Life Satisfaction Over Time Among Rural Low-Income Mothers

The satisfaction with life (SWL) among rural low-income mothers was assessed using a sample of 163 mothers who participated in a multi-state, three-year longitudinal study. Dependent variables included those that represented various forms of capital (health, human, personal and social) as well as the mothers' levels of life satisfaction from prior years. Nearly two-thirds of the rural mothers were satisfied with their life in all three years. Their level of satisfaction appeared to be constant, however, such persistence had a time frame of only one year. In all three years, their depression score and the adequacy of their income had a significant effect on SWL. Their confidence as a parent and home ownership affected their life satisfaction during two years. Finally, their satisfaction with social relationships, age of the youngest child, and total number of children had an impact on their life satisfaction for one year