/publications.htm.

  • Becker, G. S. (1996). Accounting for tastes. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berry, A., Katras, M., Sano, Y., Lee, J., & Bauer, J. (2008). Job volatility of rural, low-income mothers: a mixed methods approach. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 29(1), 5–22. doi:10.1007/s10834-007-9096-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biswas-Diener, R., & Diener, E. (2006). The subjective well-being of the homeless, and lessons for happiness. Social Indicators Research, 76(2), 185–205. doi:10.1007/s11205-005-8671-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 371–399. doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bukenya, J. O., Gebremedhin, T. G., & Schaeffer, P. V. (2003). Analysis of rural quality of life and health: a spatial approach. Economic Development Quarterly, 17(3), 280–293. doi:10.1177/0891242403255325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cameron, A. C., & Trivedi, P. K. (2005). Microeconometrics: Methods and applications. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, A. E., & Oswald, A. J. (1994). Unhappiness and unemployment. Economic Journal, 104(424), 648–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, A., Georgellis, Y., & Sanfey, P. (2001). Scarring: the psychological impact of past unemployment. Economica, 68(270), 221–241. doi:10.1111/1468-0335.00243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1980). Influence of extraversion and neuroticism on subjective well-being: happy and unhappy people. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 38(4), 668–678.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R. A. (1995). On the trail of the gold standard for subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 35(2), 179–200. doi:10.1007/BF01079026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cummins, R. A., & Nistico, H. (2002). Maintaining life satisfaction: the role of positive cognitive bias. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 37–69. doi:10.1023/A:1015678915305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalkey, N. C., Rourke, D. L., Lewis, R., & Snyder, D. (1972). Studies in the quality of life. Lexington: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1997). Measuring quality of life: economic, social, and subjective indicators. Social Indicators Research, 40(1), 189–216. doi:10.1023/A:1006859511756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Suh, E. M. (2003). Culture and subjective well-being. Cambridge: MIT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale: a measure of life satisfaction. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 276–302. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Gohm, C. L., Suh, E., & Oishi, S. (2000). Similarity of the relations between marital status and subjective well-being across cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31(4), 419–436. doi:10.1177/0022022100031004001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dolan, E. M., Seiling, S., & Glesner, T. (2006). Making it work: Rural low-income women in service jobs. In Proceedings of the Eastern Family Economics and Resource Management Association Conference, Knoxville, TN, 38 (Vol. 46). Knoxville, TN. Retrieved December 20, 2007, from http://mrupured.myweb.uga.edu/conf/5.pdf.

  • Dvorak, V., Heidari, S., Kennedy, B., Lawrence, K., Vega, C., & Dulin, N. (2005). The relationship between depression and attitudinal and behavioral components of spirituality in a sample of students at a Christian university. Presented at the Thirty-Fourth Annual Western Psychology Conference for Undergraduate Research, Santa Clara, CA.

  • Easterlin, R. A. (2001). Income and happiness: towards a unified theory. The Economic Journal, 111(473), 465–484. doi:10.1111/1468-0297.00646.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El-Osta, H. (2007). The determinants of a quality of life indicator for farm operator households: application of zero-inflated count-data models. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2(3), 145–163. doi:10.1007/s11482-007-9035-1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Entwisle, D. R., & Astone, N. M. (1994). Some practical guidelines for measuring youth’s race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Child Development, 65(6), 1521–1540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Felce, D., & Perry, J. (1995). Quality of life: its definition and measurement. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 16(1), 51–74. doi:10.1016/0891-4222(94)00028-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frey, B. S., & Stutzer, A. (2000). Happiness, economy and institutions. The Economic Journal, 110(466), 918–938. doi:10.1111/1468-0297.00570.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerlach, K., & Stephan, G. (1996). A paper on unhappiness and unemployment in Germany. Economics Letters, 52(3), 325–330. doi:10.1016/S0165-1765(96)00858-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldings, H. J. (1954). On the avowal and projection of happiness. Journal of Personality, 23(1), 30–47. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1954.tb02336.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, M. (1972). On the concept of health capital and the demand for health. The Journal of Political Economy, 80(2), 223–255. Retrieved March 14, 2008 from http://www.jstor.org.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grundy, E., & Sloggett, A. (2003). Health inequalities in the older population: the role of personal capital, social resources and socio-economic circumstances. Social Science & Medicine, 56(5), 935–947. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00093-X.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haring-Hidore, M., Stock, W., Okun, M., & Witter, R. (1985). Marital status and subjective well-being: a research synthesis. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 47(4), 947–953.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Headey, B., & Wearing, A. (1989). Personality, life events, and subjective well-being: toward a dynamic equilibrium model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(4), 731–739. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.57.4.731.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Headey, B., Holstrom, E., & Wearing, A. (1985). Models of well-being and ill-being. Social Indicators Research, 17(3), 211–234. doi:10.1007/BF00319311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Headey, B., Veenhoven, R., & Wearing, A. (1991). Top-down versus bottom-up theories of subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 24(1), 81–100. doi:10.1007/BF00292652.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heilemann, M. S. V., Lee, K. A., & Kury, F. S. (2002). Strengths and vulnerabilities of women of Mexican descent in relation to depressive symptoms. Nursing Research, 51(3), 175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, A. P. (1993). Black, single, working mothers in poverty: preferences for employment, well-being, and perceptions of preschool-age children. Social Work, 38(1), 26–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, A. P. (1994). Psychological distress among single, employed, black mothers and their perceptions of their young children. Journal of social service research, 19(3–4), 87–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, A. P. (1998). The role of social support in parenting for low-income, single, Black mothers. Social Service Review, 72(3), 365–378. doi:10.1086/515763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, C. A., Dorahy, M. J., & Schumaker, J. F. (1999). Depression and life satisfaction among Northern Irish adults. The Journal of Social Psychology, 139(4), 533–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lichter, D. T., & Jensen, L. (2002). Rural America in transition: poverty and welfare in the turn of the twenty-first century. In B. A. Weber, G. J. Duncan & L. A. Whitener (Eds.), Rural dimensions of welfare reform. Kalamazoo: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E., Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1996). Discriminant validity of well-being measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(3), 616–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E., Clark, A. E., Georgellis, Y., & Diener, E. (2003). Reexamining adaptation and the set point model of happiness: reactions to changes in marital status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(3), 527–539. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.3.527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mammen, S., Dolan, E. M., & Seiling, S. B. (2009). Poverty spells and rural families: who gets on, who gets off the welfare rolls. In Proceedings of the 4th Consumer Sciences Research Conference “Consumer Voice and Representation” 108–112.

