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Systematic Review
I. What is the effectiveness of interventions aimed at improving life satisfaction across the life-course?
II. What are the long-term determinants of life satisfaction?
In the intervention review, a total of 189 studies with 234 intervention arms delivered in high-income OECD countries met criteria for inclusion. In the observational review, a total of 49 studies using data from 1 or more of eight UK-based longitudinal cohort studies were included. In each review, six main themes were identified, most of which had several subthemes.
Intervention review
• The six themes (18 subthemes total) identified were: Emotion-based activities (intrapersonal and interpersonal, n=154); Didactic emotional development (n=30); Health promotion (n=31); Social media (n=4); Music (n=3); and Multi-component interventions (n=12).
• Meta-analyses were possible in six themes and examined overall standardised mean differences (SMD), indicating the difference in change in life satisfaction from pre to post intervention between the intervention group and control group.
• In the intrapersonal (e.g. related to self) emotion-based activities theme: Meta-analyses revealed small significant effects of mindfulness (SMD: 0.28 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.13, 0.42), gratitude (0.19 (0.11, 0.27) and therapy (0.33 (0.12, 0.53) interventions on life satisfaction and a non-significant effect of meditation interventions on life satisfaction (SMD: 0.33 (-0.10, 0.76)).
• Narrative synthesis found no evidence that visualisation or reflection-based exercise improved life satisfaction. Narrative synthesis indicated there was mixed evidence on the effectiveness of positivity-based interventions and the remaining interventions classified as ‘other’ (i.e., some interventions were effective and others were not) and no summary conclusions could be drawn.
• In the interpersonal (e.g. relating to others) emotion-based activities theme, there was mixed evidence on the effectiveness of prosocial interventions, with no evidence that social interventions improved life satisfaction.
• In the didactic emotional development theme: Meta-analyses revealed a moderate effect of emotional skills development training on life satisfaction (SMD 0.50 (0.12, 0.88). There was mixed evidence on the effectiveness of emotional regulation and resilience-based interventions.
• In the health promotion subtheme, there was a small to moderate effect of exercise (SMD: 0.33 (0.04, 0.62)) on life satisfaction and mixed evidence of the effectiveness of health promotion education interventions.
• There was insufficient evidence across both the social media and music themes (each contained ≤4 interventions). • There was mixed evidence on the effectiveness of multicomponent interventions.
Observational review
• The six themes (10 subthemes) identified were: Economic and financial situations (n=12); Education and employment (n=14); Social capital (n=13); Health and wellness (n=11); Environment (n=5); and Arts and culture (n=5). Note some studies included factors that appear across multiple themes.
• Among economic and financial factors, income changes were found to be the most positive determinant of higher life satisfaction, although the strength of this association was moderated by age, education, and gender.
• Among employment factors, unemployment was found to have consistent and long-lasting negative associations with low life satisfaction.
• Among education factors, it was found that obtaining educational qualifications had a strong positive effect on life satisfaction, although the strength of this association was moderated and varied by generation, gender, and age.
• Participation in neighbourhood communities and in political and non-political associations showed weak evidence of longitudinal association with life satisfaction.
• All social support factors related to close relationships and support networks, including cohabitation, marriage, childbirth, informal caregiving, and network formation, were positively associated with life satisfaction.
• Among health factors, declining physical health and disability acquisition were identified as strong determinants of low life satisfaction.
• A strong positive association was found between engagement and participation in arts and culture activities (e.g., music, arts, and culture classes; visiting galleries and museums) and life satisfaction.
• The evidence regarding environmental factors was mixed due to an insufficient number of studies exploring each factor.
The two rapid reviews offer complementary and comprehensive insight into factors associated with life satisfaction. The intervention review primarily identified intrapersonal emotional activities, which were generally associated with improvements in life satisfaction although effect sizes were small. The observational review identified broader determinants of life satisfaction including socioeconomic circumstances, social capital and health factors. Together, the reviews identify key targets for improving life satisfaction as well as areas for further research. Addressing overall socioeconomic and health factors at a population-level could complement individual-centric interventions aimed specifically at improving life satisfaction