Age and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Life Satisfaction

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 ABSTRACT

This study looked at the relationship between age and self-esteem and life happiness. With a

cross-sectional design, 112 people between the ages of 18 and 45 were included in the sample

from which data was collected. The participants completed questionnaires and submitted them

on an online platform. Correlation and Multiple regression analyses were conducted on SPSS to

investigate how age and self-worth affect life satisfaction. The results indicated that whereas

self-esteem is a significant positive predictor of life satisfaction, age was not. The study’s finding

contributes to the field of psychology by providing empirical evidence on factors influencing life

satisfaction. Future research should focus on bigger sample sizes to determine factors that predict

life satisfaction.
 Age and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Life Satisfaction.

Introduction

Over the years, researchers have measured a person's well-being by how satisfied they are

with life. According to Ruggeri et al. (2020), a person's life satisfaction level has an impact on

their mental and physical health as well as the overall quality of life that a person lives. While

being highly satisfied with one's own life may lead to low levels of stress and depression, when

one has a low life satisfaction level, they are likely to be mentally and physically ill.

Several factors have been associated with influencing a person's life satisfaction level.

These factors may be demographical, social, or/or psychological. Age and self-esteem are among

these factors. Several theories have suggested the influence of age and self-esteem on life

satisfaction. For instance, the socio-emotional theory indicates that people tend to be more

choosy in their socio-interactions as they age, making them highly satisfied with their lives

(Barber et al.,2016). On the other hand, with self-esteem comes the capacity to distinguish

between one's real self and one's ideal self, which results in greater life happiness.

This study aims to determine the influence of age and self-esteem on life satisfaction. The

study aims to provide insights into how these independent variables, age, and self-esteem, shape

a person's overall life satisfaction level.

1.1. Age and Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction is an aspect that has been given much focus in psychology because it is a

crucial indicator of a person's overall well-being. Age is a critical factor that has been identified

as influencing life satisfaction.

 Several studies have been conducted on the relationship between age and life satisfaction,

and several mixed findings have been found. According to Park and Kang (2023), there is a clear

correlation between life satisfaction and age. The study argues that as people age, they tend to

focus on their present goals and not future ones, i.e., they become more focused on the now.

Being focused on the 'now' makes a person more fulfilled of where they are in the present as they

involve themselves in more meaningful activities without worrying about what will happen in

the future. When a person focuses on the present activities and less on the future, they are more

satisfied with where they are with where they are presently in their life.

Age is also associated with a person's perspective of life because, as a person ages, they

have more wisdom, giving them a positive perspective on life (Ardelt et al.,2018). For instance,

as people age, they become less concerned about pursuing materialistic-related happiness and

focus on happiness from non-materialistic things such as good health, contentment, and peaceful

interactions. This non-mate non-materialistic happiness of happiness life satisfaction levels as

there is less worry.

An empirical study by Papi and Cheraghi (2021) showed that older adults report higher

life satisfaction levels than younger persons. However, the study showed that the relationship is

not linear. Based on the study's findings and discussion, an observation of one's life from birth

till old age showed that a person is delighted with life in their early ages, then the satisfaction

drops during the person's mid-life ages and then increases during old ages. These changes in a

person's life satisfaction levels show that age influences life satisfaction due to factors such as

aligned expectations and life experiences.

1.2. Self-Esteem and Life Satisfaction

 Research studies have also established a potential relationship between self-esteem and

satisfaction levels. People who have high self-esteem tend to be more satisfied with life as they

are satisfied with their actual selves (Orth & Robins, 2022). Most people have low self-esteem

because they are not satisfied with the person they are, mainly in terms of capabilities and worth.

People with low self-esteem continually wish to be the ideal selves that they imagine and wrath

the current person they are. This wishful perspective builds up to stress, making them less

satisfied with their life.

