Health and quality of life of older people,a replication after six years

Replicating a survey of 875 people 55 years old or more undertaken in September 1999 throughout the former Northern Interior Health Region (NIHR) of British Columbia, in September 2005 a sample of 656 people completed a 22-page questionnaire. The average age of the respondents was 68, with a range running from 55 to 96 years, and 64% were women. Responses to the SF-36 questionnaire indicated that for male respondents aged 55–64, the mean score for the 8 dimensions was 76.1. This mean was a bit higher than the 74.4 mean of 1999. For male respondents aged 65 and older the mean was 69.0, which was also higher than the 68.3 mean of 1999. For females aged 55–64, the mean score for 8 dimensions was 73.1, versus 73.0 in 1999. For female respondents aged 65 and older, the mean score was 67.0, versus 65.4 in 1999. Based on these mean scores for the 8 dimensions, then, it is fair to say that the overall health status of males and females aged 55 years and older in the region in 2005 was at least as good as (i.e., the same as or better than) that in 1999. Comparing 28 average figures for the 2005 respondents on satisfaction with specific domains of life (e.g., financial security, health, sense of meaning) and three global indicators (satisfaction with life as a whole and with the overall quality of life, and happiness) with those of the 1999 respondents, we found that the scores for the 2005 sample were at least as high as those of the other sample. Thus, it seems fair to say that the perceived quality of life of older people in the former NIHR so far as it is revealed in domain and global satisfaction and happiness scores, is at least as good as the perceived quality of life of a similar sample in 1999. Although a large majority perceived increases in crime in the 2 year periods prior to both surveys, smaller percentages of the 2005 sample than of the 1999 sample thought that crime had increased over the past two years, avoided going out at night, feared for their safety, had crime-related worries, engaged in crime-related defensive behaviours and were actually the victims of any crimes. Therefore, it seems fair to say that, so far as crime-related issues are concerned for the two samples of seniors responding to our surveys, there is more evidence of improvement than of deterioration. Applying stepwise multiple regression, each of the eight dependent variables was explained on the basis of four clusters of predictors separately and then a final regression was run using only the statistically significant predictors from the four clusters. Broadly speaking, 7 SF-36 health status scales explained from 28% to 45% of the variance in the 8 dependent variables, running from satisfaction with the overall quality of life (28%) to the single item measure of general health (45%). The seven predictors in the Social Relations cluster explained from 7% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 57% of the variance in the Life Satisfaction scores. The four predictors in the Problems cluster explained from 10% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 24% of the variance in the SWLS scores. The 11 predictors in the Domain Satisfaction cluster explained from 14% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 64% of the variance in the SWB scores. Putting all the significant predictors together for each dependent variable, in the weakest case, 4 of 11 potential predictors explained 33% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores and in the strongest case, 9 of 15 potential predictors explained 70% of the variance in Life Satisfaction scores. Among other things, these results clearly show that respondents’ ideas about a generally healthy life are different from, but not independent of, their ideas about a happy, satisfying or contented life, or about the perceived quality of their lives or their subjective wellbeing. Finally, the 7 core discrepancy predictors of MDT plus incomes were used to explain the eight dependent variables. From 13% of the variance in the SF-36 General Health scale scores to 57% of the variance in SWLS scores was explained using those predictors. Based on an examination of the Total Effects scores for the predictors of the 8 dependent variables, the most influential predictors were Self-Wants, followed by Self-Others and then Self-Best. In other words, the most influential discrepancy predictors of respondents’ overall life assessments were those between what respondents have versus what they want, followed by what they have versus what others of the same age and sex have, and then by what they have versus the best they ever had in the past. We would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for support of this research with funds granted to Alex C. Michalos through the Gold Medal Award in 2004.     

