Attributional Differences in the Life Satisfactions of the Elderly: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Asian and United States Subjects

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Abstract
A cross‐cultural examination of the attributions for the life satisfactions of the elderly was conducted by using a sample of 80 Asian‐Indian and 80 United States retired citizens. It was hypothesized that factors of hard work, luck, family ties, religious faith, travel and recreation, personal abilities, money, social status, service to others and friendships would account for differences in the attributions for life‐satisfactions of the two cultural groups. Results showed that more Asian than United States subjects reported satisfaction with life. Consistent with predictions, the attributions of the Asian group showed religious faith, service to others, family ties and luck as being very important factors contributing to life satisfaction. By contrast, more United States subjects reported that hard work, personal abilities, travel and recreation, and social status had significantly influenced their life satisfactions. Findings were interpreted in terms of cultural and socio‐psychological variables which influence the attributions for life satisfactions.

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