According to Steinberg and Monahan (2007), a person's self-esteem increases as they

age. As people age, they learn to accept who they are and become less influenced by societal

pressure. Older people portray high self-esteem resulting from less worrying about what society

thinks. This state of mind leaves them overly satisfied with life.

Several empirical studies, such as (Szcześniak et al., 2021; Kurnaz et al., 2020), showed a

positive correlation between self-esteem and life satisfaction. According to these studies, people

who have high self-esteem perceive their lives more positively, which makes them less anxious

and depressed. Low levels of depression and anxiety are critical indicators of high life

satisfaction levels (Ooi et al.,2022).

1.3. Research Problem

Despite several studies that have been conducted to determine the relationship between

age and life satisfaction as well as self-esteem and life satisfaction, there still needs to be more in

this research. This study explores some of these gaps. Specifically, this explores how factors

relating to aging and how people perceive themselves influence how they are overly satisfied

with their lives. Through this exploration, this study contributes to understanding factors that

influence life satisfaction.

1.4. Research Objective

The primary objective of this research is to determine the relationship and predictive

level of age and self-esteem on life satisfaction. The study determines:

1. The relationship between age and life satisfaction levels.

2. The relationship between self-esteem and life satisfaction levels.

1.5. Research Hypothesis

Hypothesis 1: Being older predicts higher levels of life satisfaction.

Null Hypothesis: There is no significant relationship between age and life satisfaction.

Alternative Hypothesis: Age and life satisfaction have a significant positive relationship.

Hypothesis 2: Lower self-esteem predicts lower life satisfaction.

Null Hypothesis: No significant relationship exists between self-esteem levels and life

satisfaction.

Alternative Hypothesis: A significant positive relationship exists between self-esteem levels and

life satisfaction.

1.6. Significance of the study

It is necessary to address whether age and self-esteem jointly or separately influence life

satisfaction levels among people. Understanding the impact of these two factors on life

satisfaction is more important in public health. This study's findings guide how people can

promote their well-being to help them increase their life satisfaction levels. Organizations in the

field of public health are the greatest beneficiaries of this study's findings as a guide on how to

run their practices to help people improve the quality of their lives.
2. Methodology

This section discusses the design, sample, participant recruitment, materials, and

procedures used in this study.

2.1. Study Design

The purpose of this study was to determine whether life satisfaction is predicted by age

and self-esteem. Through the use of a cross-sectional research design, the study was able to

assess the relationship between each independent variable and the dependent variable, i.e., life

satisfaction. A cross-sectional research design allows researchers to evaluate a relationship

between variables of data collected at a specific period (Setia,2016).

2.2. Study Sample

This study used a sample of 112 participants aged 18 to 85 years. 62 participants were

male, while the remaining 50 participants were female. The study adopted a stratified random

sampling technique to select its participants. According to Berndt (2020), the stratified random

sampling technique gives every person within the study population an equal chance to be

represented in the sample.

Study participants were selected from those who responded to advertisements made on

social media platforms and community centers. The advertisements welcomed all persons

between 18 and 50 to express their interest in this study by calling the provided number or

emailing.

2.3. Study Materials

This study adopted questionnaires as the data collection tool. The demographic variable

relevant to this study that was collected was the age and gender of the participants. The
questionnaire measured the participants' self-esteem and life satisfaction levels using continuous

variables. The participants were allowed to assign their self-esteem and life satisfaction levels to

any number between 1 and 100. The higher the value, the higher the satisfaction or the self-

esteem level.

The questionnaires were assigned to the participants through an online platform, which

ensured the data was efficiently and accurately recorded based on each participant's response.

The researchers were assigned tablets and the internet to ease their communication with

respondents.

2.4. Data Collection and Analysis

The data used in this study was collected within three months. First, the researchers put

up the advertisements on social media platforms and community centers. Once eligible

participants started showing interest in participating in the study, the researchers vetted them to

check if they met the study's eligibility criteria.

