LIFE SATISFACTION AMONG THE JAPANESE LIVING ABROAD

The present study was designed to examine differences in life satisfac tion between groups of Japanese living in three different countries us ing the Life Satisfaction Battery (LSB). The LSB was developed by Sore nson (1986) and consists of 12 scales: positive mood, negative mood, p hysical discomforts, satisfaction, daily routine, competence, accompli shments, resources, stress, motivation, internal obstacles, and extern al obstacles. This self-report inventory was administered to 747 nativ e Japanese subjects located in three different countries: the United S tates (325), Egypt (72), and Japan (350). Results demonstrated signifi cant differences between the three groups: Japanese in the United Stat es were generally more satisfied than a comparable group living in the ir home country, and these two groups were substantially more satisfie d with various areas of their lives than were Japanese subjects living in Egypt. This study demonstrates the effects of cultural differences on life satisfaction for people living temporarily in foreign societi es, and attempts to explain the differences by interpreting the subjec ts' expectations and by examining access to help. Copyright (C) 1996 E lsevier Science Ltd.