Sexual Orientation and Quality of Life Among University Students from Cuba,Norway, India,and South Africa

This article explores quality-of-life aspects among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and straight male and female students in Havana (Cuba), Troms? (Norway), Hisar (India), and Cape Town (South Africa). In the period 2004–2005, a questionnaire survey on sexuality, happiness, and life satisfaction was undertaken among 339 students from the University of Havana, 144 students from the University of Troms?, 200 students from Guru Jambheswar University, and 189 students from the University of the Western Cape. The majority of the participants were straight and, in Hisar and Cape Town, few of those who regarded themselves as gay/lesbian/bisexual had engaged in sex with a person of the same gender. In all cities, straight men and women scored higher than gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons on the quality-of-life measures. Quality of life among gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women was higher in cultures with accepting attitudes toward homosexuality than in cultures with restrictive attitudes.     

The Non-Economic Quality of Life on a Sub-National Level in South Africa

Most research on the non-economic quality of life have been (a) on a national level or performed on cross-country comparisons, and/or (b) used subjective indicators to measure how people perceive their non-economic quality of life. In this paper, our main contribution is to construct objective indicators of the non-economic quality of life for 354 sub-national magisterial districts in South Africa. We also compare changes in these indicators over time, and consider methodological issues in the construction of objective indicators of non-economic quality of life. We find that although income does matter for the overall quality of life, non-income components of the quality of life can make an important difference. We find a number of places with low incomes that have been able to achieve higher than expected outcomes in terms of the non-economic quality of life, and that some of the relative income poor areas have improved their non-economic ranking between 1996 and 2004. We also find that the geographical/environmental quality of life in South Africa is better in non-urban areas, where fewer of the country’s population is residing. Significant improvements in the overall quality of life may be achieved through improvements in the urban natural environment.

Quality of life in South Africa – The First Ten Years of Democracy

South Africa celebrated ten years of democracy in 2004. This special issue of Social Indicators Research (SIR) reviews developments that have impacted on the quality of life of ordinary South Africans during the transition period. The issue updates an earlier volume of SIR (Volume 41) published in 1997 and as a stand-alone volume. The earlier volume was initiated following SIR editor Alex Michalos’ first visit to South Africa. This update on quality of life in South Africa follows on his return visit to the country in 2004 to see firsthand the changes that had occured in the meantime. This introductory article outlines major achievements of and setbacks for the new democracy and the challenges facing it in future. It provides the backround for the evaluations of a range of quality of life domains and issues including poverty and inequality, crime, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, migration and housing, religiosity, reconciliation, and optimism for the future which are covered in the eleven articles that follow. The introduction divides the articles under the headings of challenges, achievements, monitoring quality of life, and social capital for the future. The overview article concludes that improvements in quality of life have been uneven but goodwill and a positive outlook bode well for South African quality of life in future.     

Measuring and understanding the well-being of South Africans: Everyday quality of life in South Africa

South Africa has a Gini co-efficient of 62, one of the world’s highest (Finmark: Project FinScope 2004 and 2005, FinMark Trust, Johannesburg). Hence, measures of wealth are ubiquitous social indicators in South Africa. However, a growing emphasis in government towards measurable service delivery targets and remedial action to redress the inequalities of our past makes the reliable measurement of people’s quality of life in greater depth in quantitative terms an imperative.We have developed a simple framework to measure people’s quality of life in key domains that extend beyond that simply of wealth, using composite indices to allow progress to be tracked and to make valid comparisons across our diverse population. Termed the Everyday Quality of Life Index (EQLi), it comprises a suite of measures encompassing socio-economic status (with special reference to poverty), urbanisation, health (nutrition, exercise and fitness), stress/pressure, quality of the environment, satisfaction of human needs, connectivity, optimism, subjective well-being (happiness, after Diener and Lucas: 2000, in M. Lewis, J.M. Haviland (eds.), Handbook of Emotions. (2nd ed) (Guilford, New York)), and the overall measure of well-being, the EQLi itself.The initial framework was developed from a structured questionnaire administered to a probability sample of 2000 South African adults in 2002. From this, a 52-item shortlist was derived to create the series of measures. This has been tested and refined in three subsequent annual studies, each of 3500 people across urban and rural South Africa. In 2004, items involving work as well as determining the balance of skills and challenges at work using the concept of “flow” (Csikszentmihalyi: 1990, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (Harper and Row, New York)) were added.This paper outlines the rationale behind the selection and development of these measures, describes the EQL of South Africans using these and other key measures and concludes with implications for policy-makers and service providers in South Africa. Some marketing implications are also given: there is a growing emphasis worldwide on corporate social investment initiatives and, particularly in South Africa, on community upliftment and development – poverty alleviation and improving the lives of the disadvantaged (“people” rather than “consumers”). Further, people’s well-being affects how they react to marketing activities.     

