Naslov
Materialism scale, affective states and life satisfaction - representative sample in Croatia

Autori
Kaliterna Lipovčan, Ljiljana ; Prizmić Larsen, Zvjezdana ; Tadić, Maja

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
6th European Conference on Positive Psychology - Abstracts / Leontiev, Dmitry - Moskva, 2012, PS 1-PS1

Skup
6th European Conference on Positive Psychology

Mjesto i datum
Moskva, Ruska Federacija, 26.06.2012. - 29.06.2012

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
materialism; affective states; life satisfaction

Sažetak
Materialism is defined as a value which emphasis importance of possessions and material goods in person’s life toward achieving life goals or desired states (Richins & Dawson, 1992). Research suggests that people with high materialistic values experience lower levels of well-being. However, economic and cultural environment are likely to influence meanings of materialism and values toward possessions and consumption within the society. The aims of our study were to analyze the structure of materialism scale, to examine its relationships with demographic variables, and to explore the relationships between materialism and well-being on the nationally representative sample in Croatia. The study was part of public opinion survey and it was carried out by in-person interviews in the respondents’ home. Subjects were a representative sample of 1129 Croatian citizens (56% women). They reported life satisfaction, feeling of positive (happy, satisfied) and negative (depressed, stressed, sad, angry) affective states in the last month and short form of Richins’s (2004) materialism scale. The original factor structure of materialism scale with three factors, i.e., acquisition centrality (labeled as “centrality”), possession-defined success (labeled as “success”), and acquisition to achieve happiness (labeled as “happiness”) were not confirmed in Croatian sample. Instead two factors emerged, first one as “happiness” factor while success and centrality items combined into second factor. High score on “happiness” factor describes the belief that material possessions are essential for life happiness (e.g., “My life would be better if I owned certain things I don’t have” ; α= .75). High score on “success/centrality” factor describes belief in the central role of possession of material goods and its importance for life success (e.g., “I like a lot of luxury in my life” ; α= .74). Women scored higher on “success/centrality” factor than men, while gender differences were not found in “happiness” factor. Low income was associated with belief that possession was essential for life happiness, while being younger was associated with higher score on success/centrality factor.Hierarchical regression analyses showed that, when controlled for gender, age and income, acquisition to achieve happiness was the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, and both affective states, People who considered that consumption lead to happiness tended to have lower life satisfaction, higher levels of negative and lower levels of positive affective states than their counterparts. Success/centrality factor was predictor only of positive affective states. People to whom possessions had central role for personal gratification and who believed that material goods are important for their life success tended to report higher levels of positive affective states than their counterparts. Differential associations between materialism factors and well-being in Croatian society are discussed in the view of cultural and economic determinants.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Psihologija

POVEZANOST RADA