Spirituality: The Key between Life Satisfaction and Body Satisfaction Jennifer L. Faulkner & Sara E. Harding

Life Satisfaction  An overall enjoyable life, which meets one’s needs and wants and fulfills a high quality of existence.  Implies the satisfaction of individual factors

Body Satisfaction and Life Satisfaction  Psychological issues related to eating and weight can affect global aspects of well- being (Greeno et al, 1998).  Entire sample of college-aged women report relationship between body satisfaction and self-concept (Webster & Tiggemann, 2001).

Spirituality  “A state of being reflecting positive feelings, behaviors, and cognitions of relationships with oneself, others, the transcendent and nature, that in turn provide the individual with a sense of identity, wholeness, satisfaction, joy, contentment, beauty, love, respect, positive attitudes, inner peace and harmony, and purpose and direction in life.” –Gomez and Fisher, 2002

Spirituality and Life Satisfaction  More spiritual life parallel to greater life satisfaction (Kinnier et al, 2001)  Personal spirituality reliably predicts greater satisfaction with life and helps college students cope with stressors (Fabricatore, 2000)

Hypothesis High Body Satisfaction Low Body Satisfaction High SpiritualityHigh Life Satisfaction Moderate Life Satisfaction Low SpiritualityModerate Life Satisfaction Low Life Satisfaction

Method Participants  67 women from a liberal arts college  Ages range from  52 sorority members; 15 independents  Mostly Midwestern  65 white; 2 Hispanic

Instruments  Life Satisfaction Survey (Diener, 1993) Likert scale 1-7 ___ The conditions of my life are excellent. ___ In most ways my life is close to my ideal. ___ I am satisfied with my life. ___ So far I have gotten the important things I want in life. ___ If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.  alpha =.7802

 Eating Disorders Inventory -subscale measuring body satisfaction (Vohs et al, 2000)  alpha =  “I like the size of my hips.” Always, Usually, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never

 Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire (Fisher, 1998)  alpha =.9008  Examples: “Developing a personal relationship with God.” “Developing a connection with nature.”

Results  Relationship between body satisfaction and life satisfaction: r =.291, p =.017  Relationship between spirituality and life satisfaction: r =.399, p =.001  No significant relationship between body satisfaction and spirituality.

Analysis High Body Satisfaction Low Body Satisfaction High Spirituality Low Spirituality

Main Effects  Spirituality: F = 4.55, df = 1, p =.039  Body Satisfaction: F = 7.54, df = 1, p =.009  No significant interaction between spirituality and body satisfaction.

2 x 2 ANOVA High Body Satisfaction Low Body Satisfaction High Spirituality Mean = “Life Satisfaction” Mean = “Life Satisfaction” Low Spirituality Mean = “Life Satisfaction” Mean = “Life Satisfaction”

Main Effects

Curious Findings  Relationship between year in college and life satisfaction: r =.326; p =.007

Curious Findings  Relationship between body satisfaction and G.P.A.: r =.274; p =.025

Discussion  Reviewing Research: - Body satisfaction is a component of life satisfaction. - Spirituality is also a component.  Can spirituality compensate for low body image? YES!

Implications  If the effects of body satisfaction can be offset by spirituality, then the same may be true for other self-perceptions, and…  Perhaps we should strive to make spirituality a more important aspect of our daily lives.

Future Research  Larger, more diverse sample  Test other self-perceptions and look for spirituality’s effects.  Is there really a link between body satisfaction and G.P.A.? If so, why?  Does age play a part in overall life satisfaction?