Satisfied and dissatisfied South Africans: results from the General Household Survey in international comparison

Who are the satisfied South Africans 10 years into democracy? How do material factors contribute to their life satisfaction? These are the questions addressed in this paper. Earlier South African research has consistently found a close positive relationship between life satisfaction and material standards of living in the apartheid and post-apartheid era. Recently, a new source of information has become available to shed further light on the association between material and subjective well-being. In 2002, Statistics South Africa, the country’s official source of statistical information, agreed to ask South Africans participating in the General Household Survey whether they were satisfied or dissatisfied with life. The 2002 General Household Survey (n26’000) used a measure developed for the Euromodule that allows for international comparison. The wide-ranging information contained in South Africa’s official?household survey offers a unique opportunity to explore what makes for satisfied and dissatisfied South Africans in relation to their material living standards. Results indicate that the improved living standards afforded to many black South Africans under democracy are associated with increases in life satisfaction. Furthermore, habituation does not appear to have diluted the positive relationship between living standards and well-being. However, political factors continue to play an important role in shaping subjective well-being. In conclusion, it is argued that material gains might also have restored the pride and dignity denied to black South Africans in the past.     

The Quality of Life in South Korea

The AsiaBarometer survey of 1,023 respondents shows Life in Korea is highly modernized and digitalized without being much globalized. Despite the modernization and digitalization of their lifestyles, ordinary citizens still prioritize materialistic values more than post-materialistic values, and they remain least satisfied in the material life sphere. A multivariate analysis of the Korean survey reveals that their positive assessments of their standard of living and marriage are the most powerful influences on the quality of life they experience. Remarkable improvements in the objective conditions of life for the past three decades have failed to transform Korea into a nation of well-being.

Are there Geographical Variations in the Psychological Cost of Unemployment in South Africa?

Are certain groups of unemployed individuals hurt less by unemployment than others? This paper is an attempt to test the hypothesis that non-pecuniary costs of unemployment may vary between societies with different unemployment rates. Using cross-sectional data from the SALDRU93 survey, I show that households’ perceptions of life satisfaction are inversely related to household unemployment for South Africa as to be expected in richer countries. Reported well-being levels are shown to be associated negatively with others’ unemployment at the geographical cluster level for the employed. However, unemployment appears to hurt less for the household if unemployment rates in the local labour market are high.     

The Best and Worst Times of Life: Narratives and Assessments of Subjective Well-Being by Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment (ACSA) in the Eastern Cape,South Africa

