What is the Strength of the Link Between Objective and Subjective Indicators of Urban Quality of Life?

Urban quality of life is usually measured by either subjective indicators using surveys of residents' perceptions, evaluations and satisfaction with urban living or by objective indicators using secondary data and relative weights for objective indicators of the urban environment. However, rarely are subjective and objective indicators of urban quality of life related to each other. In this paper, these two types of indicators were linked using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to both locate respondents to the “2003 Survey of Quality of Life in South East Queensland” and also to gather objective indicators about their urban environment within the region with regard to services, facilities and overcrowding. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), the strength of the relationships between these objective indicators and subjective indicators was examined. The results show that relationships between objective and subjective indicators of urban QOL can be weak, and suggests care should be taken when making inferences about improvements in subjective urban QOL based on improvements in objective urban QOL. However, further research is needed into the links between objective and subjective indicators of urban QOL including examining other aspects of the urban environment, non-linear relationships, and moderating effects for individual differences.     

Leisure Satisfaction and Quality of Life in China, Japan, and South Korea: A Comparative Study Using AsiaBarometer 2006

Leisure satisfaction is positively associated with quality of life (QOL), more specifically, subjective QOL, which is often expressed as happiness. Compared to industrial nations in North America and Europe, however, significantly less is known about Asian nations. The purpose of this study is to examine the understudied areas of China, Japan and South Korea, all of which share cultural values and practices (e.g., Confucianism). Internationally representative 2006 AsiaBarometer data from Mainland China (n = 2,000), Japan (n = 1,003) and South Korea (n = 1,023) are employed to examine the concept of QOL, and the association between leisure satisfaction and QOL in these specific Asian populations. Results of confirmatory factor analysis demonstrate the validity of the QOL concept based on a series of satisfaction measures (i.e., leisure, income, health, family, spirituality, and friendship). Subsequently, generalized ordinal logistic regression was used to model QOL as a function of leisure satisfaction and covariates. Results show that leisure satisfaction is independently positively associated with QOL only in South Korea, although other satisfaction measures including income, health and spiritual satisfactions are consistently significant in all three nations. These findings may be useful for developing locally-sensitive policies and services to improve/maintain QOL in each nation. Possible explanations about the diverse relationships between leisure satisfaction and QOL are discussed in view of the different stage of societal development, common Confucian values, as well as each nation’s unique characteristics.     

A Study on the Linkages between Residential Satisfaction and the Overall Quality of Life in Bandar Tun Razak Area of Kuala Lumpur City,Malaysia

This paper provides an assessment of the links between residential satisfaction with the housing sector and the overall quality of life (QOL) in Bandar Tun Razak area (BTR). As the QOL concept is multidimensional, five domains were selected to measure the overall QOL namely; economic capacity, safety condition, social involvement and community participation, physical and emotional health, and spiritual life. While for the housing sector, the study involved 32 indicators that cover the different housing features. Besides, In order to obtain a representative sample, a stratified convenient sampling was employed and 331 questionnaires were collected. The findings show that respondents were slightly unsatisfied with safety condition and economic capacity, whereas they were only slightly satisfied with social and community participation which require further attention to the improvement of these three domains. Moreover, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was applied on the housing indicators resulting in the extraction of five factors which are: housing size, neighbourhood quality, public facilities, housing suitability, and housing quality. Among these five factors, it was found that the housing size affects the overall residential satisfaction highly. Eventually, a path diagram was employed to measure links between the housing sub-domains and QOL domains. The results show that the housing size and public facilities influence the economic capacity domain effectively. While the neighbourhood quality and housing suitability affect both safety condition and social and community participation domains.     

Investigating Subjective and Objective Quality of Life in Rural Areas: the Case of Tehran Province in Iran

Given the importance of measuring QOL and the need for sound and efficient planning to improve and enhance the well-being of citizens, the objective of this study was to investigate QOL in rural areas of Tehran province, Iran. To this end, the relevant literature and secondary sources were used to develop a questionnaire whose validity was determined by a panel of experts. To the best knowledge of the authors, no similar study has assessed QOL in rural areas of Tehran province and none of them has compared objective and subjective QOL in rural areas. The findings showed that in terms of objective QOL, which indicates the minimum living standards, the villagers in Tehran province were in a moderate to high status, but in the subjective QOL, about 20% of the villagers were rated as poor. According to the findings, there was a significant difference between the residents of different rural areas of Tehran in terms of objective and subjective QOL at the 99% level, but the differences were not the same. This calls for policymakers’ attention. In this regard, policies should be put on the planning agenda to reduce rural migration by adopting a coordinated approach to rural and urban development and improving the physical and environmental conditions of rural communities to provide welfare services and reduce the disparity between urban and rural areas.