Shyness and Subjective Well-being: The Role of Emotional Intelligence and Social Support

This study examined the role of emotional intelligence (EI) and social support on the relationship between shyness and subjective well-being (SWB) in Chinese college students. The participants were 496 students, with an age range of 18–24, who were attending two different Chinese colleges. Data were collected by using the paper and pencil assessments including Cheek and Buss shyness scale, Wong and Law emotional intelligence scale, multi-dimensional scale of perceived social support, positive affect and negative affect scale and satisfaction with life scale. Path analysis showed that EI and social support partially mediated the relationship between shyness and SWB. The final model also revealed a significant path from shyness through EI and social support to SWB. Furthermore, a multi-group analysis found that the paths did not differ across sexes, but significantly differed between urban and rural areas. The results are discussed in terms of the conceptional context.     

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.     

A Gender Lens on Quality of Life: The Role of Sense of Community,Perceived Social Support,Self-Reported Health and Income

Quality of life (QoL) refers to a subjective evaluation that is embedded in a cultural, social and environmental context. It is a multidimensional concept and its assessment covers four domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. Although many studies report on QoL, literature rarely addressed the question of the QoL predictors from a gender perspective. Present study aimed at investigating gender differences in the determinants of QoL. Specifically, gender was considered as a moderator in the relationship between predictors of QoL (i.e. socio-demographic characteristics, perceived health, income, social support and sense of community) and each dimension of QoL. 654 Italian adults participated in the study. Results show that men outscore women on the physical, the psychological and the environmental domains of QoL. Considering determinants of QoL, sense of community and self-reported health operate in a similar fashion for both genders. On the contrary, social support is more predictive for women’s QoL, whereas the income level is more significant for men’s QoL. Implications are discussed.     

Mobility,Perceptions of Quality of Life and Neighbourhood Stability in Saskatoon

Why people move, their well-being or self-assessed quality of life and the impact that this has on the stability of neighbourhoods are linked in many ways. One of the expected outcomes related to the attachment to and meaning of place is the level of intra-urban mobility by individuals and families. Those who have negative or neutral feelings towards the place they reside are expected to experience a greater level of intra-urban mobility. The objective of this paper is to examine the relationship between residential mobility and perceived well-being or self-assessed quality of life in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan across three clusters of neighbourhoods representing different socio-economic status (SES) (low, middle and high). The paper begins with a review of the literature on residential mobility and highlights concepts such as the life-cycle, social cohesion and social isolation. It employs data from three sources: a telephone survey collected from residents in 2001, a series of face-to-face interviews and 2001 Census data. The data are analysed statistically using a mixed model approach. The results show that mobility is an important feature of Saskatoon, and that a significant difference exists in the length of residency among the three neighbourhood clusters. However, the analysis indicates that there is no relationship between residential mobility and well-being as measured by self-reported quality of life and health.     

Retrospective and prospective evaluations of environmental quality under urban renewal as determinants of residents’ subjective quality of life

Claims about the impacts of environmental quality associated with urban renewal on the resident’s subjective quality of life are more speculative than empirically grounded. To clarify the impacts of environmental quality under urban renewal, this study surveyed 876 residents living in housing surrounding seven urban renewal sites in Hong Kong. It shows that environmental quality, both perceived (retrospectively) during and expected (prospectively) after urban renewal, exhibited positive effects on the resident’s subjective quality of life. Furthermore, it reveals that the subjective quality of life of the resident with higher education was less responsive to environmental quality perceived during urban renewal. The findings imply that more measures to mitigate the adverse social impact of urban renewal are preferably available to residents with less education.     