The Anamnestic Comparative Self Assessment (ACSA) measure of subjective well-being (SWB) aims to reduce the problems of cultural bias and relativity to external standards by allowing people to define the endpoints or ‘anchors’ of the measurement scale. In medical terminology anamnestic denotes ‘based on memory’. The ACSA uses subjects’ memories of the best and worst periods in their lives to define the anchors of the scale. They then assess their current quality of life relative to these personal anchors. The South African pilot study tested the match between self-assessment of SWB with ACSA and the conventional single-item measures of life satisfaction and happiness used in the South African Quality of Life Trends Study and analysed the narratives of the best and worst times of life. The quota sample of 46 consisted of 26 residents of Makana district in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, and 20 patients undergoing treatment in the local TB hospital. Mean SWB ratings with all three measures of life satisfaction, happiness and ACSA were between 5 and 6 on a 0–10-point scale. Ratings on all three scales were positively correlated. However, on ACSA the TB patients rated their current SWB 1.84 points lower than the community respondents, suggesting a greater sensitivity of this measure. It was observed that the starting points of the life stories produced by respondents to define the anchor periods for ACSA were related to their current assessment of SWB. A typology was developed that combined the starting point of the life stories with current SWB. The majority of community respondents matched the ‘Achiever’ type who scored positively on ACSA (i.e., above the mid-point of the scale) and whose life stories started with the worst period of their lives and proceeded to the best period. The TB patients were the only respondents to represent the ‘Survivor’ type whose morale had recovered after misfortune in life. ‘Survivors’ started their narratives with the best period in their lives, then moved to the worst (often health-related) one, and gave positive ACSA ratings. Based on the qualitative analysis of narratives, it is concluded that ACSA is a sensitive measurement instrument and therefore particularly useful for monitoring the effects of treatments and social interventions in longitudinal studies. However, further research is required to verify its cross-cultural validity.

An Exploration of Public Attitudes Toward LGBTI Rights in the Gauteng City-Region of South Africa

ABSTRACT

South Africa’s legal framework on the rights of sexual minorities is one of the most progressive in the world. Despite this, discrimination and violence against gay and lesbian people continues to be a challenge. Using large-scale survey data gathered in the Gauteng City-Region, this study examines public attitudes related to homosexuality. Most respondents to the survey felt that sexual minorities should have equal rights. However, a considerable proportion of respondents also held negative views toward gay and lesbian individuals, with close to two fifths of respondents believing that homosexuality is against the values of their community, and over 12% of participants holding the view that it is acceptable to be violent toward gays and lesbians. Further analysis also consists of an examination of responses cross-tabulated with the variables of race, gender, age, and education, revealing that younger, well-educated South Africans tend to be the most tolerant, but also exhibiting large variances in attitudes within groups.     

Development of Life Satisfaction in Old Age: Another View on the "Paradox'

Empirical evidence of no age-related decline in life satisfaction (LS) in old age contrasts with frequently observed declines in the objective quality of elder people's lives and has therefore been labelled a "paradox' and interpreted in terms of stability of LS in the respective gerontological discussion. However, as this evidence was mainly derived from cross-sectional age group comparisons, it does neither clearly indicate the absence of age-related mean level change, nor intra-individual stability of LS. Thus, the development of LS in middle and late adulthood was analysed longitudinally by using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Based on single item measures of LS across 16 repeated panel waves with one per annum (1984–1999), autoregressive (quasi-Markov) structural equation models were used to estimate true score variances and intra-individual true score stability in one-year intervals. Research questions concerned (a) "monotonic' stability and variance in a subsample of old respondents (born before 1925) as compared to the total sample and (b) change in stability and variances in old age. Results indicate high "monotonic' true score stability of LS over the whole adult life span, whereas mean levels declined slightly in old age. No striking evidence for age-related changes in variance or stability was found.     

Coming-Out Confessions: Negotiating the Burden of Lesbian Identity Politics in South Africa

For lesbians, “coming out” or disclosing one’s sexual orientation has come to be seen as a marker of self-acceptance, actualization, and the imperative first step in the authentication of a liberated subjectivity and social identity. However, other critical schools of thought, largely informed by Foucault’s middle writings, have argued that “coming out” is merely a confessional response to an incitement to discourse about sex. This study explored constructions of coming out by a group of self-identified lesbians in South Africa. Data were collected via eight semistructured interviews and subjected to discourse analysis. Although the coming-out stories appear to conform to some discursive practices characterizing confessional modes of response to incitements to speak, they are also de-emphasized as central to the constitution of selfhood. The changing conditions of possibility for the production of sexual subjectivity in contemporary South Africa seem to disrupt understandings of coming out as either solely a confessional or liberatory practice.     

