Developing a Measure of Community Well-Being Based on Perceptions of Impact in Various Life Domains

A new measure of community well-being is developed based on the notion that community residents perceive the quality-of-life (QOL) impact of community services and conditions in various life domains (e.g., family, social, leisure, health, financial, cultural, consumer, work, spiritual, and environmental domains). These perceptions influence residents’ overall perception of community well-being, their commitment to the community, and their overall life satisfaction. Survey data were collected in the Flint area (Michigan, USA) in four waves (1978, 1990, 2001, and 2006). The data supported the nomological validity of the measure.     

Spiritual Needs and Quality of Life in Estonia

This paper reports on three field studies using the WHOQOL-100 and WHOQOL-BREF instruments that utilized three different samples (N = 1,801) to get a better understanding of how important the person’s spiritual needs are for quality of life. The most striking negative difference between the Estonian and World Health Organization samples was in the WHOQOL-100 spirituality domain. We found that the quality of life index significantly correlated with the WHOQOL-100 spirituality score. Also, spirituality was related to all quality of life domains (physical health, psychological well-being, level of independence, social relationships and environment). Regarding psychological well-being, spirituality correlated with self-esteem, positive feelings, and thinking, learning, memory, and concentration, on the other. Our findings suggest that spirituality occupies an important place in the person’s perception of their quality of life in a changing socio–economic environment as the one in Estonia.     

On the Predictive Effect of Multidimensional Importance-Weighted Quality of Life Scores on Overall Subjective Well-Being

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of importance weighting in predicting outcome variables in a hierarchical and multidimensional measurement context. A total of 146 undergraduate students (female = 76; mean age = 20.25) from two universities in Taiwan and China participated in this study. They evaluated their quality of life on 22 facets from the WHOQOL-BREF scale, which covers four domains (i.e., physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environmental health). They were also asked to rate the importance of these 22 facets and items for three general subjective well-being indices, including overall quality of life, general health, and life satisfaction. A multiplicative formula was used to create importance-weighted scores for each facet, and four domain scores were obtained by averaging facet scores under specific domains. Results of regression analysis revealed that after applying the weighting procedure, the four domain scores did not account for more variances in the three indices for overall subjective well-being, and predictive effects of the four domain scores became less differential. Our findings suggest that importance weighting did not have its expected benefits but instead may negatively impact the predictive effects.     

Does Society Matter? Life Satisfaction in the Enlarged Europe

Life satisfaction is quite heterogeneously distributed across countries of the enlarged European Union. Previous research has shown how living conditions within individual countries, such as access to material and emotional resources, are important for personal well-being, but it has been less successful in explaining differences between countries. This article investigates whether it matters in which political and economic circumstances people live, as well as whether their particular perception of the quality of their societal environment plays a role. People are well aware that the institutional and cultural settings in which their lives are embedded create opportunities and limitations: within individual countries, perceptions of society influence life satisfaction outcomes irrespective of access to resources. However, their importance for well-being differs across Europe: perceptions of societies are highly decisive in countries that provide only a minimum of social security and in which the reliability of political institutions is poor. In rich and stable countries, the impact is weaker and private social support becomes more important. In addition to these country-specific weights of life satisfaction determinants, life satisfaction variations between countries can be explained to a large extent by taking into consideration the economic performance, the social security level, and the political culture in a country—all in all, general conditions that enable people to live a respectable life.     

Validity of Domain Satisfaction Across Cohorts in the US

Domain satisfaction, a relatively under-researched topic in subjective well-being research, is designed to capture satisfaction in multiple aspects of life (e.g., family, health). In view of the life course perspective, perceptions toward such different domains of life are most likely influenced by the historical and social climate that individuals uniquely experience over their life span. However, little is known about whether domain satisfaction is a valid measure across cohorts, which reflect differing life experiences at each life stage. This study examines the psychometric properties (e.g., validity and reliability) of a domain satisfaction measure across seven theoretically meaningful cohorts (e.g., Baby Boomers) using a nationally representative sample of American adults from multiple waves of the General Social Survey (n = 15,302). Results from confirmatory factor analysis showed that the validity of the domain satisfaction measure was not consistent across cohorts; unlike when all samples (e.g., cohorts were not considered) were analyzed together. A series of follow-up analyses also revealed that temporally proximate cohorts that were born around the same time were more likely to be psychometrically comparable, while temporally distant cohorts were not. In summary, this study provides empirical evidence suggesting that the validity of domain satisfaction is sensitive to cohort effects, and researchers need careful consideration when comparing cohorts chronologically further apart.     

