An Examination of the Determinants of Life Satisfaction in Türkiye: A Logistic Regression Analysis
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to determine the relationships between satisfaction levels in different domains (income, health, housing, education, work, social relationships, etc.) that predict individuals' life satisfaction and their overall life satisfaction, as well as the relative importance levels of these predictors. Using microdata from the Turkish Statistical Institute's (TÜİK) 2024 Life Satisfaction Survey, the data of 9,462 participants (5,021 women, 4,441 men; mean age = 45.7, SD = 16.5) were examined using binary logistic regression analysis. The life satisfaction variable was divided into two categories, “satisfied” and “not satisfied,” based on the average score. The model applied was found to be adequately fitted to the data, accounting for approximately 20% of the variance in life satisfaction. The findings indicate that income satisfaction is the strongest predictor of life satisfaction. Income satisfaction is followed by satisfaction with health, marriage, friendships, social life, housing, work, education, and time for oneself. The age variable negatively predicts life satisfaction, while gender was found to be a non-significant predictor. The findings reveal that life satisfaction in Türkiye is closely related to economic security, physical health, and social relationships. Accordingly, policies aimed at reducing income inequality, practices that increase access to health services, and interventions aimed at strengthening social bonds may be effective in increasing life satisfaction.
Keywords
Life satisfaction, income satisfaction, health satisfaction, logistic regression
References
- Acar, Y. (2019). Determinants of life satisfaction in Türkiye: A cross-sectional analysis across provinces. Journal of Fiscal Studies, 5(2), 145–157.
- Acolin, A. & Reina, V. (2022). Housing cost burden and life satisfaction. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. 37. 1-27. https://doi.org/-10.1007/s10901-021-09921-1.
- Amati, V., Meggiolaro, S., Rivellini, G., & Zaccarin, S. (2018). Social relations and life satisfaction: the role of friends. Genus, 74. https://doi.org-/10.1186/s41118-018-0032-z.
- Bartram, D. (2020). Age and life satisfaction: Getting control variables under control. Sociology, 55(2), 421-437. https://doi.org/10.-1177/0038038520926871
- Bialowolski, P., & Weziak-Bialowolska, D. (2021). Longitudinal evidence for reciprocal effects between life satisfaction and job satisfaction. Journal of Happiness Studies: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Subjective Well-Being, 22(3), 1287–1312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-020-00273-1
- Bişgin, A. (2024). Effect of tax burden on life satisfaction: Mist countries. Mali Çözüm, 34(182), 501-519.
- Boone, H. N., & Boone, D. A. (2012). Analyzing likert data. The Journal of Extension, 50(2), Article 48. https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.50.02.48
- Brown, J., Macdonald, R., & Mitchell, R. (2015). Are people who participate in cultural activities more satisfied with life?. Social Indicators Research, 122, 135-146. https://doi.org/10.1007/-S11205-014-0678-7.
- Cai, H., Liu, H., & Gao, Y. (2025). New evidence on the relationship between income and subjective well-being: the mediating and moderating roles of psychological security. BMC Public Health, 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22286-2.
- Carr, D., Freedman, V., Cornman, J., & Schwarz, N. (2014). Happy marriage, happy life? Marital quality and subjective well-being in later life. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 76 5, 930-948. https://doi.org/10.1111/JOMF.12133.