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High life satisfaction reported among small-scale societies with low incomes.

ABSTRACT: Global polls have shown that people in high-income countries generally report being more satisfied with their lives than people in low-income countries. The persistence of this correlation, and its similarity to correlations between income and life satisfaction within countries, could lead to the impression that high levels of life satisfaction can only be achieved in wealthy societies. However, global polls have typically overlooked small-scale, nonindustrialized societies, which can provide an alternative test of the consistency of this relationship. Here, we present results from a survey of 2,966 members of Indigenous Peoples and local communities among 19 globally distributed sites. We find that high average levels of life satisfaction, comparable to those of wealthy countries, are reported for numerous populations that have very low monetary incomes. Our results are consistent with the notion that human societies can support very satisfying lives for their members without necessarily requiring high degrees of monetary wealth.

SUBMITTER: Galbraith ED

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10873637 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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High life satisfaction reported among small-scale societies with low incomes.

Galbraith Eric D ED Barrington-Leigh Christopher C Miñarro Sara S Álvarez-Fernández Santiago S Attoh Emmanuel M N A N EMNAN Benyei Petra P Calvet-Mir Laura L Carmona Rosario R Chakauya Rumbidzayi R Chen Zhuo Z Chengula Fasco F Fernández-Llamazares Álvaro Á García-Del-Amo David D Glauser Marcos M Huanca Tomas T Izquierdo Andrea E AE Junqueira André B AB Lanker Marisa M Li Xiaoyue X Mariel Juliette J Miara Mohamed D MD Porcher Vincent V Porcuna-Ferrer Anna A Schlingmann Anna A Seidler Reinmar R Shrestha Uttam Babu UB Singh Priyatma P Torrents-Ticó Miquel M Ulambayar Tungalag T Wu Rihan R Reyes-García Victoria V

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20240205 7

Global polls have shown that people in high-income countries generally report being more satisfied with their lives than people in low-income countries. The persistence of this correlation, and its similarity to correlations between income and life satisfaction within countries, could lead to the impression that high levels of life satisfaction can only be achieved in wealthy societies. However, global polls have typically overlooked small-scale, nonindustrialized societies, which can provide an ...[more]

PMID: 38315863

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Project description:BackgroundHumans life histories have been described as "slow", patterned by slow growth, delayed maturity, and long life span. While it is known that human life history diverged from that of a recent common chimpanzee-human ancestor some ~4-8 mya, it is unclear how selection pressures led to these distinct traits. To provide insight, we compare wild chimpanzees and human subsistence societies in order to identify the age-specific vital rates that best explain fitness variation, selection pressures and species divergence.MethodsWe employ Life Table Response Experiments to quantify vital rate contributions to population growth rate differences. Although widespread in ecology, these methods have not been applied to human populations or to inform differences between humans and chimpanzees. We also estimate correlations between vital rate elasticities and life history traits to investigate differences in selection pressures and test several predictions based on life history theory.ResultsChimpanzees' earlier maturity and higher adult mortality drive species differences in population growth, whereas infant mortality and fertility variation explain differences between human populations. Human fitness is decoupled from longevity by postreproductive survival, while chimpanzees forfeit higher potential lifetime fertility due to adult mortality attrition. Infant survival is often lower among humans, but lost fitness is recouped via short birth spacing and high peak fertility, thereby reducing selection on infant survival. Lastly, longevity and delayed maturity reduce selection on child survival, but among humans, recruitment selection is unexpectedly highest in longer-lived populations, which are also faster-growing due to high fertility.ConclusionHumans differ from chimpanzees more because of delayed maturity and lower adult mortality than from differences in juvenile mortality or fertility. In both species, high child mortality reflects bet-hedging costs of quality/quantity tradeoffs borne by offspring, with high and variable child mortality likely regulating human population growth over evolutionary history. Positive correlations between survival and fertility among human subsistence populations leads to selection pressures in human subsistence societies that differ from those in modern populations undergoing demographic transition.

Project description:ObjectiveTo identify correlates of life satisfaction at 10 years after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) using an extreme phenotyping approach.DesignEffect sizes were calculated in this observational cohort study to estimate relationships of 10-year postinjury extremely high, extremely low, and moderate life satisfaction with (1) pre-injury demographics, injury-related factors, and functional characteristics at inpatient rehabilitation admission and discharge; and (2) postinjury demographics and clinical and functional measures at 10 years postinjury.SettingMulticenter longitudinal database study.ParticipantsPeople identified from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research TBI Database with life satisfaction data at 10 years post TBI (N=4800).InterventionsNot applicable.Main outcome measureSatisfaction With Life Scale.ResultsAlthough few pre-injury factors or clinical and functional factors shortly after injury were associated with 10-year life satisfaction groups, the following 10-year postinjury factors were associated with extremely high vs extremely low life satisfaction group membership: greater independent functioning, less disability, more frequent community participation, being employed, and having fewer depressive and anxiety symptoms. Those with extremely high life satisfaction were distinctly different from those with moderate and extremely low satisfaction. Extremely high life satisfaction was underrepresented among non-Hispanic Black persons relative to non-Hispanic White persons. Relationships between life satisfaction and independent functioning, disability, and participation were attenuated among non-Hispanic Black persons.ConclusionsExtreme phenotyping analysis complements existing knowledge regarding life satisfaction after moderate to severe TBI and may inform acute and postacute clinical service delivery by comparing extremely high and extremely low life satisfaction subgroups. Findings suggest little association among personal, clinical, and functional characteristics early post TBI and life satisfaction 10 years later. Contemporaneous correlates of extremely high life satisfaction exist at 10 years post TBI, although the positive relationship of these variables to life satisfaction may be attenuated for non-Hispanic Black persons.

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High life satisfaction reported among small-scale societies with low incomes.

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High life satisfaction reported among small-scale societies with low incomes.

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