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A National Representative Study of the Relative Impact of Physical and Psychological Problems on Life Satisfaction

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Abstract

This study assessed the influence of different physical and psychological illnesses on life satisfaction in individuals. A nationally representative sample (N = 2,966) of non-institutionalized Spanish adults between the ages of 18 and 65 years completed a self-report measure on treated physical and psychological problems as well as a measure of overall life satisfaction. The results showed that although physical and psychological problems both had an impact on life satisfaction, greater effect sizes were generally found for psychological rather than for physical illness. Regression analysis, which controlled for the effects of comorbidity and sociodemographic variables (e.g. age, gender, marital status, employment status, and education level), revealed a significant impact on life satisfaction in cancer and migraine (in the domain of physical problems), and in depression, lack of concentration, insomnia, and stress/anxiety (in the domain of psychological problems). Further multivariate analyses were conducted to estimate decreases in the Satisfaction With Life Scale for each of the conditions assessed. A lack of significant interactions revealed that the effect of comorbid physical and/or psychological problems could be additive. The present results show that people who are afflicted with psychological problems exhibit a marked decrease in life satisfaction. As a whole, this negative impact is significantly greater than the decrease associated with physical problems.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Margarita Alvarez, Jesús Gallardo, and Isabel de Julian (Coca-Cola Institute of Happiness) for their assistance in all stages of this research and anonymous reviewers for their comments on previous versions of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Complutense University, Campus de Somosaguas, 28223, Madrid, Spain

    Carmelo Vázquez, Juan J. Rahona & Gonzalo Hervás

  2. Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain

    Diego Gómez

  3. Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Spain http://www.cibersam.es

    Francisco Felix Caballero

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Felix Caballero

  5. Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Universitario de La Princesa, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria Princesa (IP), Madrid, Spain

    Francisco Felix Caballero

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  1. Carmelo Vázquez
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Correspondence to Carmelo Vázquez.

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Vázquez, C., Rahona, J.J., Gómez, D. et al. A National Representative Study of the Relative Impact of Physical and Psychological Problems on Life Satisfaction. J Happiness Stud 16, 135–148 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-014-9501-z

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