title: Life satisfaction and its correlates among college students in China: a test of social reference theory.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To study life satisfaction and to test the role of social reference in determining the degree of life satisfaction, we examined a large sample of undergraduate students in China for the correlates of campus life satisfaction.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire survey was administered at a university and the final sample consisted of 439 respondents aged between 17 and 24 years, from all over the country, and studying different subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that freshman students tended to score higher on their life satisfaction than students in other grades and the college students' life satisfaction was positively related to female gender, self-esteem, social support, and the liberal attitudes on female gender roles, but negatively correlated with depression and suicidal ideation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contrary to common beliefs, students from an urban area or from better-off families were not necessarily more satisfied with current life than those students coming from the countryside or low income families. The findings were accounted for by the social reference theory and in this case college students' campus life satisfaction is basically affected by their pre-college life quality as a reference.
authors.affiliation: Shandong University, School of Public Health, China; State University of New York College at Buffalo, NY, USA. Electronic address: zhangj@buffalostate.edu.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State University of New York at Buffalo, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Sibo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, NJ, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lester
authors.affiliation: Shandong University, School of Public Health, China.
authors.forename: Chengchao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002681:China; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D059020:Suicidal Ideation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: China; College students; Life satisfaction; Social reference