Determinants of Subjective Quality of Life Among Rural Adolescents: A Developmental Perspective

This study examines youths' experiences of loneliness and community connectedness in relation to seven domains of subjective quality of life among pre-adolescents, early adolescents, and middle adolescents. Participants consisted of 464 youth, ranging in age from 11 to 17 years, from two rural towns. Youth reported on their subjective experiences of loneliness and their perceptions of their community environments (neighbourhood and school). Hierarchical regressions indicated the importance of loneliness in accounting for subjective quality of life for early adolescents, and less so for middle and pre-adolescents. Community factors significantly accounted for additional variance in pre-adolescents' reports of their quality of life, compared with early and middle adolescents' reports. Discussion highlights the importance of understanding the determinants of quality of life from an individual, community, and developmental perspective.     

Subjective Health-Related Quality of Life in Homeless and Vulnerably Housed Individuals and Its Relationship with Self-Reported Physical and Mental Health Status

Although the association between homelessness and objective indicators of poor health is well-established, little research has focused on the subjective health-related quality of life of homeless and vulnerably housed (HVH) individuals. This study examined the subjective health-related quality of life of HVH individuals, using the Multiple Discrepancies Theory (MDT) Scale for Health of the Quality of Life for Homeless and Hard-to-House Individuals (QoLHHI) Inventory, and its association with self-reported functional health status, as measured by the SF-12, and self-reported physical and mental health conditions in a sample of 100 HVH individuals recruited in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. Our findings indicate that physical and mental health conditions are highly prevalent among HVH individuals and that the SF-12 Physical and Mental Component Summary scores are substantially lower compared to US population norms. The MDT Health items were not statistically significantly associated with physical or mental health conditions and only showed correlations of small to moderate magnitude with the SF-12 Component Summary Scales. These findings suggest that the QoLHHI MDT Scale for Health can provide information about HVH individuals’ subjective health experiences that is different from, and can serve as a valuable complement to, health status information for use in research and evaluation studies, as well as for policy purposes to make informed decisions based on subjective health-related quality of life data from HVH individuals.     

Subjective Quality of Life of Young Europeans. Feeling Happy but who Knows why?

Latest developments in modern societies have altered living circumstances. Upcoming insecurities concerning employment and family relationships make life more and more incalculable. Especially young adults throughout the modern world are forced to rethink their life concepts and to desist from the lives of former generations. As difficulties to achieve a successful life increase, one could assume that the young are confronted with the impossibility of feeling happy and satisfied with their lives anymore. Yet, latest social surveys prove wrong. Although increasing unemployment, lower net income and single parenthood make life more difficult for the young, they still enjoy very high subjective quality of life in comparison to the older population. Throughout the paper I argue that it is not the objective conditions that make young adults (15–29 years old) feel overwhelmingly happy. Looking for other sources of explanation of high quality of life among people aged 29 or below, I argue for indicators of social embeddedness as being influential on their assessment of life. But again, the proportion of explained variance is smaller compared to older people. With the help of empirical data taken from the European Social Survey I highlight the differences in life circumstances between the young and the total population. Concerning occupation, habitation (kind of inhabited household) and financial situation, most of the young live under different situations compared to the adult world. But surprisingly, the rates of perceived high quality of life among the young do not vary to such a large extent as among the adults. I show that young adults, often damned to fail social demands because of their withdrawal from social life, are still the most happy in modern (more and more individualizing?) societies. But it gets more difficult to account for the reasons of their happiness.     

Beyond Happiness: Minority Stress and Life Meaning Among LGB Individuals

ABSTRACT

Scholars have recently started to examine how minority stressors are associated with wellbeing outcomes among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people. Such studies have examined mainly hedonic wellbeing, and those that have investigated eudaimonic wellbeing have tended to use composite measures. The present study draws from this literature to examine how minority stressors are associated with a key indicator of eudaimonic wellbeing: life meaning. Drawing from the minority stress model, we examined these associations using structural equation modeling among 266 LGB adults. Expectations of rejection and identity concealment, but not discrimination or internalized homophobia, had significant negative associations with life meaning. Discrimination had negative indirect associations with life meaning via expectations of rejection and concealment. Our results highlight the nuanced relations that exist between minority stressors and life meaning and highlight the need to move beyond composite measures of wellbeing. Implications for clinical practice and directions for research are discussed.     

