Investigate the Role of the Gap between Goals and Aspirations and the Perceived Chance to Achieve Them in Life Satisfaction

Life satisfaction is so important that it can be said that it is the goal of life. The aim of our research was to investigate the role of the gap between goals and aspirations and the perceived chance to achieve them in life satisfaction among a sample of Iranian students. The population included all students studying at Allameh Tabatabaei University (ATU), from which 250 students were selected using the available sampling method. The scales for assessment used in the study were Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and Aspiration Index (AI). Pearson correlation results demonstrated that the gap between the importance of hedonism, community contribution, self-acceptance, self-image and financial success and the chance to achieve them with life satisfaction were negatively significant (P<0.01). Results of stepwise regression analysis indicated that 6% of variance of the dependent variable can be explained by the gap between the importance of goals and the chance to achieve them in the goal of financial success (P<0.01). Multivariate test results indicated that there is a no significant difference between the male and female students in terms of the gap between the importance of goals and aspirations and the chance to achieve them (P>0.05). T-test results showed that male and female students have significant difference in their life satisfaction (P<0.05). Considering the role of the gap between the importance of financial success and the chance of achieving it in predicting life satisfaction, it is suggested that managers reduce this gap by creating jobs.