A Correlational Analysis on Materialism, Life Satisfaction, and Self-Esteem Among Undergraduates

With the common belief that acquiring possessions will bring life satisfaction, current research suggests that this is not always the case. “Literature reports that materialism is negatively related to self-esteem, well-being, quality of life, and satisfaction with life in general” (Roberts & Clement, 2006, p. 82). Richardson’s (2009) data suggests that “higher scores on the self liking factor imply higher levels of happiness” ( p. 111). Interweaving the findings in these studies as well as with others, the current study attempts to further analyze the relationship between one’s level of importance placed on material accumulation, their perceived level of life satisfaction, and the individual’s perception of self-esteem. In the present study, I conducted a correlational analysis on a population of undergraduate student volunteers (n = 130). The participants were issued a questionnaire addressing the factors of life satisfaction, materialism, and self-esteem. In relation to materialism, results suggested a nonsignificant correlation between and life satisfaction and self-esteem. A significant positive correlation was found between selfesteem and life satisfaction, suggesting that aspects such as self-liking and self-efficacy may have stronger influences on an individuals perceived level of life satisfaction within similar demographics