Domain Satisfaction and Overall Life Satisfaction: Testing the Spillover-Crossover Model in Chilean Dual-Earner Couples.

Berta Schnettler,Héctor Poblete,Ligia Orellana,Cristian Adasme-Berríos,Edgardo Miranda-Zapata,Germán Lobos,María Lapo

doi:10.3390/ijerph17207554

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine spillover and crossover effects between job satisfaction, satisfaction with family life (SWFaL), satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL) and overall life satisfaction (LS) in dual-earner couples. The gender of the couple members was also accounted for in these interrelationships. A sample of 473 dual-earner couples with adolescent children in Temuco, Chile, responded to a questionnaire. Both members of the couple answered the Satisfaction with Life Scale, Overall Job Satisfaction Scale, the Satisfaction with Family Life Scale and the Satisfaction with Food-related Life Scale. Using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modeling, it was found that men’s LS was positively associated with their own job satisfaction, SWFaL and SWFoL (spillover), as well as with their partner’s SWFaL (crossover). Results also showed that women’s LS was positively associated with their own job satisfaction, SWFaL and SWFoL (spillover), as well as with their partner’s SWFaL and job satisfaction. Different gender patterns were found for job satisfaction and SWFoL. These findings suggest that for dual-earner couples, life satisfaction may not only be influenced by their own individual satisfaction in a life domain but also by their partner’s satisfaction in the same domain.

Highlights

As the cognitive component of subjective well-being (SWB), life satisfaction is defined as a person’s general assessment of their living conditions [1]
Via spillover, greater job satisfaction, satisfaction with family life and satisfaction with food-related life translate into higher levels of overall life satisfaction in both members of the dyad
Contrary to expectations, only a unidirectional crossover from men’s job satisfaction to their female partners’ life satisfaction was obtained, while in the food domains, no crossover associations were detected. These findings suggest that family life has a more uniform influence on the life satisfaction of both men and women in a couple, followed by non-reciprocal associations from the job domain, and with food-related life limited to having an impact on life satisfaction at an individual level

Summary

Introduction

As the cognitive component of subjective well-being (SWB), life satisfaction is defined as a person’s general assessment of their living conditions [1]. The life satisfaction bottom-up theoretical approach suggests that an individual’s overall life satisfaction is informed by their satisfaction in diverse life domains [2,3]. Different studies have adopted this approach to assess the influence of different life domains (e.g., work, family, health, financial situation) on overall life satisfaction at an individual level in adult samples [4,5,6,7,8]. These findings have shown that evaluations of various life domains can make independent contributions to (i.e., predict) life satisfaction [9]. Public Health 2020, 17, 7554; doi:10.3390/ijerph17207554 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph

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