  • McGranahan, D. A., & Beale, C. L. (2002). Understanding rural population loss. Rural America, 17(4), 2–11. Retrieved December 20, 2007, from http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ruralamerica/ra174/ra174a.pdf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, A., Logothetti, T., & Kantor. (1973). An approach to measuring the quality of life. In The quality of life concept: A potential new tool for decision-makers. Washington, D.C.: The Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Monitoring, Environmental Studies Division.

  • Narayan, D., & Cassidy, M. F. (2001). A dimensional approach to measuring social capital: development and validation of a social capital invento10ry. Current Sociology, 49(2), 59–102. doi:10.1177/0011392101049002006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ostrove, J. M., Feldman, P., & Adler, N. E. (1999). Relations among socioeconomic status indicators and health for African–Americans and Whites. Journal of Health Psychology, 4(4), 451–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parcel, T. L., & Menaghan, E. G. (1990). Maternal working conditions and children’s verbal facility: studying the intergenerational transmission of inequality from mothers to young children. Social Psychology Quarterly, 53(2), 132–147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers, W. L. (1977). Work status and the quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 4(1), 267–287. doi:10.1007/BF00353134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigo, M. J., Janssens, J. M., & Ceballos, E. (2001). Reasoning and action complexity: sources and consequences on maternal child-rearing behaviour. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 25(1), 50–59. doi:10.1080/01650250042000069.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saunders, S.A., & Roy, C. (2000). The relationship between depression, satisfaction with life, and social interest. South Pacific Journal of Psychology, 11(1), 9–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schyns, P. (2002). Wealth of nations, individual income and life satisfaction in 42 countries: a multilevel approach. Social Indicators Research, 60(1), 5–40. doi:10.1023/A:1021244511064.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shin, D. C., & Johnson, D. M. (1978). Avowed happiness as an overall assessment of the quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 5(1), 475–492. doi:10.1007/BF00352944.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, P. J., Schumaker, J. F., Dorahy, M. J., & Shrestha, S. N. (1996). Depression and life satisfaction in Nepal and Australia. Journal of Social Psychology, 136(6), 783–790.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spellerberg, A., Huschka, D., & Habich, R. (2007). Quality of life in rural areas: processes of divergence and convergence. Social Indicators Research, 83(2), 283–307. doi:10.1007/s11205-006-9057-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stutzer, A. (2004). The role of income aspirations in individual happiness. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 54(1), 89–109. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2003.04.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stutzer, A., & Frey, B. S. (2003). Reported subjective well-being: A challenge for economic theory and economic policy. Working Paper no. 2003–2007, Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts (CREMA). Retrieved December 22, 2008, from http://www.crema-research.ch/papers/2003–07.pdf.

  • Tomer, J. F. (2003). Personal capital and emotional intelligence: an increasingly important intangible source of economic growth. Eastern Economic Journal, 29(3), 453.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Census Bureau. (2000). http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GCTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=0100.

