Modeling the psychological determinants of life quality

Abstract

Personality and social psychologists have recently focused on a number of issues which life quality researchers have also examined. This study combines these two perspectives on well-being to address the following two questions: (1) To what extent are perceptions of stress, internal and external control, social support, performance, anxiety, and depression determinants of life quality? (2) To what extent are the predictors of different aspects of life quality (affective, cognitive, global, specific domains) similar or different? Data were collected from 675 respondents in a longitudinal study. Respondents were interviewed four times, six weeks apart. Bivariate analyses, stepwise regressions, and structural modeling were used to analyze the data. The modeling results suggested that internal control, social support, and performance caused increased life quality, whereas stress and depression caused decreased life quality. Control by others did not relate to life quality. The positive affect component of life quality related most strongly to ‘positive’ psychological concepts. Similarly, the negative affect component of life quality related most strongly to ‘negative’ psychological concepts. The implications of these findings for future life quality research are described.