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Cross-cultural variations in predictors of life satisfaction: An historical view of differences among West European countries

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Abstract

Using survey data collected in 1976 from respondents in ten West European countries, we compared four sets of predictors of life satisfaction: job satisfaction, nonwork satisfaction, working conditions and living conditions. Results indicated that, although levels of satisfaction varied somewhat by country, significant predictors of life satisfaction were quite similar among the countries. These results present a picture of relationships among these variables in an historical context.

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The data utilized in this study were made available by the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. The data for Eurobarometer 5 were originally collected by Jacques-Rene Rabier, Special Advisor to the Commission of the European Communities, and by Ronald Inglehart of the University of Michigan. Neither the original collectors of the data nor the Consortium bear any responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here.

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Near, J.P., Rechner, P.L. Cross-cultural variations in predictors of life satisfaction: An historical view of differences among West European countries. Soc Indic Res 29, 109–121 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01136199

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