Marital Status, Career and Income as Indicators of Life Satisfaction Among Middle-aged Career Women in Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia

Siti Marziah Zakaria; Nor Ba'yah Ab. Kadir; Khairul Hisyam Baharuddin

doi:10.22146/jp.32363

Marital Status, Career and Income as Indicators of Life Satisfaction Among Middle-aged Career Women in Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia

https://doi.org/10.22146/jp.32363

Siti Marziah Zakaria^(1*), Nor Ba'yah Ab. Kadir⁽²⁾, Khairul Hisyam Baharuddin⁽³⁾

(1)
(2) Psychology and Human Well-being Research Centre, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
(3) Centre for Language and Generic Development, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

Life satisfaction is a subjective construct that varies according to gender, education level, age, income, marital status, and other demographic factors. Life satisfaction is an important issue among middle-aged women. They face various responsibilities, roles and expectation at this age. The objective of this article is to identify the differences in life satisfaction among middle-aged Malay women from different educational level, marital status, career and income. This study applied a survey technique, which is a set of questionnaire which consisted of socio-demographic scale and life satisfaction scale (based on Life Satisfaction Index - Short Form by Barrette and Murk, 2006). Simple random sampling and purposive sampling have been used to obtain the responses. A total of 410 middle-aged career women in Hulu Langat, Selangor have participated in this study. The finding showed that life satisfactions among middle-aged women are different depending on their marital status, career and income. This was based on the result of ANOVA. Single women and widower who are working in private sector and of low-income level reported to have the lowest life satisfaction. This finding may provide input to the planning of programs to enhance the well-being and life satisfaction among middle aged career women.

Keywords

middle-aged women, life satisfaction, marital status, career, income

Full Text:

PDF

References

Adams, G.A., King, L.A., & King, D.W. 1996. “Relationship of job and family involvement, family social support, and work-family conflict with job and life satisfaction”. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81 (4), 411-420.http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021- 9010.81.4.411.

Albert, I., Labs, K. & Trommsdorff, G. 2010. “Are older adult German women satisfied with their lives? On the role of life domains, partnership status, and self-construal”. The Journal of Gerontopsychology and Geriatric Psychiatry, 23 (1), 39-49.http:// dx.doi.org/10.1024/1662-9647/a000002.

Barrette, A.J. & Murk, P.J. 2006. “Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age (LSITA): A measurement of successful aging”. In E.P. Isaac (Ed.). Proceedings of the 2006 Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education (pp.7-12). St. Louis: University of Missouri, St. Louis.

Berg, J.A. 2011. “The stress of caregiving in midlife women”. The Female Patient, 36, 33-35. http://citeseerx.ist.psu. edu/viewdoc/c i tations;jsessionid= 5F9867E2902D183EF482A99486E4527A?doi=10.1.1.370.8694.

Borg, C. Hallberg, I.R., & Blomqvist, K. 2005. “Life satisfaction among older people with reduced self-care capacity: The relationship to social, health, and financial aspects”. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 15, 607-618. http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1111/ j.1365-2702.2006.01375.x.

Burgess, S., & Ratto, M. 2003. “The role of incentives in the public sector: Issues an evidence”. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 19(2), 285-300.

Chappell, N.L. 1989. “Health and helping among the elderly”. Journal of Aging and Health,1, 102-120. http://doi. org/10.1177/089826438900100107.

Chipperfield, J.G., & Havens, B. 2001. “Gender differences in the relationships between marital status transitions and life satisfaction in later life”. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 12 (3), 176-186.

Clark, A. & Oswald, A. 1994. “Unhappiness and unemployment”. The Economic Journal, 104 (424), 648-659.http://doi. org/10.2307/2234639.

Costello, M.S. 2012. “The role of spirituality in the second half of life”. Paper presented at Symposium at the Library of Congress, Washington, June.

Diener, E. D., Suh, E. M., Lucas. E. E. Smith, H. L. 1999. “Subjective Well-being: Three Decades of Progress”. Psychological Bulletin. 125 (2), 276-302.