Subjective Residential Environment and its Implications for Quality of Life Among University Students in Hong Kong

This paper reports the results of a convenient sample survey of 500 Hong Kong university students conducted in May 2003. The main aim of the survey was to investigate the respondents perception of the residential environment and its implications for the quality of life (QOL). Results indicated that the respondents were generally satisfied with the residential environment, scoring a mean satisfaction rating of 3.32, on a 5-point Likert scale. The type, size and age of a respondents home, years of occupancy and attending university were found to be significantly related to the overall satisfaction. Transport (4.37), environmental quality (4.30), and public utilities (4.25) were reported to be the most important infrastructures for the QOL, but environmental quality (3.21), education (3.11) and greening (2.98) were considered to be the least satisfactory ones. The desirable distribution of facilities and services was defined by their functions and the new urban designs were appreciated by the respondents. Although available space was less than the ideal and public transport was a serious concern, the respondents had adapted well to the high-density environment and enjoyed the urban life in Hong Kong. It is hoped that the results and findings of this study can provide a reference for the formulation of future development strategy in Hong Kong.     

Objective and Subjective Quality of Life: an Interactive Model

This paper reviews the relationship between objective and subjective quality of life indicators. It proposes that the interaction of these variables occurs within a system that homeostatically maintains subjective quality of life within a narrow range. Due to the capacity of this system to adapt to varying environmental circumstances, the objective and subjective indicators are normally poorly correlated. However, it is also proposed that very poor objective conditions can defeat homeostasis and, once this occurs, the objective and subjective indicators display stronger covariation. Empirical data are provided to support this model and the implications for understanding the QOL construct are discussed.     

Subjective Residential Environment and its Implications for Quality of Life Among University Students in Hong Kong

This paper reports the results of a convenient sample survey of 500 Hong Kong university students conducted in May 2003. The main aim of the survey was to investigate the respondents’ perception of the residential environment and its implications for the quality of life (QOL). Results indicated that the respondents were generally satisfied with the residential environment, scoring a mean satisfaction rating of 3.32, on a 5-point Likert scale. The type, size and age of a respondent’s home, years of occupancy and attending university were found to be significantly related to the overall satisfaction. Transport (4.37), environmental quality (4.30), and public utilities (4.25) were reported to be the most important infrastructures for the QOL, but environmental quality (3.21), education (3.11) and greening (2.98) were considered to be the least satisfactory ones. The desirable distribution of facilities and services was defined by their functions and the new urban designs were appreciated by the respondents. Although available space was less than the ideal and public transport was a serious concern, the respondents had adapted well to the high-density environment and enjoyed the urban life in Hong Kong. It is hoped that the results and findings of this study can provide a reference for the formulation of future development strategy in Hong Kong.     

Quality of Life Among Government Employees

The main purpose of this study is to examine distinctive aspects of the quality of life (QOL) of Korean government employees utilizing in large part many features of the 1999 QOL survey of Korean government and private sector employees. To this end, responses of government and private sector employees regarding various dimensions of QOL are compared. This study finds that the QOL of government employees is significantly lower than that of private sector employees. The result of regression analysis of QOL dimensions shows that the level of satisfaction with one's work environment is the most influential determinant of the overall QOL of Korean government employees. Based on this finding, this study recommends that the government agencies consider improving their employees' work-related environment.

     

Subjective Quality of Korean Life in 1981 and 2001

Social Indicators Research - Over the past two decades, Korea has been transformed into an economic powerhouse, a maturing democracy, a nation of cities, and a society of mixed cultures. How have...     

Quality of Life in Europe: Objective and Subjective Indicators A Spatial Analysis Using Classification Techniques

Social Indicators Research -     

Subjective Well-Being versus Self-Actualization: Using the Flow-Simplex to Promote a Conceptual Clarification of Subjective Quality of Life

The purpose of the presentstudy was to articulate an importantdifference between subjective well-being (SWB)and self-actualization. Although self-actualization reflects a substantial aspect ofhuman existence, the article argues that theconcept is not accounted for by ordinaryassessment of SWB. In this paper, openness toexperience (OE) is taken as an indicator ofself-actualization, and overall satisfactionwith life, frequency of positive affect andfrequency of negative affect were utilized asindicators of SWB. Two methods were offered toinvestigate the assumed independenceof SWB and OE, both of which comprisedquestionnaire data from 264 studentsattending the Norwegian folk high school system(mean age 19 years, 63% females).First, a structural equation model revealedonly a small and nonsignificant associationbetween SWB and OE. Second, by means of aflow-simplex it was shown that SWBand OE relate to different dimensions ofexperience. SWB was associated withpleasantness, while OE correlated withinterestingness and challenge. It was concludedthat traditional measurements of SWB areinsensitive to important aspects of humanlives, and that the concept misses importantaspects of psychological well-being.     