  • van Praag, B. M. S., Frijters, P., & Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A. (2003). The anatomy of subjective well-being. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 51(1), 29–49. doi:10.1016/S0167-2681(02)00140-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wadsworth, M., Montgomery, S., & Bartley, M. (1999). The persisting effect of unemployment on health and social well-being in men early in working life. Social Science & Medicine, 48(10), 1491–1499. doi:10.1016/S0277-9536(99)00052-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, B., & Jensen, L. (2004). Poverty and place: a critical review of rural poverty literature. RPRC Working Paper 04–03, Oregon State University, Rural Poverty Research Center (RUPRI). Retrieved from http://purl.umn.edu/18913.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by USDA/CSREES/NRICGP Grants—2001-35401-10215, 2002-35401-11591, 2004-35401-14938. Data were collected in conjunction with the cooperative multi state research project NC-223/NC-1011 Rural Low-income families: Tracking Their Well-being and Functioning in the Context of Welfare Reform. Cooperating states are California, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Peter St. Marie and Nathaniel Lanier, undergraduate research assistants, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 303 Stockbridge Hall, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Sheila Mammen

  2. Department of Family Social Science, University of Minnesota, 275 McNeal Hall, St. Paul, MN, 55108, USA

    Jean W. Bauer

  3. Department of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 211 Stockbridge Hall, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Daniel Lass

Authors
  1. Sheila Mammen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jean W. Bauer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniel Lass
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sheila Mammen.

Appendix 1. Description of Dependent and Independent Variables

Appendix 1. Description of Dependent and Independent Variables

Dependent Variable: Satisfaction with Life

  • Overall, how satisfied are you with your life right now?

    • 1 = very dissatisfied

    • 2 = dissatisfied

    • 3 = mixed feelings

    • 4 = satisfied

    • 5 = very satisfied

Independent Variables: Health Capital; Depression Score, Health Insurance

  • Maternal depression: A constructive measure from the Center for Epidemiology Studies-Depression scale. [0 = rarely or none of the time; 1 = a little of the time; 2 = a moderate amount of the time; 3 = most or all of the time]

    • I was bothered by things that don’t usually

    • Did not feel like eating

    • I could not shake the blues

    • Felt as good as other people

    • Had trouble keeping mind of what I was doing

    • I felt depressed

    • I felt that everything that I did was an effoert

    • I felt hopeful about the future

    • I thought my life had been a failure

    • I felt fearful

    • My sleep was restless

    • I was happy

    • I talked less than usual

    • I felt lonely

    • People were unfriendly

    • I enjoyed life

    • I had crying spells

    • I felt sad

    • I felt like people disliked me

    • I could not get going

  • Do you get any benefits from your job? How about your partner?

      From mother’s job From partner’s job
    Health insurance for self yes no yes no
    Health insurance for children yes no yes no

Independent Variables: Human Capital; Educational Level, Confidence as a Parent

  • What is your current educational level?

    • 1 = 8th grade or less

    • 2 = some high school

    • 3 = high school or GED

    • 4 = specialized technical, business or vocational training after high school

    • 5 = some college, including Associate’s degree

    • 6 = college or university graduate

    • 7 = one or more years beyond college

    • 8 = graduate degree

    • 9 = don’t know

  • Confidence as a parent: Where would you put yourself on the Parenting Ladder in terms of: [0 (low)–6 (high)]

    • Your knowledge of how children grow and develop.

    • Your confidence that you know what is right for your child.

    • Your ability to create a safe home for your child.

    • Your success in teaching your child how to behave.

    • Your skill at finding fun activities that interest your child.

    • The amount of stress in your life right now.

    • Your ability to cope with the stress in your life.

Independent Variables: Personal Capital; Marital Status, Age of Youngest Child, Number of Children, Income Adequacy, Home Ownership

  • Marital status: single, married, living with partner, divorced, separated

  • Age of the youngest child: date of birth

  • Number of children

  • Income adequacy: To what extent do you think your income is enough for you to live on?

    • 1 = not all adequate

    • 2 = can meet necessities only

    • 3 = can afford some of the things we want but not all we want

    • 4 = can afford about everything we want

    • 5 = can afford about everything we want and still save money

  • Home ownership: Is this a rental or do you own?

Independent Variables: Social Capital; Satisfaction with Social Support

  • How would rate your overall satisfaction with the amount of support in your life?

    [0 (low)–6 (high)]

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mammen, S., Bauer, J.W. & Lass, D. Life Satisfaction Among Rural Low-Income Mothers: The Influence of Health, Human, Personal, and Social Capital. Applied Research Quality Life 4, 365–386 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-009-9086-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-009-9086-6

Keywords

  • Satisfaction with life
  • Rural low-income mothers
  • Health capital
  • Human capital
  • Personal capital
  • Social capital
  • Homeostatis