Easterlin, R.A., Morgan, R., Switek, M. & Fei, W. 2012. “China’s Life Satisfaction”. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109 (25), 9775-9780. http://doi. org/10.1073/pnas.1205672109.

Gee, E. M. &Veevers, J.E. 1990. “Religious involvement and life satisfaction in Canada”. Sociological Analysis, 51, 387- 394. http://doi.org/10.2307/3711079.

Gong, H., Cassells, R., & Keegan, M. 2011. “Understanding life satisfaction and the education puzzle in Australia: A profile from HILDA Wave 9”. NATSEM Working Paper 11/12, University of Canberra.

Frey, B.S. & Stutzer, A. 2002. “What can economist learn from happiness research”. Journal of Economic Literature, 40, 420- 435.

Hasnain, N., Ansari, S.A., & Sethi, S. 2011. “Life satisfaction and self-esteem in married and unmarried working women”. Journal of the Indian Academy of Applied Psychology, 37 (2), 316-319.

Hutchinson, G., Simeon, D.T., Bain, B.C., Wyatt, G.E., Tucker, M.B. & Lefranc, E. 2004. “Social and Health determinants of well-being and life satisfaction in Jamaica”. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 50 (1), 43-53. http://doi. org/10.1177/0020764004040952.

Jan, M. & Masood, T. 2008. “An assessment of life satisfaction among women”. Extension and Communication, 2 (1), 33-42.

Jessica, K.M., Johnson, M., Pitt, E.B., Smyer, M. & Matz-Costa, C. 2008. “Quality of employment and life satisfaction: A relationship that matters for older workers”. Workplace Flexibility. The Center on Aging and Work.

Joshua, D., Joel, T.N., & Meghan, R.L. 2011. “Sex difference in delaying family: Effects on job and life satisfaction”. Psychology Research, 1(6), 444-452.

Kapteyn, A., Smith, J.P., & Soest, A.V. 2009. “Life Satisfaction”. Discussion paper no. 4015. IZA, The Netherlands.

Kim-Prieto, C., Diener, E., Tamir, M., Scollon, C. N., & Diener, M. 2005. “Integrating the Diverse Definitions of Happiness: A Time- Sequential Framework of Subjective Well- Being”. Journal of Happiness Studies. 6 (3), 261-300.

Khoerun Nisa. 2014. “Sumber daya pensiun dan kepuasan hidup lansia pria dan wanita pada masa pension”. Skripsi untuk Sarjana Sains, Fakultas Ekologi Manusia, Institut Pertanian Bogor.

Kong, F. & You, X. 2013. “Loneliness and self-esteem as mediators between social support and life satisfaction in late adolescence”. Social Indicator Research, 110, 271-279. http://doi.org/10.1007/ sll205-001-9930-6.

Kousha, M. & Moheen, N. 2004. “Predictors of life satisfaction among urban Iranian women: An exploratory analysis”. Journal of Social Indicators Research, 40 (3), 320- 357.

KPWKM. 2015. “Perangkaan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat Malaysia 2015”, Kementerian Pembangunan Wanita, Keluarga dan Masyarakat, Putrajaya. Retrieved from http://www.kpwkm.gov.my/ kpwkm/uploads/files/Penerbitan/Buku%20 stat i s t i k /BUKU%20STATISTIK%20 2015%20KPWKM.pdf. Downloaded on 20 March 2017.

Leung, B. W. C, Moneta, G.B., & Chang, C.M. 2005. “Think positively and feel positively: Optimism and life satisfaction in late life”. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 61 (4), 335-365.

Levinson, D. 1978. The Seasons of a Man’s Life. New York: Knopf.

Lewis, G. B., & Frank, S. A. 2002. “Who wants to work for the government?”, Public Administration Review, 62 (4), 395-404.

Light, Hertsgaard, & Martin. 1985. “Education and income: significant factors in life satisfaction of farm men and women”. Research in Rural Education, 3 (1), 7-12.