Religious domains and general well-being

With only a few notable exceptions, studies on quality of life or general well-being have failed to deal with religiosity in general, and the development of more refined measures of religious meaning and belonging in particular. Data measuring subjective perceptions of well-being for various domains of life, including neighborhood, employment, work at home, education, friends, household members, marital status, standard of living, health and religion were used to form a number of domain scales. Relationships between the multidimensional concepts of well-being and religiosity are explored and the importance of religiosity in defining well-being is tested. Religious satisfaction was found to be important for general life satisfaction and existential well-being. Among the eight indicators and scales of religiosity, various combinations of religious satisfaction, frequency of prayer, prayer experience, and relationship with God, were important predictors of general life satisfaction, existential well-being, and overall happiness. Under no circumstance did any measure of religosity contribute to negative affect.     

Relative Economic Position and Subjective Well-Being in a Poor Society: Does Relative Position Indicator Matter?

Concern for relative income (or status in general) may have important implications for poverty and individual well-being. This paper examines the impact of relative economic position on individual’s level of well-being among poor communities in rural Ethiopia. The analysis uses a self-reported measure of overall life-evaluation as a measure of individual well-being. Despite the fact that well-being is multidimensional, the impact of non-money metric measures of relative economic position on individual well-being has not been given a lot of attention in the literature. In this study, relative economic position is measured using consumption data, asset index, and respondent’s own perception of relative wealth. The asset index captures the non-monetary dimensions of economic welfare, including education, physical assets, and social capital. We use data from the 2004 and 2009 waves of the Ethiopia Rural Household Survey and employ a multilevel modelling technique to account for individual and group level heterogeneity in our empirical analysis. We find no significant relationship between individual well-being and relative economic position measured with in consumption terms. In contrast, we do find a significant negative impact of relative position on individual well-being when we use asset indices and respondent’s own perception of relative wealth to measure relative economic position. Our findings suggest that when individuals compare themselves with others, they evaluate various aspects of their life, including their financial conditions, asset holdings, and social relations, which are hardly captured by consumption or income data in many poor countries.     

Perception of health,well-being,and quality of life in female caregivers: Comparative study of a sample of adult and older women in Spain

In a study on informal or unpaid care, it is difficult to identify the consequences and effects of care provision on the caregiver’s daily life. Thus, it is important to analyze the perceptions of the individual caregiver. This study describes the perceptions of health, well-being, support networks, and quality of life of 13 women aged between 45 and 70 years after completing an intervention program. The data indicate that caregivers’ health and quality of life worsen with the intervention, and their well-being and social relations (through new technologies) improve.     

The Influence of Value Orientations and Demographics on Quality-of-Life Perceptions: Evidence from a National Survey of Singaporeans

This paper explores the linkages between value orientations, demographics and the quality of life perceptions for Singaporeans based on a nationwide values and lifestyles study conducted in 2001. The quality of life perception is assessed using cognitive evaluations of satisfaction with life in general (subjective personal well-being) and with aspects of living in Singapore (subjective social well-being). Five different value orientations, namely family values, materialism, status consciousness, societal consciousness and traditionalism, are examined for their effects on quality of life. The key demographics used are gender, age, marital status, education and personal income.     

Social Exclusion and Quality of Life: An Empirical Study from Turkey

We examine the perception of social exclusion and quality of life and their interactions among a group of Turkish citizens. For this purpose we used the social exclusion scale developed by Jehoel-Gijsbers and Vrooman and the WHOQOL-BREF scale. The study group consists of 2,493 participants who are residents of a city in Turkey. Our study was based on self reporting and voluntary participation. We used SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) for the analysis. We observed significant paths among several dimensions of quality of life and social exclusion. We found that the material deprivation dimension of social exclusion has a direct and negative impact on the environment and social relationships domains of quality of life. The material deprivation dimension explains 36% of the variation in the environment and 16% of the variation in social relationship domains of quality of life. This finding indicates that the material deprivation and social participation play an important role in the perception of environmental and psychological life quality. Physical health, social relationships, and environmental domains of life quality are important in the social participation dimension of perceived social exclusion.     

Social Well-Being in Northern Ireland: A Longitudinal Study 1958–1998

This paper examines the question of how social well-being, or quality of life, in Northern Ireland has changed through time from 1958 to 1998. After reviewing major economic trends and governmental policy affecting the region, we develop an overall measure of quality of life based on previous research into social well-being in Northern Ireland. We find that the ‘Troubles’ clearly impact the quality of life in Northern Ireland but not necessarily as broadly as one might suspect. The majority of the sixteen underlying indicators used for creating a measure of social well-being remain largely unaffected by the conflict and closely track increases in overall United Kingdom Gross Domestic Product. The remaining five measures of social well-being are significantly impacted by the conflict. The resulting measures of social well-being and some suggested uses for future research are then presented.     

