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Indicator: Life Satisfaction (2006)


  
  • Life satisfaction is the self-evaluation of one’s life as a whole, and is influenced by socioeconomic, health, and environmental factors. 1
  • Life dissatisfaction is associated with obesity and risky health behaviors such as smoking, physical inactivity, and heavy drinking. 1
  • This indicator was assessed through the BRFSS question: “In general, how satisfied are you with your life?” The response options included: “very satisfied,” “satisfied,” “dissatisfied,” or “very dissatisfied”. It was asked of all 50 states, District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico in 2006.
Reference:
1. Strine TW, Chapman DP, Balluz L, Moriarty DG, Mokdad AH. The associations between life satisfaction and health-related quality of life, chronic illness, and health behaviors among U.S. community-dwelling adults. J Community Health 2008; 33:40–50.

State Data (2006)

Percentage of adults aged 50 years or older who reported that they were “dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” with their lives.
  Age Group
50+ 50–64 65+
Location Data % CI† Data % CI† Data % CI†
United States 4.9 (4.7–5.1) 5.8 (5.5–6.1) 3.5 (3.3–3.8)
Alabama 5.7 (4.6–7.1) 7.1 (5.5–9.0) 3.9 (2.7–5.8)
Alaska 4.2 (2.8–6.2) 4.3 (2.7–6.8) 3.9 (1.8–8.5)
Arizona 4.6 (3.4–6.1) 5.2 (3.7–7.4) 3.8 (2.2–6.5)
Arkansas 4.8 (4.1–5.7) 6.3 (5.1–7.6) 2.9 (2.2–4.0)
California 6.3 (5.1–7.8) 7.3 (5.6–9.5) 4.7 (3.3–6.6)
Colorado 3.9 (3.2–4.8) 4.7 (3.8–5.9) 2.5 (1.7–3.7)
Connecticut 4.0 (3.5–4.7) 4.6 (3.8–5.6) 3.3 (2.6–4.2)
Delaware 4.6 (3.5–5.9) 5.7 (4.2–7.8) 3.0 (2.0–4.5)
District of Columbia 5.1 (4.1–6.4) 6.4 (4.8–8.3) 3.4 (2.3–5.1)
Florida 4.4 (3.8–5.0) 5.0 (4.1–6.1) 3.7 (3.0–4.6)
Georgia 5.7 (4.9–6.6) 6.5 (5.4–7.8) 4.4 (3.3–5.9)
Hawaii 3.0 (2.4–3.8) 3.9 (3.0–5.2) 1.8 (1.2–2.6)
Idaho 3.6 (2.9–4.4) 4.1 (3.1–5.3) 2.9 (2.0–4.1)
Illinois 5.0 (4.1–6.2) 6.2 (4.8–7.9) 3.4 (2.4–4.9)
Indiana 6.1 (5.3–7.1) 7.7 (6.4–9.2) 4.0 (3.1–5.2)
Iowa 3.5 (2.8–4.3) 4.6 (3.5–5.8) 2.1 (1.5–3.0)
Kansas 3.6 (3.1–4.3) 4.5 (3.7–5.5) 2.5 (1.9–3.3)
Kentucky 7.2 (6.1–8.5) 9.0 (7.3–11.0) 4.5 (3.4–5.8)
Louisiana 4.8 (4.0–5.7) 5.5 (4.5–6.7) 3.7 (2.8–5.1)
Maine 4.4 (3.6–5.5) 4.6 (3.5–5.9) 4.2 (2.8–6.2)
Maryland 4.5 (3.8–5.4) 4.7 (3.8–5.9) 4.2 (3.3–5.4)
