Marital relationship, occupational life, and subjective well-being of married people

Abstract

This research investigated mental health of marreid people in relation to their marital relationship, occupational life, and household income. A questionnaire was administered to husbands and wives, either in middle age or child-rearing years, to measure their degree of satisfaction in marital relationship, occupational life, household income, and subjective well-being. Results showed that satisfaction in workplace for men, and additionally satisfaction in marital relationship of men in child-rearing years, strongly predicted their subjective well-being. As for women, however, the strong association with subjective well-being was found for satisfaction in marital relationship, for those who were unemployed or employed part-time. The association was strongest for those who were in child-rearing years. Satisfaction in workplace was as important as satisfaction in marital relationship for women who were employed full-time. These findings suggested that satisfaction gained from what a person concentrated most of his/her energy on, explained his/her subjective well-being very well.