Depression and life satisfaction among Australian, Ghanaian, Nigerian, Northern Irish, and Swazi University students

To extend previous cross-cultural research examining the relationship between depression and life satisfaction, Australian, Ghanaian, Nigerian, Northern Irish, and Swaziland university students completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI; Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). In accordance with previous findings, mild to moderate significant negative associations were found between scores on the measures of depression and life satisfaction for the five cultural groups examined. A significant main effect was found for culture on life satisfaction scores, with the Australian sample scoring significantly higher than the Ghanaian and Nigerian samples. No significant gender differences were found on the life satisfaction and depression measures. Culture had a significant impact on both depression and life satisfaction scores. Furthermore, a significant interaction was found between culture and gender on life satisfaction scores. Results are discussed with reference to the differing nature of depressive symptoms experienced across cultures and previous trends found in cross-national studies of life satisfaction.