Anomia as a factor predicting subjective well-being

Abstract

Subjective well-being is recognized as one of the important indicators of health. The purpose of this research was to determine how dimensions of anomia are associated with subjective well-being and which dimensions of anomia best predict global life satisfaction and global sense of happiness. The secondary data from the third European Quality of Life Survey were used. 1009 respondents (residents of Latvia) aged between 18 and 92 years participated in the research (34.9% males, 65.1% females). 3 subscales of anomia (Trustworthiness to Government and Other Social Institutions, Social Isolation and Meaninglessness) were constructed. To assess subjective well-being ten questions of EQLS were used. It was found that three dimensions of anomia were negatively associated with global life satisfaction, domain satisfaction and global sense of happiness. Meaninglessness, social isolation and trustworthiness significantly predict global life satisfaction, F(3,797) = 174.55, p = .000, R² = .40%. Meaninglessness and social isolation significantly predict global sense of happiness, F(2,792) = 189.25, p = .000, R² = .32%. Dimensions of anomia could be useful in prediction of subjective well-being.