Modelling change in perceived quality of life (PQOL)

Almost all previous research on PQOL has examined static relationships. This paper, based on two waves of an Australian panel study (N=677), investigates change. We estimate a model in which changes in PQOL are seen as depending directly on changes in satisfaction with particular domains of life (marriage, job, etc.), which in turn are affected by life events occurring within these domains. This model accords with a “bottom-up” rather than a “top-down” theory of PQOL or well-being (Diener, 1984). Chief interest lies in the strong relationships between domain specific events and changes in domain satisfactions. In previous research life events have been directly linked to PQOL, or to physical or mental illness. The different result here arises from estimating a more appropriate model with an additional link (changes in domain satisfactions) in the chain. From a methodological standpoint, the paper suggests that life events inventories can be valuable research instruments and that recent validity criticisms (e.g. Schroeder and Costa, 1984) have been overstated. The second part of the paper deals with relationships between personality traits, social support and life events. We test hypotheses about links between (1) personality and subsequent life events (2) the “buffering” effects of personality and social support on the impact of adverse events (3) the effects of events on personality. Personality traits apparently do affect the subsequent incidence of life events. Extraversion is associated with favourable subsequent events, and neuroticism with adverse events. Internal locus of control apparently wards off adversity. An alternative hypothesis that these relationships are due to biassed reporting (i.e. personality traits are associated with degrees of bias) appears to be false. Contrary to findings from cross-sectional data, our panel results indicate that neither personality traits nor social support “buffer” the impact of adverse events on PQOL. Finally, life events appears to have small but statistically significant effects in modifying adult personality.     

The Subjective Well-Being of the Homeless, and Lessons for Happiness

The current study assessed the subjective well-being of a broad spectrum of homeless people. One-hundred-and-eighty-six homeless people from the streets of Calcutta (India), California, and a tent camp in Portland (Oregon) were interviewed, and responded to measures of subjective well-being. They answered questions about life satisfaction, satisfaction with various life domains, and their experience of positive and negative emotions. The mean rating of life satisfaction was slightly negative for both American samples but positive for the pavement dwellers in Calcutta. Satisfaction with self-related domains was positive, whereas satisfaction with material related domains was generally negative. Satisfaction with social domains appears to be the area of largest variation among the groups. We discuss the importance of social factors and basic material needs as they relate to overall subjective well-being of the homeless.     

Student well-being: Are they better off now?

Past and present well-being of university students from Canada and the United States are compared. Ratings for the domains of health, recreation, self-esteem, and education decreased significantly between the 1984 measures and the 1992 measures. Canadian students generally rated the domains lower than did students from the United States. Self-discrepancy measures tended to decrease and hope measures for the United States students indicated less hopefulness now than in 1984. In general, student perceptions of well-being seem poorer now than in the past.A path analysis revealed that MDT predicted 39 percent of the variance for satisfaction and 45 percent for happiness. Empirical support is provided for most of the hypothesized paths and for self esteem and social support as conditioners of well-being. The results are consistent with cultural convergence and theories of well-being that incorporate both actual world changes and individual perception of those changes.     

The Well-Being of 12 - to 16-Year-Old Adolescents and their Parents: Results from 1999 to 2003 Spanish Samples

This study adopts satisfaction with life as a whole and satisfaction with specific life domains as indicators to analyse the relationships between the well-being of 12 to 16-year-old adolescents and some related constructs such as self-esteem, perceived control and perceived social support. Well-being indicators from a 2003 Spanish sample using an 11-point scale (N = 1,634) are compared with an equivalent 1999 Spanish sample using a 5-point scale (N = 1,618). The different results obtained from the 2003 sample with a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) using a shorter and a longer list of life domains are also discussed. A sub-sample of the adolescents’ results from the 2003 sample are compared with their parents’ answers, using the same well-being indicators. Using a list of 8 life domains, and despite the change of scale used, overall results show no relevant changes in adolescents’ satisfaction with life domains between 1999 and 2003 in Spain and are in agreement with normative data expected from western societies [Cummins: 1998, Social Indicators Research 43, pp. 307–334; Cummins et al.: 2001, Australian Unity Well-being Index (Australian Centre on Quality of Life, Deakin University, Melbourne)]. Adolescents’ overall life satisfaction has been shown to correlate consistently with the other well-being related constructs. However, it clearly decreases with age over the period studied. The results also show that increasing the list of life domains has a major impact on the structure of the results obtained. When we compare results from parents with those from their own child, outstanding differences in well-being appear between generations: few domain satisfaction dimensions show significant correlation between parents and children and more than 20% of the population studied shows high discrepancies in the answers in four domains.     