The eligible participants were taken through details of the study, such as the purpose and

procedures, through online training, and later, the link to the questionnaire was assigned through

their emails. The participants responded to the questionnaires remotely, and once they had

submitted them, the information was automatically saved.

The researchers coded the data to make it easy to analyze. The data analysis was

performed using the SPSS software. Descriptive statistics were derived to help provide an

overview of the study's sample. Correlation and standard multiple regression were carried out to

investigate the connections between age, life satisfaction, and self-esteem.

.
2.5. Ethical Considerations

The following ethical considerations were made in this study to ensure its reliability and

credibility.

i. The participants were informed that their participation was voluntary.

ii. The participants were free to withdraw from the study at any time without consequence.

iii. The data collected remained anonymous and was securely stored.

3. Results

Table 1

Descriptive Statistics

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Age 112 18 45 25.54 6.558
Self-Esteem 112 8.00 30.00 19.47 5.912
Life Satisfaction 112 8.00 33.00 20.13 6.118
Valid N (listwise) 112

Table 1 shows the means and standard deviations for age, self-esteem, and life

satisfaction. The sample had 112 participants whose ages ranged from 18 to 45 years. Old.

Table 2

Correlations
 Table 2 shows the Pearson correlation coefficients of the relationships between age, life

satisfaction, and self-esteem. The results show that age is positively correlated with life

satisfaction. However, this relationship is not significant (r = .02, p =.78). Self-esteem is also

positively correlated with life satisfaction (r = .77, p < .001).

Table 3

Regression

Table 4

ANOVA
Table 5

Regression Coefficients

Tables 3,4, and 5 show the results of multiple regression analysis conducted to examine if

age and self-esteem predict life satisfaction. The regression model from Tables 3 and 4 is

statistically significant, F (2, 108) = 52.29, p < .001. The model shows that 59.2% of the variance

in life satisfaction can be explained by age, sex, and self-esteem. (R² = .305). Results in Table 5

show that age (β = .04, t = 0.72, p = 0.48) is not a significant predictor of life satisfaction. On the

other hand, self-esteem (β = .80, t = 0.77, p < .001) is a significant predictor of life satisfaction.

4. Discussion and Conclusion

 This study aimed to determine if age and self-esteem are significant predictors of life

satisfaction. The results showed that while self-esteem is a significant predictor, age does not

significantly predict life satisfaction.

In response to our Hypothesis 1: Being older predicts higher levels of life satisfaction, the

results guided our conclusion to fail to reject the null hypothesis and, thus, conclude that there is

no significant relationship between age and life satisfaction. Our findings, therefore, mean that

being older does not necessarily mean one is fully satisfied with life. This finding aligns with our

literature review (Papi & Cheraghi, 2021), where they argued that high levels of life satisfaction

at older ages are only evident when other factors, such as financial stability, are achieved.

In response to hypothesis 2: Lower self-esteem predicts lower life satisfaction, the results

guided our conclusion to reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is a significant

positive relationship between self-esteem levels and life satisfaction. Our findings, therefore,

mean that lower self-esteem leads to lower life satisfaction. Our study findings are consistent

with the existing literature review (Orth & Robins, 2022), which has previously demonstrated a

predictive relationship and positive correlation between life satisfaction self-esteem. The existing

literature associated this relationship with a positive perception of one's life.

This study was quite comprehensive and provided a couple of valuable insights.

However, there are a few limitations to this study. First, the data was collected through self-

reporting questionnaires, which might have introduced the socio-desirability bias from the

respondents. Additionally, the sample might have partially represented the whole population as

the age eligibility was capped at 50 years, and 112 participants were a small sample.
 This study recommends that future studies determine if factors underlying age, such as

financial stability, predict life satisfaction. Additionally, future research should determine if

interventions such as socio-support influence life satisfaction.

In conclusion, this study identifies self-esteem as a significant predictor of self-esteem. It

is, therefore, essential to implement effective interventions to enhance one's self-esteem and aid

them in being satisfied with life overall.

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