Life satisfaction and the male Vietnam veteran

One hundred and sixty eight males divided into three categories (48 Vietnam veterans, 55 Vietnam‐era veterans, and 65 Vietnam‐era nonveterans) were compared in the Life Satisfaction Index, an instrument designed to reflect morale or happiness, and on the dempgraphic variables of age, marital status, occupation, dependents, and physician visits per year. None of the demographic variables studied were found to be contributing factors in relation to the Life Satisfaction Index scores. A priori comparisons were computed for each group on the Life Satisfaction Index. The Vietnam veteran group had the lowest Life Satisfaction mean score of the three groups, while the Vietnam‐era and the Vietnam‐era nonveteran groups both scored above the overall mean. While data showed that all three groups reported a general satisfaction with life, an F ratio of 3.5 indicated that there was a significant difference between the Vietnam veteran and the Vietnam‐era nonveteran on this measure. However, the Vietnam veteran appeared no less satisfied with his life than his Vietnam‐era veteran counterpart, as illustrated by a nonsignificant t ratio.