A method for assessing residents' satisfaction with community-based services: a quality-of-life perspective

A method for assessing residents' satisfaction with community-based services is developed and tested using four samples. The method is based on the theoretical notion that consumer satisfaction with individual government services (e.g., police, fire/rescue, and library), business services (e.g., banking/savings, insurance, and department stores), and nonprofit services (e.g., alcohol/drug abuse services, crisis intervention, and religious services) affect satisfaction with the community at large (global community satisfaction). Ultimately, this global community satisfaction, together with satisfaction with other relevant life domains (work, family, leisure, etc.), affect global life satisfaction. The theoretical notions are explained using bottom-up spillover theory -- a theory highly established in quality-of-life research. This theory applied to the proposed method explains that residents' overall satisfaction with a community can be decomposed into a variety of sub-domains, each of which contributes to their overall feelings about the community. Survey data from four different communities were collected to test the validity of the method. The results provided support to the model and the assessment method and measures used. From a managerial perspective, we showed how the model and the assessment method can be used by community leaders to tap citizens' perception of community quality-of-life and its determinants, identify strategic gaps or problem areas, and take corrective action.     

Child Well-being: A Systematic Review of the Literature

A systematic review the child well-beingliterature in English was conducted withsearches in five databases to assess thecurrent state of child well-being research andanswer the following questions: (1) How is childwell-being defined? (2) What are the domains ofchild well-being? (3) What are the indicators ofchild well-being? and (4) How is childwell-being measured? This review updates andexpands a previous review of the childwell-being literature spanning 1974–1992. Results indicate that well-being is a commonlyused but inconsistently defined term frequentlyincluded in the study of child development. There are five distinct domains of childwell-being: physical, psychological, cognitive,social, and economic. Positive indicators areused more often in the physical, cognitive,social, and economic domains, while morenegative or deficit indicators are used in thepsychological domain. There is littleagreement in the research literature on how tobest measure child well-being.

     

Subjective Well-Being and Life Satisfaction in the Kingdom of Tonga

This paper describes an initial attempt to assess the subjective well being of a sample of 227 Tongans via self-report. Using items adapted from the Subjective Well Being Inventory (SUBI; Nagpal and Sell, 1985; Sell and Nagpal, 1992), participants rated their level of overall life satisfaction along with their perceptions of well-beingin a number of other more specific life domains. Results indicated that mean ratings of global life satisfaction were generally positive. A factor analysis of the remaining domain-specific well-being items indicated that items loaded on to one of two factors dealing with overall positive or negative evaluations of these life areas. Importantly, these scale items stressed the importance of social and kin relations in contributing to overall well-being. In terms of demographic variables, mature respondents reported greater levels of overall life satisfaction and well-being as compared to youthful respondents. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Measuring Household Wealth with Latent Trait Modelling: An Application to Malawian DHS Data

Public perceptions of crime and victimisation can influence an individual’s subjective well-being. Research into the impact of the fear of crime and victimisation on subjective well-being, however, has been limited; particularly with respect to the relative contributions of real versus perceived crime towards an individual’s self-reported life satisfaction. Improving our understanding of the relationship between crime and well-being is important, as public resources assigned to reducing or controlling crime could be assigned to addressing other social concerns. This paper extends the literature by exploring the contribution of real and perceived crime in an individual’s local area to their self-reported life satisfaction. Our results indicate that: (1) individuals’ perceptions of crime in their local area are far greater than actual levels of crime; (2) the gap between perceived and real crime is widening as real crime rates fall faster than the perceived rate of crime; (3) real crime rates detract more from an individual’s self-reported life satisfaction than perceived rates of crime; however, (4) perceived rates of crime have an adverse impact on life satisfaction beyond those associated with real crime; and (5) there is significant heterogeneity in the life satisfaction effects of real and perceived crime among groups of individuals. These results, together with empirical evidence highlighting successful strategies for moderating perceptions of crime, facilitate the development of more informed public policy that will improve individual life satisfaction and, ultimately, community well-being.     

Social indicators of living conditions in Ireland with European comparisons

This monograph presents data from a nationwide survey of social indicators of living conditions in Ireland. This survey was part of a European Community (EC)-harmonised survey of subjective social indicators carried out in eight EC countries. The survey, the first of two, focussed on people's perceptions of their health, health services, housing, neighbourhood and life in general. Extensive analysis is made of the demographic determinants of a wide range of subjective measures of well-being in all of these life domains. Examination is also made of the predictors of global measures of well-being. Data are presented for Ireland and multi-nation comparative data are also presented throughout. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between objective and subjective social indicators.