Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of life satisfaction to gender, perceived academic achievement, perceived economic status, perceived parental attitudes, expectation for the future, religious belief and loneliness among university students. The sample of the study consisted of 403 university students of Hacettepe University during the fall semester of 2005-2006. The data were obtained through the administration of Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) developed by Diener, Emmons, Laresen and Griffin (1985) and adapted in Turkish by Köker (1985); UCLA Loneliness Scale developed by Russel, Peplav and Ferguson (1978) and adapted in Turkish by Yaparel (1984) and Personal Information Form developed by the researcher. Results show that there were significant differences in the life satisfaction levels of the students according to their gender, perceived academic achievement, perceived economic status, expectation for the future, religious belief and loneliness. The results were discussed and recommendations for future research were offered.

Keywords: