Abstract
Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate within-person life satisfaction (LS) dynamics for two age groups, 20–29 and 30–39 years, from 1984 to 1986 and to follow them over a 20-year period. Methods: Data from 1984 to 2008 were extracted from the large, prospective, longitudinal North-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), Norway. This paper includes data from more than 14,500 persons. Data were analysed using logistic regression, and LS dynamics were modelled using gender, time and self-rated health. Results: The analyses revealed that about 20% of people in these age groups had a stable level in LS, also known as set point. Long-term LS change, defined as ⩾2 SDs, was reported for 9% and 6% of people in the youngest and oldest age groups, respectively. A large proportion of more than 70% of people had fluctuations in their LS over a 20-year period. A significant decrease in within-person LS was seen for the age groups from 1984–86 to 1995–97 where a significant increase appeared from 1995–97 to 2006–08. For the initial 20–29 age group, the odds of having a higher score increased by 34%, and for the initial 30–39 age group, the within-person LS increase was 81%. Self-rated health was the most crucial variable influencing within-person LS. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a significant proportion of the responders had a long-term within-person LS change over the 20-year period.
Highlights
Questions about life satisfaction (LS) dynamics have been heavily debated over recent decades [1, 2], especially the question of how LS can vary around an individual’s set point [1], what factors contribute to change, and to what extent LS can change [3]
The results are expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), except for the random effects of between-person variance.This is reported as the variance in the regression coefficient on the log-odds scale with a standard deviation (SD) of this point estimate.We modelled the odds of achieving a higher level of LS using HUNT 1 as the reference.The fit of ordinal regression models was assessed using the test of parallel lines before performing the multilevel variant, and the multilevel model was assessed first with an empty model and by gradually adding variables
In the youngest age group, 20–29 years, the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the intercept was 0.59, indicating that 59% of the total variability in the threshold for change was due to between-person differences
Summary
Questions about life satisfaction (LS) dynamics have been heavily debated over recent decades [1, 2], especially the question of how LS can vary around an individual’s set point [1], what factors contribute to change, and to what extent LS can change [3]. When looking at a change in within-person LS, setpoint theory holds that adult LS is very stable over time, even if people are faced with challenging life events or substantially changed circumstances. This theory states that people will return to their baseline – their set point – a phenomenon referred to as ‘the hedonic treadmill’ [2, 10]. The aim of the present study was to investigate within-person life satisfaction (LS) dynamics for two age groups, 20–29 and 30–39 years, from 1984 to 1986 and to follow them over a 20-year period. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a significant proportion of the responders had a long-term within-person LS change over the 20-year period
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