EDUCATION AND THE SUBJECTIVE QUALITY-OF-LIFE

We examine whether education influences subjective quality of life. If it does, what are the mechanisms by which education affects well-bein g? We propose that education improves well-being because it increases access to nonalienated paid work and economic resources that increase the sense of control over life, as well as access to stable social rel ationships, especially marriage, that increase social support. We exam ine the relationship between education and a variety of indicators of subjective quality of life-depression, anxiety, anger, aches and pains , malaise, and dissatisfaction. Using two representative national samp les collected in 1990 and 1995, we find that the well educated have lo wer levels of emotional distress (including depression, anxiety, and a nger) and physical distress (including aches and pains and malaise), b ut the), do not have lower levels of dissatisfaction. Education reduce s distress largely by way of paid work, nonalienated work, and economi c resources, which are associated with high personal control; but the extent to which it reduces distress by way of marriage and social supp ort is much more modest. We contrast distress and dissatisfaction as i ndicators of the subjective quality of life.