     

Quality of Life and Compact Development Policies in Bandung, Indonesia

The study explores whether Quality of Life (QOL) corresponds to the spatial pattern of urban system as a result of compact development policy practice in Bandung city, Indonesia. It examines the connection between QOL and selected attributes of compact development. A self-reported life satisfaction is used as a proxy for QOL based on a cross-sectional survey data from 400 respondents. The analysis shows that the changes in QOL significantly correspond to the change of different attributes of compact development. The result suggests that compact development policies in Bandung have not shown a desirable result in improving QOL of the urban residents. The result also indicates that the implementation of the policy is less beneficial in the context of developing countries. The study strengthens the existing argument that compact development policies need to be tailored to suit the context of developing countries, rather than just be taken for granted from the practices in developed countries.     

Intergenerational Coresidence and Life Satisfaction in Old Age: The Moderating Role of Homeownership

Household structure for older people’s subjective well-being is important to promote healthy ageing in the context of the rapid increase of the older population. Living with adult children is known to promote older people’s life satisfaction, a key indicator of subjective well-being, whereas others claim a negative impact of such intergenerational coresidence. This study aims to empirically test these theories (family support vs. family conflict), by examining the role of homeownership–another important factor contributing to subjective well-being–in this association between intergenerational coresidence and life satisfaction. Analysing the nationally representative data on the elderly population in South Korea, the findings showed that intergenerational coresidence decreases life satisfaction when the elderly achieve a certain level of housing security by living in owner-occupied housing. Living with adult children is negatively associated with life satisfaction particularly for older old homeowners compared to younger old owners. Our findings provide implications for public policies promoting intergenerational coresidence and asset-based welfare to enhance older people’s well-being in Korea and more broadly in East Asia.

     

The Relationship Between Size of Living Space and Subjective Well-Being

Against a background of shrinking new homes and forebodings of “rabbit hutch Britain”, the relationship between size of living space and subjective well-being has never been more topical in the UK. Using the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and fixed effects regressions, this paper is the first to examine this relationship comprehensively. Two pathways are proposed between space and subjective well-being. First, space facilitates values and activities. Second, space signals wealth which in turn influences social status. It is proposed that wealth is a more important determinant of status for men than women, and that pathway two is therefore gendered. Part one of the paper examines the effect of a change in number of rooms per person on housing satisfaction and subjective well-being in the BHPS as a whole. Despite having a similar effect on the housing satisfaction of both genders, an increase in living space has only a (weak) positive linear effect on the life satisfaction and mental health of men. This suggests that space affects subjective well-being through pathway two, status. Part two of the paper tracks the housing satisfaction and subjective well-being over time of those individuals who move for “larger accommodation”. Consistent with various theories of adaptation, housing satisfaction increases in the year of the move; then decreases slightly before levelling out. Moving for “larger accommodation” has no positive impact on subjective well-being. Overall the results imply a weak positive relationship between size of living space and subjective well-being, but only for men.     

Assessing Community Quality of Life in the Context of Tourism Development

One of major purposes of tourism development in a destination is to improve the quality of life (QOL) of host community. This study aims to assess tourism-related community quality of life (TCQOL). The study applied Sirgy and Cornell’s community QOL model (2001) and modified the measuring approach incorporating resident perceptions of satisfaction, importance, and tourism effects (Andereck and Nyaupane 2010) to evaluate resident perceptions of community quality of life in the context of tourism development. The assessment incorporating the community quality of life model and the modified measuring approach that could be a useful tool for tourism practitioners and scholars to understand resident perceptions of community QOL, assess changes of resident perceived community QOL in a host community, and compare the community QOL experiences to other areas.     

Subjective Well-Being and Adaptation. The Case of Uruguay

We assess the recent evolution of the quality of life in Uruguay, analysing whether current subjective well-being levels are conditioned by the objective well-being trajectory of each individual. We explore subjective well-being in 3 domains: life, economic situation and housing satisfaction. Although adaptation has been addressed in the empirical literature for developed countries, there is scarce evidence for developing countries due to the lack of suitable panel datasets. In this article, we provide an econometric test of the adaptation hypothesis based on longitudinal data from Uruguay for the years 2004, 2006 and 2011/12 (Estudio Longitudinal de Bienestar en Uruguay). Our main findings show that present levels of life, economic and housing satisfaction are each positively correlated with the corresponding contemporary and lagged objective variable of interest. Thus, we reject the adaptation hypothesis in all the dimensions considered. We also explore the role of social interactions in the 3 subjective well-being dimensions, finding out that average objective well-being of the reference group (either income or crowding) is not associated with individual subjective well-being levels.

