Abstract
Using a structural equation model, this article examines to what extent subjective well-being or life satisfaction is influenced by travel satisfaction. To avoid confounding, satisfaction with other life domains, personal characteristics and personality traits are included in the model. In addition, the reverse effect of well-being on travel satisfaction is considered. To collect the data needed to estimate the model, a survey was designed and administered face-to-face in January 2015 in Xi’an, China using a random sampling procedure. After controlling for personality traits and significant socio-demographic variables, results indicate that travel satisfaction has a relatively small impact on subjective well-being. The reverse relationship is considerably stronger.
1. Introduction
Since long, subjective well-being, a concept closely related to life satisfaction, happiness and fulfilment has been a topic of research in social and psychological sciences. Subjective well-being expresses people’s cognitive and emotional evaluations of their lives. These evaluations include people’s emotional reactions to events, their moods, judgments of life satisfaction and fulfilment, and satisfaction with different domains of life such as marriage and work (Diener, Oishi, & Lucas, 2003). Thus, subjective well-being is a multi-dimensional concept that covers many life domains. The concept has been measured using a variety of different scales (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985; Diener & Suh, 1997). As an alternative to the concept of utility, subjective well-being has been proposed as a measure of individuals’ benefits in a number of different life domains (Kahneman, Diener, & Schwarz, 1999).
7. Discussion and conclusions
This study, one of the first of its kind and scope in China, was conducted to better understand the relationship between travel satisfaction and subjective well-being. Taking a more comprehensive perspective than typical previous studies on this topic in transportation research, this study (i) includes both hedonic and eudaimonic measure of subjective well-being, (ii) allows for mutual dependency between travel satisfaction and subjective well-being, (iii) acknowledges that subjective wellbeing is influenced by people’s interdependent satisfactions with different domains of life, and (iv) allows for possible influence of personality traits on satisfaction ratings.
