I suppose that most of the people reading this volume will have read or
have access to Volume One of my Global Report on Student Well- Being.
Therefore, I will not review the background literature relevant to
multiple discrepancies theory (MDT), the theory itself or the es-
sential features of the international university undergraduate data-set
on which this whole report is based. Anyone familiar with my earlier
papers (Michalos 1985, 1987, 1988) will have a good idea of MDT.
However, one really has to have a look at the first volume of this study
in order to appreciate the richness of a data-set consisting of over
18,000 cases drawn from 39 countries. As I indicated at the be- ginning
of that volume, the data-set is available for a very modest cost to
anyone who wants it and I do hope others will take advantage of it. The
focus of Volume One was on happiness and satisfaction with life as a
whole, so-called global indicators of subjective well- being. Volume Two
was devoted to an exploration of satisfaction with the interpersonal
relations of family, friends and living partners, and personal
self-esteem. This volume is concerned with satisfaction with material
goods as indicated by the domains of paid employment, fi- nances,
housing and transportation. In the fourth and final volume I will
explain satisfaction with religion, education, recreation and health.