Lora, E. &Chaparo, J.C. 2008. The Conflictive Relationship between Satisfaction and Income. Inter-American Development Bank. Department of Investigation, Washington, New York.

Mahanta, D. & Aggarwal, M. 2013. “Effect of perceived social support on life satisfaction of university students”. European Academic Research, 1 (6), 1083-1094.

Meeks, S. & Murrell, S.A. 2001. “Contribution of education to health and life satisfaction in older adults mediated by negative effect”. Journal of Aging Health, 13 (1), 92-119.http:// doi.org/10.1177/089826430101300105.

NATSEM. 2010. “The Pursuit of Happiness: Life Satisfaction in Australia”. NATSEM Income and Wealth Report. University of Canberra.

Navaie-Waliser, M., Spriggs, A., & Feldman, P.H. (2002). Informal caregiving: Diferrential experiences by gender. Medical Care, 40 (12), 1249-1259.

Newtson, R. L., and P. M. Keith. 1997. “Single women in later life”. In Handbook on women and aging, edited by J. M. Coyle, 385-99. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.

Panda, A.K. 1999. Life Satisfaction among Elderly Females in Delhi. Department of Social Work, Delhi University, Unpublished manuscript.

Ramachandran, R., and Radhika, R. 2012. “Socioeconomic status and life satisfaction in cross cultural perspective: The elderly in Japan and India”. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2 (16), 285-297.

Rashid, S. & Rashid, U. 2012. “Work Motivation Differences between Public and Private Sector”. American International Journal of Social Science, 1 (2), 24-33.

Rayanagoudar, S., Gaonkar, V. & Itagi, S.K. 2001. “Effect of income, education and religion on the life satisfaction of the elderly retired women”. Man in India, 81, 301-304.

Santrock, J.W. 2011. Life Span Development. New York: Mc Graw Hill.

Sener, A. 2011. “Emotional support exchange and life satisfaction”. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1(2), 79-88.

Sheldon, K.M., Elliot, A.J., Kim, Y. & Kasser, T. 2001. “What is satisfying about satisfying events? Testing 10 candidate psychological needs”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 570-585. http://dx.doi. org/10.1037.

Shichman, S., & Cooper, E. 2004. “Life satisfaction and sex role concept”. Journal of Sex Role, 11, 227-240.

Song, L. & Appleton, S. 2008. “Life satisfaction in Urban China: Components and determinants”. World Development, 36 (11), 2325-2340.

Song, Y. I. 1992. “Life satisfaction of the Korean- American elderly from a socio-psychological analysis”. Journal of Population and Development, 21 (2), 225-241.

Sousa, L., & Lyubomirsky, S. 2001. “Life Satisfaction”. In J. Wore (ed). Encyclopedia of Women and Gender: Sex Similarities and Differences and the Impact of Society on Gender. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Suldo, S. M., & Huebner, E. S. 2005. “Is Extremely High Life Satisfaction During Adolescence Advantageous?”, Social Indicators Research. 78, 179-203.

The Department of Statistics 2014. “Data Asas Malaysia, Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia, Putrajaya”. Retrieved from http://www.rurallink.gov.my/wp-content/ uploads/2015/05/1-DATA-ASAS-MALAYSIA1.pdf. Downloaded on 27 March 2017.

Valois, R. F., Zullig, K. J., Huebner, S. E., Drane, J. W. 2004. “Life Satisfaction and Suicide Among High School Adolescents”. Social Indicators Research, 66, 81-105.

Yamawaki, N., Nelson, J.A.P., & Omori, M. 2011. “Self-esteem and life satisfaction as mediators between parental bonding and psychological well-being in Japanese Young adults”. International Journal of Psychology and Counseling, 3 (1), 1-8.

Zhang, S., Erping, W., & Chen, Y. 2011. “Relative deprivation based on occupation: An effective predictor of Chinese life satisfaction”. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 14, 148-158. http://doi. org/10.11111/j.1467-839x.2010.01338.x.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22146/jp.32363