The Importance of General Self-Efficacy for the Quality of Life of Adolescents with Chronic Conditions

We investigated the influence of general self-efficacy perceived by adolescents with chronic conditions and parents on quality of life. This cross-sectional study used the general self-efficacy scale and DISABKIDS condition-generic module to survey adolescents (92/293; 31 %) with type I diabetes, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, cystic fibrosis, kidney/urological conditions, and neuromuscular disorders; and parents (121/293; 41 %). Self perceived and parents’ perceived general self-efficacy of adolescents was compared using paired t-tests, and adolescents’ quality of life and general self-efficacy were compared among conditions using analysis of variance. Bivariate correlations between general self-efficacy and quality of life were identified, and multiple regression sought predictors of quality of life after controlling for background variables. Social quality of life was lowest among those with neuromuscular disorders. General self-efficacy was highest among adolescents with cystic fibrosis and lowest among those with urological conditions. Parents’ perceptions of general self-efficacy were higher than adolescents’ (p ≤ 0.05), although absolute differences were small. General self-efficacy perceived by parents and adolescents was related to emotional, physical, and social quality of life. Adolescents’ perceived self-efficacy predicted all quality of life domains. Parents’ perceptions of the adolescents self-efficacy predicted the adolescents’ social quality of life (β = 0.19; p ≤ 0.01). General self-efficacy of adolescents with chronic conditions as perceived by themselves and their parents is important for adolescents’ quality of life. Interventions to improve general self-efficacy should benefit quality of life among these adolescents.     

Impact of Arts-Related Activities on the Perceived Quality of Life

The aim of this investigation was to measure the impact of arts-related activities on the perceived or experienced quality of life. In the fall of 2006 a questionnaire was mailed out to a random selection of 2000 households in each of five British Columbia communities, and 1027 were returned completed. The total and individual community samples should be regarded as merely representative of some British Columbian residents who had some interest in the arts. Sixty-six kinds of arts-related activities were identified in the questionnaire, and five indexes were created to help explain people’s motives for engaging in such activities. Seven different scales were used to measure respondents’ overall assessment of their lives, (1) self-reported general health (5-point scale), (2) satisfaction with life as a whole (7-point scale), (3) satisfaction with the overall quality of life (7-points), (4) happiness with life as a whole (7-points), (5) satisfaction with life as a whole (5-item index), (6) contentment with life (5-item index), (7) subjective wellbeing (4-item index). In the context of all our predictors, based on the relative impact of all the arts-related activities and the satisfaction obtained from those activities on our seven overall life assessment variables, it is fair to say that such activities and their corresponding satisfaction contributed relatively little. While this may seem incredible (especially to arts enthusiasts), it is important to keep in mind the initial condition “in the context of all our predictors” and the qualifier “relatively”. Our inability to discover greater marginal or total impacts of arts-related activities on the perceived quality of life may be the result of our use of the wrong search instruments for the great variety of values involved. It is an open question whether we used the best tools and found as much as there was to find or whether better tools would have found more.     

The impact of professional and personal satisfaction on perceptions of rural and urban: Some analytic evidence

Studies of rural-urban location decisions traditionally used ana priori definition of rural/urban based on population size. A group of 29 physicians (study group) practising in communities of less than 10 000, that were part of a larger sample, perceived their communities as ‘urban’. A matched group of physicians (control group) in the same communities, who perceived the communities as ‘rural’, was selected. The research question raised was: Are there personal and professional factors that could reliably predict the perception of rural and urban? A logistic regression analysis was done using professional and personal satisfaction items as predictors of the two groups. The analysis gives some evidence that, once the effect of community size is removed, the perception of rural urban can be explained by satisfaction with the following: (i) access to specialist expertise, (ii) quality of education for children, (iii) quality of life for children and (iv) quality of housing; satisfaction with size of community was not a significant predictor of rural/urban perception.     

The Relationship Between Social Support and Subjective Well-Being Across Age

The relationships among types of social support and different facets of subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) were examined in a sample of 1,111 individuals between the ages of 18 and 95. Using structural equation modeling we found that life satisfaction was predicted by enacted and perceived support, positive affect was predicted by family embeddedness and provided support, and negative affect was predicted by perceived support. When personality variables were included in a subsequent model, the influence of the social support variables were generally reduced. Invariance analyses conducted across age groups indicated that there were no substantial differences in predictors of the different types of subjective well-being across age.     