Unravelling Subjective Quality of Life: An Investigation of Individual and Community Determinants

Subjective quality of life is a popular measureof outcomes across fields as disparate asmedical research, community and healthpsychology and sociology. Its widespread usehas led to recent calls for a betterunderstanding of the psychological determinantsof the construct, emphasising the need to builda substantial body of knowledge around whatdetermines and impacts on perceptions of lifequality if it is to live up to currentexpectations as an outcome variable. This studyused two likely determinants of quality oflife, an individual level variable, loneliness,and a community level variable, aspects ofsense of community, and investigated theirassociation with subjective quality of life.Confidence in the results of the study wasstrengthened by repeating it in two separatetowns, matched on fundamental demographicvariables. The results revealed that subjectivequality of life was consistently associatedwith the individual level variable, loneliness,in both towns. Lonely people consistentlyreported significantly lower quality of life,particularly in the domains of intimacy,community involvement and emotional well-being.Once loneliness had been accounted for, thecommunity level variables showed much weaker,and generally no association with reportedquality of life. The importance of continuingto empirically identify variables that impactupon subjective quality of life is discussed.     

Quality of Community Life Among Rural Residents: An Integrated Model

The purpose of this research was to explore the relationships among housing satisfaction, community attachment and community satisfaction and the complex mechanisms involved in predicting community satisfaction among residents in rural communities. The role of housing satisfaction and community attachment in predicting community satisfaction was of particular interest. A structural equation model of community satisfaction was tested with mail survey data drawn from a randomly selected rural sample of 974 households. The results of this study confirmed the influences and mediating role of community attachment and housing satisfaction in predicting community satisfaction. “Spillover” effects from “lower levels of life concerns” (e.g., satisfaction with local services, assessment of current housing conditions) in perceived community satisfaction were found that support previous research (Sirgy and Cornwell in Social Indicators Research 59:79–114, 2002).     

安徽农村老龄人口的生活质量：对主观评测数据的分析

基于2006年的问卷调查,本文对安徽农村老龄人口的生活质量进行了分析。研究发现农村老龄人口的生活质量与其退休前职业层级存在显著的正向关联,干部与专业人士的生活质量明显高于其他职业,而农民的生活质量最差。中国的农村老龄人口处在经济转轨与人口转轨的双向运动中,这对其生活质量造成了巨大的冲击。     

Community Subjective Well-being,Personality Traits and Quality of Life Therapy

In this study, factors that are instrumental in improving individuals' aswell as communities' subjective well-being (SWB) and Quality of Life (QOL)such as positive and negative relationships, personality characteristics ortraits as defined by family members or spouse, perceptions of the future aslooking good, and psychological factors (such as congruency,thriving/resilience personality, belongingness, external and internal powerand psychoallostasis), demographic variables, and religion were examined.The findings indicate that congruency with one's community values andexpectations, belongingness, thriving personality, psychoallostasis andpositive relationships or closeness to people in one's community, and theperception of the future both for the individual and for the community asbright, are important indicators of Quality of life and increased Subjectivewell-being. Additionally, family or spousal ratings of personalitycharacteristics as desirable affected SWB only if the ratings correspondedto the individuals' rating. Path analysis indicate that the high levels ofhappiness experienced by people living in Individualistic-sub-collectivisticcultures such as Appalachia is strongly linked to communal homeostasis andpsychoallostasis lifestyles prevalent in these communities. Implications ofthese findings to Quality of life therapy (QOLT) and healthy psychology atboth the individual level and community level are discussed.     

A Comparison of Normalized and Non-Normalized Multiplicative Subjective Importance Weighting in Quality of Life Measurement

Social Indicators Research - In quality of life (QOL) studies, importance weighting generally refers to the incorporation of perceived importance as a weighting factor into measures of QOL....     

Quality of Life Among Older Women with Rheumatoid Arthritis

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to identify perceptions of quality of life among a sample of 35 older women with rheumatoid arthritis; and, (2) to describe the strategies they employ to improve the quality of their lives. The responses of these women were consistent with other studies examining dimensions of quality of life; however, these participants also revealed specific self-care actions that were planned and deliberate, aimed at making their lives more enjoyable. This study also underscored the impact of chronic illness on the economic well-being of oIder women.     

Subjective Values of Quality of Life Dimensions in Elderly People. A SEM Preference Model Approach

This article proposes a Thurstonian model in the framework of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to assess preferences among quality of life dimensions for the elderly. Data were gathered by a paired comparison design in a sample comprised of 323 people aged from 65 to 94 years old. Five dimensions of quality of life were evaluated: Health, Autonomy, Family and Social Support, Social Activities and Home Conditions. An unrestricted model was estimated and subjective preference values of dimensions were obtained. According to the subjective preferences, four groups of dimensions were established: Health-Autonomy-Home and Support-Social Activities. No differences among gender and age were found in the preference values.     

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.