     

北京市老年人的生活满意度及其影响因素

利用“北京市老龄化多维纵向研究”１９９２年调查资料,分析北京市城乡散居老人２５４３例６０岁以上老年人,对婚姻、子女关系、生活、经济、健康、住房、休闲安排、医疗八个方面的满意程度,并由八个方面的满意度综合计算了总体生活满意度。结果显示北京市老年人的总体生活满意度及八项分类的满意度在中上水平。多元回归分析表明,与总体生活满意度有显著性相关因素有１７个,居于前五位的是健康自评、家庭和睦、经济够用程度、心境和受教育水平。     

Monitoring and Fostering Elementary School Students' Life Satisfaction: A Case Study

Research on the importance of complete mental health has led to increased focus on students' subjective well-being (i.e., happiness and life satisfaction) coupled with the traditional attention to psychopathology. Although screeners for psychopathology abound, the present project is novel in applying best practices in universal screening to grade level-wide assessment of children's life satisfaction, followed by implementation of a positive psychology intervention for students identified through the screener. In this case study of 375 third- to fifth-grade students in one elementary school, 93.6% participated in the screening, 11.2% qualified for supplemental services based on screening cutoff scores, and 4.8% took part in the targeted intervention to improve subjective well-being. Repeated measures analysis of mean scores revealed the intervention increased children's life satisfaction, lending support for the value of universal screeners in the process of service delivery. Implications for practice regarding universal screening and intervention for life satisfaction are discussed.     

Generational Differences in Subjective Well-Being in Australia

We test for differences in subjective well-being across four pre-defined generations in Australia born between 1928 and 1994: The Lucky Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. We focus on overall life satisfaction and range of domain satisfactions. We find that Baby Boomers are less satisfied with life than thosce born before and after them. We observe similar patterns when considering domains such as finances and housing. However, differences in satisfaction with employment opportunities show the opposite pattern, with Baby Boomers and Generation X’s reporting higher satisfaction as compared to the Lucky Generation and especially those from Generation Y. Family and labour marketcv status have greater effects than cohort of birth on many of the domains studied; however, the cohort effects are significant and non-negligible, particularly concerning satisfaction with life, employment opportunities, and housing.

     

Quality of life: A Psychological analysis

Quality of life (QOL) is an amorphous concept; it is normative and value laden. Economists’ emphasis on the standard of living brings into focus the value of growth, expansion and acceleration. Financial status is important but has limited impact on feelings of happiness. The subjective experiences (e.g. wellbeing, cheerfulness, satisfaction, contentment, empathy, faith, wisdom and purpose in life) complement the economist’s concept of standard of living. The criteria for determining the QOL may relate to adaptive mechanisms one employs in everyday life. Dispositions of altruism, sublimation, humor, empathy, optimism, and wisdom also contribute to the QOL. It appears that QOL is essentially a cultural concept overflowing both economics and psychology. Non-Western approaches such as Chinese, Buddhist, Hindu thought, have proposed balancing as a key factor in QOL. The highest quality of life is one in which one transcends dualism in life, namely happiness — sorrow, pleasure — pain, love — hate, etc and cultivate the capacity to remain unassailed by the dualities, rather than that of balance. We need to attend to the views of humanistic disciplines and examine the issue of QOL in the context of the world view one holds.     

Life Satisfaction and Symptoms of Mental Disorder Among Older African American Public Housing Residents

This study examines life satisfaction and symptoms of mental disorder in a sample of 831 older African American residents of urban public housing developments. Symptoms of mental disorder included measures of emotional distress, alcohol-related problems, and cognitive impairment. Subjects reporting less life satisfaction had significantly greater emotional distress. Neither lifetime alcohol-related problems nor cognitive impairment were significantly related to life satisfaction. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that emotional distress subscales accounted for most of the explained variance in life satisfaction. Social dysfunction was the strongest predictor of life satisfaction, accounting for 17% of the variance. Having a confidant, instrumental social support, religious support, or being female also contributed to the explained variance in life satisfaction.     