Impact of Acts of Discrimination on Quality of Life Among Injecting Drug Users in Delhi, India

The study examines the association between quality of life (QOL) and discrimination perpetrated against a vulnerable population like injecting drug users (IDU). Given that QOL affects self efficacy which in turn affects behavior, it is relevant to examine QOL among IDUs in the context of HIV prevention, and to study whether discriminations and human rights abuses impact QOL in this population. A cross sectional study was conducted in two research sites in Delhi, India among 343 IDUs recruited through a respondent driven sampling. A Hindi version of the WHOQOL Bref survey along with a survey questionnaire of discrimination were used to interview participants. After controlling for demographic characteristics, experiencing physical and verbal abuse (OR: 0.46, CI 0.27–0.79),arrests and imprisonment for carrying needles and/or using drugs (OR: 0.53, CI 0.31–0.90) and lacking health information (OR: 0.49, CI 0.29–0.85)was associated with lower social QOL, while being denied health care services was associated with lower psychological QOL. The more discrimination experienced, the lower was the quality of life in the social and psychological domains. Participants’ perceived well being in the four domains was related to their living conditions, discriminatory acts and to perceptions of social support. Discriminatory acts and abuses appeared to have a greater toll on their psychological well being and social relationships, thus indicating the need for human rights advocacy in order to influence law enforcement practices and to reduce stigma, while expanding social support through an extended comprehensive IDU programme.     

The Spatial Context of Social Integration

Social integration is the harmonious and coherent processing of the structures of a social system and refers to the degree to which people are integrated to the systems of a social structure. Although social integration issue is often considered on a regional scale and especially in association with the migration literature, it is also associated with urban dynamics. Especially in metropolitan cities, it is a process that shapes the opportunities and resources of urban life, such as socio-cultural life, the built environment and urban services. This paper aims to analyze the spatial differentiation of the interactive dimension of social integration in the case of Istanbul. It describes different forms and levels of social relations of the residents of Istanbul while also depicting the interaction between social integration and location, particularly in terms of residential area characteristics. With this aim, different types of social relations are analyzed using statistical and spatial analysis methods. The results of the study indicate that different social groups which are integrated into the macro structures of the society with different degrees produce different forms of social relations and they also live in residential areas which differ with their environmental quality.     

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.     

Child Health-Related Quality of Life and Parental Social Capital in Greece: An Exploratory Study

In this paper, we examined dimensions of child health-related quality of life in Greece in relation to parental assessments of neighbourhood social capital and social support networks. For the analysis, two main measures were used: (1) child self-reported health-related quality of life in ten dimensions, as measured by the KIDSCREEN questionnaire; (2) subjective measures of parental neighbourhood social capital and social support. Parental assessments of neighbourhood social capital and social support were both independently and positively associated with child self-reported health-related quality of life. However, they were not associated with the same dimensions of child well being, nor were they associated with all dimensions of child well being. These results suggest that greater attention in future research needs to be paid to the differential associations between the various dimensions of social capital and child health-related quality of life, with clear focus implications for social and health policies.     

Does Perceived Social Support Buffer the Negative Effects of Type C Personality on Quality of Life of Breast Cancer Patients?

The present study investigated possible Type C personality–quality of life (QOL) relationship, and the moderating role of perceived social support in this relation among 101 postoperative breast cancer patients. Participants were from different cities in Turkey but receiving treatment in the capital, Ankara. Obtained data were analyzed by moderated regression analysis. According to the results, Type C personality was not related to the QOL of participants, however, higher perceived social support was associated with better QOL in patients. Also, perceived social support moderated Type C personality–QOL relation. Accordingly, patients high on Type C personality and perceived social support had the highest QOL. In contrast, patients high on Type C personality and low on perceived social support had the lowest QOL. Findings, as well as the strengths and limitations of the study, were discussed in the light of the relevant literature. As a possible clinical implication, enhancement of social support networks of the patients were suggested.     

