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Life Satisfaction
Subjective well-being has been studied in many health populations, including persons with developmental disabilities, cardiac disease, arthritis, and changes in function due to aging. Among persons with disabilities, those with conditions affecting physical function have been more widely investigated than those with cognitive disabilities. Health status, income, and social activity have each been found to be highly related to subjective well-being.
Results of a preliminary study we conducted of persons with traumatic brain injuries showed that functional independence was not correlated with subjective well-being, despite previous studies showing "health status" to be an important mediating variable. Consistent with previous studies, income was highly related to life satisfaction. Social integration/social activity indices were related but did not appear as strong as reported in studies of aging or spinal cord injury. An interesting finding from this investigation was that time-post discharge was related to life satisfaction, with a decline evident for those subjects 1-2 years post-discharge. A follow-up study conducted as part of the Ohio Regional TBI Model System was designed to further examine the predictors of subjective well-being following TBI (link to SWLS abstract and TBI Model System project).
We also prepared a summary of an instrument frequently used to measure subjective well-being, the Satisfaction With Life Scale. A summary of this scale and its properties is available on the COMBI website.