The importance of including quality-of-life indices in international social and economic development activities

Psychology has not been a visible player in international social and economic development efforts. Through its demonstrated commitment to the concept of quality of life, psychology has an opportunity to help shape foreign policy and to improve the lives of countless people around the globe. Poverty has reached unacceptable limits of humanitarian tolerance and political consequence throughout the world. The United Nations estimates that 20% of the world's population now lives in conditions of absolute poverty in which there is an absence of even the bare essentials for living. Social and economic development efforts have often failed despite good intentions because they have often concentrated on improving peoples' material level of living but not their quality of life. This article addresses the need to include quality-of-life (QOL) indices in international social and economic development efforts. In addition, the article calls attention to the need to use valid cross-cultural measurement strategies (i.e., culturally equivalent) when assessing QOL across cultural and national boundaries. Current approaches to social and economic development rely heavily on interventions that do not reflect the actual peoples' perceptions of life satisfaction and subjective well-being. Self-serving political and economic national interests have kept new approaches to development from being implemented. New interventions must be holistic, decentralized, integrated, empowering, participatory, and human-resource directed, and must include culturally equivalent objective and subjective quality-of-life indices as the arbiters of success.     

Perceived Quality of Life and Health-Related Correlates Among Men Aboard Navy Ships

The objectives of this study are twofold: First, findings are presented to provide a baseline assessment of perceived quality of life (QOL) in a group of 430 Navy shipboard men. As part of this objective, Navy shipboard QOL ratings are compared with those of a U.S. national sample to provide a perspective for interpreting Navy responses. Second, the study identifies health-related factors associated with QOL. In both the Navy and national samples, QOL evaluations are generally positive and show considerable variation. Navy shipboard QOL evaluations are higher than civilian evalua- tions on items addressing satisfaction with self and the ability to adjust to changes, but lower on items assessing satisfaction with work and personal life. A consistent association exists between better health/fitness and higher QOL, including satisfaction with one's Navy job. Consistent correlates of perceived QOL are self-ratings of health and physical fitness, perceptions of not being overweight, and lower reporting of psychosomatic symptoms.     

Happiness in shrinking cities in Germany

After decades of urban growth, modern societies now face an increasing number of shrinking cities. What is the impact on the inhabitants of shrinkage of their city? Negative effects dominate in the public discourse, but does growth or shrinkage really matter for the livability in urban environment? In this paper, I take stock of the effect on subjective well-being in present day Germany. Overall satisfaction with life appears not to be lower in shrinking cities and satisfaction with several domains of life even higher. This is not because inhabitants are unaware of the situation of their city, since they appear to be more concerned about job-chances and crime.     

Quality-of-life (QOL) assessment of older consumers: A retrospective review

This article provides a series of historical reflections (for a period corresponding roughly to the past 20 or 30 years) on the evolving QOL status of older consumers. It uses a two-category QOL framework consisting ofobjective components (e.g., socioeconomic indicators, health and longevity, housing and family living arrangements, and gender differences) andsubjective components (e.g., life satisfaction and cognitive age) to explore the QOL of older consumers. It then examines the strategic reality of diversity and speculates on strategic implications of these QOL observations.     

Precariousness and Quality of Life—a Qualitative Perspective on Quality of Life of Households in Precarious Prosperity in Switzerland and Spain

Households’ resources and constraints are key components of quality of life (QOL). QOL also depends on how these are evaluated. In times of crisis one expects subjective wellbeing and quality of life to decline. We argue that the quality of life depends on objective living conditions, their subjective evaluation and the ability to maintain or improve the situation of “embedded individuals”. This ability, in turn, depends on the opportunities provided by the state, labour markets, families and communities. We analyse qualitative interviews (2008–2010) with around 25 households in precarious prosperity in two cities (Pamplona, Spain and Lausanne, Switzerland) to elaborate their QOL. Few sampled Swiss households witnessed a decline in socio-economic status, contrary to the Spanish. Domains important to these households for QOL varied according to the opportunity structures: in the Spanish sample QOL was related to the opportunities for income, work, and security to plan ahead; in the Swiss sample to health, work-life balance and loneliness. In both samples, QOL varied according to scope of agency, people’s position within the life course, the households’ past experiences, current situation and future perspectives. Lack of future perspectives and opportunities lowered QOL; reframing, adaption and accepting the situation sometimes moderated QOL. We conclude that apart from living conditions and/or subjective wellbeing, households’ agency within opportunity structures is a promising direction for further research in QOL.