Life satisfaction in Brazil: an exploration of theoretical correlates and age, period and cohort variations using the World Values Survey (1991-2014)

Abstract

This paper discusses some of the factors associated with life satisfaction in Brazil using four waves of the World Values Survey (1991 to 2014). Some results already described in the literature were confirmed, as we found that individuals who were married, employed, more religious, in better health, with greater freedom/control over their lives and who had a better financial situation were more satisfied with life, regardless of the time period. The variables for age and cohort showed non-significant associations with life satisfaction when aspects that theoretically correlated with life satisfaction were controlled in the analysis. When the different cohorts were analyzed separately, the results suggest that life satisfaction might be related to the conjectural and historical factors represented by period effects.

Differences in determinants of active aging between older Brazilian and English adults: ELSI-Brazil and ELSA

“…We also highlight that life satisfaction, a personal active aging determinant, was the only similar indicator between older Brazilians and older English adults. Life satisfaction is a subjective feeling related to income, personal characteristics, attitudes, relationships, age, birth cohort, and broader social environment 31 . Gender and culture shape people and their lives, embedded with individual and context determinants.…”

Anatomy of Brazil's Subjective Well-Being: A Tale of Growing Discontent and Polarization in the 2010s

“…The literature on SWB in Brazil has mostly examined the correlates associated with the high levels of Brazilian SWB (e.g. Islam et al, 2009;Gori-Mora, 2013;Golgher & Coutinho, 2020) in comparison with those of many other countries. Some Brazilian studies have focused on the SWB of specific populations such as the elderly (e.g., Pinto et al, 2016;Simões et al, 2021) and adolescents (e.g., Viñas et al, 2019) or are specific quasi-experiments focusing on rural household displacement (Randell, 2016) or land ownership programs (De Moura & De Silveira Bueno, 2013).…”