Materialism and its relationship to life satisfaction

Ryan, L. and Dziurawiec, S. (2001) Materialism and its relationship to life satisfaction. Social Indicators Research, 55 (2). pp. 185-197.

Abstract

Studies into the consequences of pursuing a materialistic lifestyle have found that materialism is negatively related to life satisfaction. While most of these studies have been conducted using American samples, the few reported studies using Australian samples have limitations that the current study sought to address. Using a sample of 162 Australian adults and an improved methodology, a negative relationship was found, in that those individuals who were high in materialism were less satisfied with their `life as a whole' and with specific `life domains' than those who were low in materialism. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.