A Look at Life Satisfaction and Ethnicity in Canada

ABSTRACT/RESUME Using sample data from the 1997 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, the author examined the reported life satisfaction by members of different ethnic groups in Canada. The sample comprised 17,109 individuals of single and multiple ethnic origins aged 15 years old and over. Two working hypotheses were tested with the data. Overall, 92% of Canadians reported themselves to be either very satisfied or somewhat satisfied with their life in this country. Individuals reporting Dutch origins were found to be among the most satisfied, while those reporting Black, South Asian or Aboriginal ethnic backgrounds were relatively less satisfied with life than other members in the sample. Multivariate analysis of the data showed that the ethnic predictors per-se did not have much predictive power in terms of life satisfaction and that variations were mostly attributable to selected demographic, socioeconomic, attitudinal and residential types of correlates. En se servant de l'echantilon de donnees de l'Enquete nationale sur le don, le benevolat et la participation menee en 1997, l'auteur examine la satisfaction ressentie par les membres de divers groupes ethniques au Canada envers leur vie. L'echantillon est compose de 17 109 individus d'origines ethniques uniques et multiples ages de 15 ans et plus. Deux hypotheses de travail ont ete verifiees a partir des donnees. II ressort que 92% des Canadiens se disent soit tres satisfaits ou assez satisfaits de leur vie au pays. Ce sont les Hollandais qui en seraient les plus satisfaits alors que les Noirs, les Sud-Asiatiques et les groupes autochtones en seraient moins satisfaits. Une analyse multivariee a demontre que les variables ethniques en soi n'avaient pas beaucoup de pouvoir explicatif en termes de satisfaction de vie et que les variations etaient davantage attribuables aux types de correlation demographiques, socioeconomiues, attitudinaaux et residentiels qui ant selectionnes. INTRODUCTION Are ethnic group members equally satisfied with their life in Canada? To what extent are differences in life satisfaction attributable to demographic, residential or economic conditions rather than membership in ethnic groups per-se? Answering these two basic questions sheds light on the intricate nature of the psycho-social process of integration into the civic community. The purpose of this exploratory paper is to focus on the levels of life satisfaction among ethnic groups in order to identify their satisfaction and obtain a general picture of life satisfaction levels across these groups. It also discusses some aspects regarding the possible interaction between ethnicity and general correlates of life satisfaction in Canada. Although greater life satisfaction is often regarded as an important precursor of cognitive and emotional attachment to one's community of residence, the ethnic dimension of life satisfaction has received limited attention from Canadian scholars. Understanding why ethnic minorities are satisfied with their lives provides important clues about their perceptual patterns and their subjective processes of societal evaluation. This issue is also relevant in terms of identifying the possible objective and subjective correlates of well-being and civic integration into Canada. The hypothesis that ethnicity per-se has no direct effect on life satisfaction is supported by most scholars in the field (see Veenhoven, 1984, for a meta-analysis on this subject). There is nothing intrinsic in the cultural make-up of ethnic groups that makes them more or less prone to life satisfaction. Life satisfaction is said to be closely linked to the socio-economic position that groups occupy in the social hierarchy. For instance, ethnic groups mostly composed of recent immigrants are more likely to experience greater adaptational challenges in different domains of institutional life. …