Subjective Quality of Life in Zhuhai City,South China: A Public Survey Using the International Wellbeing Index

The study of subjective quality of life and its connotations in the People’s Republic of China is at a preliminary stage. Although there is an emerging body of literature on this topic, there are few datasets representative of the general public, particularly in Mainland China. This paper reports the findings of a public survey (N = 449) conducted in Zhuhai City, South China using the International Wellbeing Index (IWI). There were four main aims: (1) to judge whether residents were satisfied with their lives; (2) to compare the data with recent findings from Hong Kong and Macau; (3) to investigate the equivalence of the IWI in terms of its psychometric properties; and (4) to determine the applicability of the ‘Theory of Homeostasis Wellbeing’. The data indicated a moderate level of personal (PWI score = 64.4.) and national (NWI score = 57.4) wellbeing, consistent with recent findings from Hong Kong and Macau. The PWI score was within the normative range for non-Western countries, which indicates that the residents were, on the whole, satisfied with their lives. Although previously reported objective measures of quality of life in Zhuhai are lower than in Hong Kong and Macau, this is not reflected in this study’s subjective measures. This finding was interpreted in terms of the ‘Theory of Subjective Wellbeing Homeostasis’, and the specific situation in Zhuhai, as there seems to be an absence of factors (i.e., no harsh economic or social situation) which could drive subjective wellbeing below normal. Last, that the IWI demonstrated good psychometric performance in terms of its reliability, validity, and sensitivity, and concurred with previous published reports, it seems that the scale’s robustness generalises to Chinese samples.     

The Housing Domain of Quality of Life and Life Satisfaction in the Spontaneous Settlements on the Tehran Metropolitan Fringe

The aim of this article is to survey the spontaneous settlements on the Tehran Metropolitan Fringe (TMF), to determine the different housing sub-domains of quality of life (QOL), to survey overall life satisfaction and to determine the extent to which overall life satisfaction is explained by the components of the housing domain of QOL in these spontaneous settlements. Three spontaneous settlements on the TMF were selected by stratified random sampling method. Household interviews were conducted to gather the needed data. Nineteen indicators were selected to reflect the housing sub-domains of QOL. A factor analysis identified seven housing sub-domains of QOL: housing consolidation, housing amenities, housing space, housing quality, housing basic services, housing durability and security of tenure. In all three settlements surveyed, an inverse relationship was found between satisfaction and dissatisfaction. Very few residents expressed a neutral view about life satisfaction in the settlements surveyed. In all three settlements surveyed, respondents felt they were more satisfied with their life in their previous settlements. Stepwise multiple regression analysis was performed to determine the extent to which overall life satisfaction is explained by the seven extracted components of the housing domain of QOL. The results indicated that there is a direct relationship between the main reasons for migration to these settlements and the housing sub-domains of QOL.

新生代农村流动人口内部生活满意度差异研究--以江苏省为例

新生代农村流动人口正逐渐成为中国农村流动人口的主体。与老一代相比,新生代农村流动人口具有较为不同的客观经济社会属性和主观认知特征,而其生活满意度又将影响其未来的市民化决策。本文基于2012年江苏省外出青年农村流动人口调研,运用结构方程模型研究发现,新生代农村流动人口内部已出现较为明显的年龄差异。对于影响生活满意度的因子,新生代农村流动人口客观属性上的差异主要体现在所处生命周期的不同,而主观认知的不同则更多体现了时代背景的变化。     

The Use of Defence Mechanisms as Precursors to Coming Out in Post-Apartheid South Africa: A Gay and Lesbian Youth Perspective

