Yonsei Med J.  2007 Jun;48(3):371-378. 10.3349/ymj.2007.48.3.371.

Positive-Thinking and Life Satisfaction amongst Koreans

• Jung JY
• Oh YH
• Oh KS
• Suh DW
• Shin YC
• Kim HJ

• KMID: 724090
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2007.48.3.371

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. ReESULTS: 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(R(2) 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.

Keyword

Positive thinking; life satisfaction; well-being; Korean general population

MeSH Terms

Adult
Analysis of Variance
Attitude
Educational Status
Female
Humans
Income
Interviews as Topic
Korea
Male
Middle Aged
Occupations
*Personal Satisfaction
Quality of Life/*psychology
Questionnaires
Thinking/*physiology

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Positive thinking according to demographic factors. (A) Participants in their 30s had the highest scores. (B) People with high or middle-level incomes had higher scores than people with low-level incomes. (C) Holders of a more-than-two-year college degree reported the highest scores. (D) Clerical/skilled workers showed higher scores than the self-management/professionals and the sales/service/manufacturers/craftsmen.

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