Positive-thinking and life satisfaction amongst Koreans

Abstract

Purpose: The present study examined the positive-thinking and life satisfaction of the general Korean population. In particular, we examined the role of positive-thinking on participants' life satisfaction. Materials and Methods: We conducted a telephone survey of 409 respondents (194 males, 215 females). The participants provided self-reports on their positive thinking, life satisfaction and demographic information. Results: The results showed that age, education, occupation, and family income had an influence on positive- thinking as well as life satisfaction in Korea. Specifically, younger respondents and persons with high incomes or higher education degrees were more likely to have higher positive scores and thus higher life satisfaction scores. However, after controlling for the demographic variables, positive thinking significantly affected life satisfaction (R2 Change = 0.170, F = 88.56, p < 0.001). Conclusion: We provided empirical evidence that positive thinking may indeed play a significant role in life satisfaction. Therefore, positive thinking would offer important direction for the growth of life satisfaction and interventions aiming to remediate the effects of demographic variables on life satisfaction.