The influence of materialism on well-being among Thai adolescents

Abstract

This investigation attempted to examine the influence of materialism on well-being, mediated by gratitude, anxiety, and depression among Thai adolescents. Operationally, well-being encompassed the factors of academic performance, social integration, and life satisfaction. Data were collected from 1,200 university students in the Bangkok area. A self-administered survey questionnaire in Thai was employed for data collection. The questionnaire consisted of the following: a researcher-constructed set of questions to elicit demographic information, the Material Values Scale (MVS) to measure materialism, the Gratitude Questionnaire-6 (GQ-6) to measure gratitude, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to measure anxiety, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) to measure depression, the Engaged Living in Youth Scale (ELYS) to measure social integration, and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) to measure life satisfaction. The findings of Study 1 revealed that the Thai versions of the GQ-6 and the ELYS are psychometrically sound and, therefore, reliable and valid for use with Thai participants. Study 2 demonstrated the indirect negative influence of materialism on well-being, being mediated by gratitude, anxiety, and depression, nonsignificant correlation between materialism and gratitude, direct negative influence of materialism on well-being, and identified the full-direct model as the model that best explains the interrelationships among the core variables.