The mobility experience and neighborhood attachment

In this study, I consider variables associated with an individual’s most recent move into his or her current residence as predictors of neighborhood attachment. Using the 1978–1979 Seattle Community Attachment Survey, I find that elements of the mobility experience such as an individual’s past history of migration, the motivations for moving, the amount of time involved in the move, and the distance traveled during the move have an effect on shortand long-term neighborhood attachment patterns independent of residential stability and investment predictors. The findings imply that psychosocial factors such as familiarity with the environment, increased premove exposure to the new environment, and perceived control during instances of transition have some impact on individuals’ postmove attitudes and behaviors, and suggest that researchers should look beyond traditional “types of people” explanations of urban neighborhood attachment.     

Life Quality of Russian Immigrants to Israel: Patterns of Success and of Unsuccess

Two different perspectives on immigration outcomes are employed and interrelated: Overall assessments of the success in immigration and systemic quality of life assessments (using SQOL model, Shye in Soc Indic Res, 21:243–378, 1989). Data were collected from a sample of 337 immigrants to Israel from the former USSR. Results reveal that quality of life is a good indicator of perceived success in immigration and that, of the 16 SQOL components, the expressive and the conservative modes of the personality and of the social subsystems are the four most important SQOL components that determine successful immigration. The findings underscore the value of using a comprehensive theory-based conception of quality of life in immigration research.     

Satisfied Residents in Different Types of Local Areas: Measuring What’s Most Important

In efforts to enhance subjective urban quality of life (QOL), most empirical research focuses on measuring satisfaction. However, other research suggests most residents are satisfied with where they live because they choose local areas which satisfy them on attributes important to them, within the constraints they face. Thus residents choosing very different local areas tend to have similar satisfaction levels. Rather than focusing on residential satisfaction in local areas, it may be useful to focus on residential preferences to both characterize and improve subjective urban QOL in local areas. This study compares satisfaction and preference measures in four broad types of urban environment in South East Queensland, Australia. As expected, the results showed similar levels of satisfaction across these urban environments (spanning inner city, suburban, outer suburban, and coastal areas) with regard to three broad attributes (access to services and facilities, the natural environment, and the social environment). In contrast, the importance of these attributes for residents varied between these urban environments. Thus residential preferences may characterize subjective urban QOL in different urban environments better than residential satisfaction. Moreover, residential preferences provide additional guidance for maintaining and enhancing subjective urban quality of life in local areas. This paper argues for a renewed focus on importance measures in addition to the existing focus on satisfaction measures in subjective urban QOL research.     

Nature as nurture: Rural older women’s perspectives on the natural environment

ABSTRACT

Rural older women are surrounded by nature, a dynamic context for human development. Informed by place attachment and attention restoration theory, and guided by a life course perspective, this qualitative study focused on the perceived influence of nature in the lives of 34 rural older women. Using grounded theory techniques to analyze in-depth interviews, two primary findings emerged: (a) nature was integral to the women’s identity; and (b) interactions with nature were motivated by prior positive spiritual and psychological outcomes. Findings revealed the power of the natural environment as a resource for coping with the challenges associated with aging.     

The Role of Proactive Coping Strategies,Time Perspective,Perceived Efficacy on Affect Regulation,Divergent Thinking and Family Communication in Promoting Social Well-Being in Emerging Adulthood

The study analyzed the influence of time perspective, proactive coping strategies, perceived self-efficacy in affect regulation, divergent thinking and perceived quality of family communication on social well-being in a sample of 232 emerging adults. Social well-being showed positive correlations with proactive coping strategies, future-oriented time perspective, expression of positive emotions and regulation of negative emotions, divergent thinking, open communication with parents. A problematic family communication and a present-oriented time perspective were negatively correlated with social well-being. A forward Ridge step-wise regression model was conducted, evidencing four significant positive predictors of social well-being: proactive coping, perceived efficacy in affect regulation and open communication with parents; on the contrary, present oriented time perspective contributes significantly but negatively to social well-being.