The Differential Effects of Project Stress on Life-Satisfaction

The role of stress, particularly economic hindrance, in the prediction of global life-satisfaction was contrasted between typically younger (n = 109) and more mature (n = 66) undergraduate students. Participants completed a Personal Projects Analysis Appraisal Matrix including six stress dimensions, as well as a single-item measure of global life-satisfaction. Discriminant function analyses conducted on the students' Personal Project appraisals revealed that project challenge and economic hindrance accounted for 25% of the variability in life-satisfaction for the mature students, but none of the stress dimensions predicted life satisfaction for the younger students. These results indicate that the role of stress in the prediction of life-satisfaction varies as a function of age, with project challenge and economic hindrance playing a significant role in older students' lives. The results are discussed in relation to the developmental context of personal projects as life tasks and the varying contexts for academic pursuit between mature and typically younger undergraduate students.