ABSTRACT

This article comprises one facet of a larger, three-year phenomenological study (1997–2000) of gay and lesbian youth coming out in post-apartheid South Africa. A nonprobability sample of 18 young people, aged between 16 and 21 years, was interviewed. The resultant data was content analyzed, and the trustworthiness of the information was ensured via member checking and utilizing an independent coder. Results consistently revealed that gay and lesbian youth use defense mechanisms, such as denial, avoidance, compartmentalization, suppression, compensation, sublimation, undoing, displacement, rationalization, and intellectualization, in a conscious manner during their coming out process. The young people in this study demonstrated resilience despite the prejudice and inner turmoil that they had experienced. Practice guidelines are suggested in terms of how health and social care practitioners can support gay and lesbian youth in coping with their coming out process.     

The Divergent Meanings of Life Satisfaction: Item Response Modeling of the Satisfaction with Life Scale in Greenland and Norway

Cultural differences in response to the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) items is investigated. Data were fit to a mixed Rasch model in order to identify latent classes of participants in a combined sample of Norwegians (N = 461) and Greenlanders (N = 180). Initial analyses showed no mean difference in life satisfaction between the two subsamples. After transforming the ordinal raw scores into interval scales while simultaneously controlling for response bias, different results appeared. First, approximately 80% of the participants in the Greenlandic subsample fit a latent class with a large degree of random responding to the SWLS. Second, relative to the Norwegians, more Greenlanders were using extreme categories in responding to the SWLS. After statistically controlling for this tendency, Norwegians were in general more satisfied with their lives than Greenlanders. Third, Greenlanders who belonged to one specific latent class were more satisfied than their Norwegian counterparts. A salient feature of this class was the relative unwillingness of respondents to change the circumstances of their lives if they were given such an opportunity. The above results are a reminder of the care that must be used in analyzing survey data across cultures. The analytical strategy applied in the article offers an improved approach to handling such data.     

Destabilizing Science From the Right: The Rhetoric of Heterosexual Victimhood in the World Health Organization's 2008 HIV/AIDS Controversy

This article examines the 2008 World Health Organization/Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS controversy through original reports and media coverage. Analysis reveals that discourse rhetorically exonerates heterosexuals from HIV/AIDS while reifying homophobic and morally righteous ideology about HIV/AIDS and homosexuality. Discourses of “fraudulent science,” “heterosexual absence,” and reverse victimization destabilize meaning of HIV/AIDS and heterosexuality. “AIDS,” “heterosexuality,” and even victimhood and minority status were destabilized and resignified in a rhetoric that benefited from its status as science even as it rendered past science suspect as ideological.     

Love,Lust, and Loss in the Early Age of AIDS: The Discourse in the Body Politic From 1981 to 1987

ABSTRACT

This article explores the idea that the AIDS epidemic constituted a defining moment for the Canadian gay rights movement and illuminates the intricate power dynamics of the development of a community identity. Using grounded theory inductive and deductive content analysis, and interviews with activists from the Body Politic magazine, this article considers notions of health “from above” and “from below” by examining relations between the community and government and their confrontation with medicalization and the medical profession. I also examine how the magazine reported and negotiated issues related to the community’s self-policing and “self-managed oppression” through efforts to promote safer sex and risk reduction.     

Modernization of Power in Legal and Medical Discourses: The Birth of the (Male) Homosexual in Hong Kong and Its Aftermath

The removal of homosexuality from the list of mental disorders and the repeal of restrictive sexual laws deem that Foucault's argument on the discursive control of homosexuality requires refinement to take into consideration the continual modernization and improvement of power. This article examines the multilayered discursive terrain in Hong Kong where homosexuality is created, regulated, and contested in the contemporary era. With the popularization of human rights discourse, sexual dissidents are not simply treated as criminal or pathological; rather, legal and medical discourses have shifted to an increasing reliance on notions of risk to put mechanisms of social regulation in place.