Massachusetts 4.9 (4.2–5.6) 5.8 (4.8–6.9) 3.6 (2.9–4.5)
Michigan 5.5 (4.6–6.5) 7.0 (5.7–8.5) 3.3 (2.5–4.4)
Minnesota 3.1 (2.5–3.9) 3.7 (2.8–4.9) 2.2 (1.5–3.3)
Mississippi 5.0 (4.2–5.9) 6.3 (5.2–7.7) 3.2 (2.4–4.2)
Missouri 4.5 (3.6–5.6) 5.6 (4.2–7.4) 3.0 (2.0–4.5)
Montana 3.3 (2.8–4.0) 3.7 (2.9–4.7) 2.8 (2.0–3.8)
Nebraska 4.3 (3.6–5.1) 5.2 (4.1–6.5) 3.1 (2.4–4.1)
Nevada 5.5 (4.1–7.4) 6.5 (4.4–9.4) 4.0 (2.5–6.3)
New Hampshire 4.5 (3.7–5.4) 5.1 (4.1–6.3) 3.6 (2.6–5.1)
New Jersey 5.3 (4.7–6.1) 5.9 (4.9–7.0) 4.6 (3.8–5.5)
New Mexico 5.0 (4.1–6.0) 5.6 (4.4–7.1) 4.0 (2.9–5.5)
New York 5.0 (4.1–6.0) 5.6 (4.3–7.1) 4.2 (3.2–5.5)
North Carolina 5.1 (4.5–5.7) 6.2 (5.4–7.1) 3.5 (2.8–4.3)
North Dakota 3.1 (2.4–3.9) 3.7 (2.7–5.1) 2.3 (1.5–3.4)
Ohio 4.1 (3.2–5.4) 5.1 (3.7–7.0) 2.8 (1.8–4.4)
Oklahoma 5.2 (4.4–6.0) 6.4 (5.3–7.8) 3.4 (2.7–4.5)
Oregon 4.6 (3.9–5.6) 5.8 (4.7–7.2) 2.9 (2.1–3.9)
Pennsylvania 4.6 (3.8–5.4) 5.8 (4.7–7.2) 3.0 (2.2–4.1)
Rhode Island 5.0 (4.1–6.1) 5.4 (4.1–7.0) 4.5 (3.4–6.1)
South Carolina 4.0 (3.5–4.7) 4.9 (4.1–5.9) 2.8 (2.1–3.8)
South Dakota 3.0 (2.5–3.7) 3.4 (2.6–4.5) 2.6 (1.9–3.6)
Tennessee 5.0 (4.1–6.1) 6.7 (5.3–8.4) 2.4 (1.6–3.6)
Texas 4.6 (3.7–5.7) 5.7 (4.4–7.4) 2.9 (2.0–4.0)
Utah 4.1 (3.3–5.2) 5.1 (3.9–6.7) 2.7 (1.9–3.9)
Vermont 3.6 (3.1–4.3) 4.4 (3.6–5.4) 2.5 (1.8–3.3)
Virginia 3.1 (2.4–3.9) 3.4 (2.5–4.6) 2.5 (1.7–3.9)
Washington 4.8 (4.4–5.3) 5.6 (4.9–6.2) 3.7 (3.1–4.3)
West Virginia 7.0 (6.0–8.2) 9.2 (7.6–11.1) 4.2 (3.1–5.5)
Wisconsin 4.1 (3.3–5.1) 4.9 (3.8–6.4) 2.9 (2.0–4.4)
Wyoming 4.0 (3.3–4.9) 5.2 (4.1–6.5) 2.3 (1.6–3.4)
Puerto Rico 5.2 (4.3–6.2) 5.9 (4.7–7.5) 4.1 (3.1–5.4)
Virgin Islands 4.2 (3.1–5.6) 4.6 (3.3–6.4) 3.4 (1.8–6.1)
Footnotes:
† A confidence interval (CI) describes the level of uncertainty of an estimate and specifies the range in which the true value is likely to fall. The State of Mental Health and Aging in America online report uses a 95% level of significance, which means that 95% of the time, the true value falls within these boundaries. When comparing prevalence of variables across states or years, we recommend the use of confidence intervals. If the confidence intervals overlap, the difference is not statistically significant.
Content source: CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
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