Life satisfaction among academicians: an empirical study on the universities of Turkey

The purpose of this study is to examine the levels of life satisfaction among academicians in Turkey and to investigate the effects of demographics on levels of life satisfaction among academicians. A questionnaire-based study was conducted in 648 academicians working in the Universities of Turkey. Data were collected using Diener et al.'s Life Satisfaction Scale. The life satisfaction levels of the academicians were found to be moderately high in the study. The results of the study indicated that professors have a higher level of life satisfaction as compared to assistant professors, instructors and research assistants. Professors have the highest level of life satisfaction among the all academicians. Among the demographic variables, gender, age, income level, length of service in present university, length of service in higher education, and abroad experience were significantly related to life satisfaction. On the other hand, marital status was not significantly related to life satisfaction of the academicians. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.