Modernity and Subjective Well-Being in Zimbabwean College Students

Abstract

The study utilized a multiple discrepancy approach to examine modernity as a correlate of subjective well-being in a sample of 110 Zimbabwean college students (44 males; 66 females) aged 24 to 58 years. Measures of subjective well-being covered satisfaction with life, domain of life satisfaction, frequency of emotional experiences, positive and negative affect. Students gave actual and ideal ratings of their subjective well-being and with comparison to their ideal person or desirability. The Zimbabwean college students had positive perceptions of their subjective well-being, although they tended to be less happy with their lives as compared to their ideal persons in satisfaction with life, recreation, finances, frequency of emotional experience, positive, and negative affect. Students with a higher preference for modernity reported having a higher self-regard, being less fearful, experiencing more pleasant affect and feeling closer to their ideal life as compared to those with a lower endorsement of modernity. Those with a higher preference for collectivism reported a higher satisfaction with family. Younger, and female students tended to report being significantly closer to their ideal levels of well-being.