Applied Research in Quality of Life最新文献

Hong Kong is characterized by extremely low fertility, with a total fertility rate of 0.701 in 2022. This paper reports significant declines in the intention to have children among non-parents and in the desire to have more children among parents, based on data from the Family Surveys conducted in Hong Kong in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, which imply more dramatic demographic changes in the future. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this paper explored individuals’ attitudes toward marriage and having children, family functioning variables indicating subjective norms regarding fertility, and housing status and parenting stress relating to individuals’ control over fertility behavior. The results show that among non-parent respondents, being older and possessing a secondary education were associated with a lower level of fertility intention, whereas being a tenant, having positive attitudes toward marriage and having children, and having higher levels of family mutuality and harmony were associated with a higher level of fertility intention. Among parent respondents, parenting stress significantly inhibited the desire to have more children, regardless of financial matters and family environment. The findings suggest that fertility intentions can be remade over the life course. This paper, based on the TPB framework, can help guide the development and adoption of policies and supportive programs to improve fertility intentions in Hong Kong.

This research aimed to discover hidden patterns of intergenerational solidarity and digital communication among older parents and adult children during and after the pandemic, examine the transition patterns of solidarity classes between the two-time points, and investigate whether solidarity transition patterns are associated with older parents’ cognitive decline after the pandemic. Using the Korean longitudinal parent–child dyadic data in 2022 (during the pandemic) and 2023 (after the pandemic) studies, 326 older parent-adult child pairs were used in latent class and latent transition analyses. Results of latent class analyses showed that three solidarity classes were identified among older parents and adult child pairs in 2022 and 2023 studies: Tight-knit traditional, living apart-but-digitally connected, and detached. Results of latent transition analysis showed that the majority of parent–child pairs maintained the same latent classes between 2022 and 2023 studies. Furthermore, this study found that older parents who stayed in the tight-knit traditional latent class during and after the pandemic reported lower cognitive decline compared to those who stayed detached latent class between the two-time points. These findings suggest that structural and functional solidarity are likely to be an important factor in alleviating older parents’ cognitive decline. Intergenerational solidarity can be a basis for preventing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in old age.

A key objective of development thought is to improve the welfare of people and enhance their satisfaction with life. This is important following literature that suggests that increasing incomes may not necessarily lead to happiness in the long term. In this regard, this study investigates the drivers of happiness in Ghana and the determinants of transitions into different happiness states. Using a nationwide panel dataset over three time periods and employing econometric techniques, the study found that among the key determinants of happiness in Ghana are assets, social capital/networks, health status, ethnicity, age and location of residence. The study further found that assets neutralize the effects of other vital drivers while social network has a moderating effect on how assets predict happiness. In contrast, an inverted U-shape was found for the importance of assets to happiness over one’s age, suggesting that assets begin to matter less for one’s happiness beyond a certain age threshold. Aside from assets and social network, which predict transitions from any state of happiness to the other, the importance of other correlates of the transitions largely varies by the initial state of happiness. The implications are discussed within the framework of the goals of development policy.

Within the realm of identity research, community identity has garnered attention from disciplines such as sociology, community psychology, and public administration. However, previous studies have predominantly focused on the concept of “identity”, often overlooking the “community” itself as an object of identity. Further exploration of the theory of community identity within the specific context of communities is warranted. Drawing from social identity theory, this study employs thematic analysis and exploration, investigating aspects such as frequency, intensity, structure, and process. The analysis is based on textual materials gathered from interviews in a first-tier city in China. The findings of our research unveil that community identity comprises three interconnected dimensions: functional identity, governance identity, and affective identity. These dimensions collectively form an integral whole, serving as the foundation, guarantee, and core, respectively. This contributes to the construction of a comprehensive theoretical model of community identity. Subsequently, a scale derived from this theoretical model was developed and cross-validated using a sample of 562 participants. Our research significantly contributes to the advancement of community identity theory within the realm of grassroots practice. Furthermore, it provides valuable indicators for evaluating the quality of life within the local community.

Whereas research in Germany has focused mainly on how environmental burdens such as noise or air pollution affect health or well-being, little is known about the effects of environmental goods. Our study examines urban green spaces as one such environmental good, and asks how their usage affected life satisfaction during the coronavirus pandemic. Drawing on attention restoration and stress reduction theory as well as on theories of social integration, we further ask how different kinds of activities such as meeting friends or doing sports mediate the effects of green spaces on life satisfaction. Our empirical analysis builds on unique individual panel data for residents of Hannover and Braunschweig taken from interviews before and during the coronavirus pandemic. Using causal difference-in-difference models, our results reveal no robust effect of increased or decreased green space usage on life satisfaction. However, results depend on the operationalization: Analyses point to a negative effect of reduced green space visits only when green space use is assessed retrospectively. Hence, our study highlights the need for further causality-oriented research on the relationship between green space usage and life satisfaction. Moreover, it stresses the value of performing robustness checks by applying alternative operationalizations in causal analyses.

This paper analyzes the psychological capital of Israeli Arab women and its role in their labor market activity. Arab women are the least active group in the Israeli labor market, suffering from cooccurring and multifaceted employment barriers, including limited personal resources, gender and cultural barriers, discrimination, poor local labor market conditions, and more. The paper’s central proposition states that psychological capital – i.e., hope, resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism – is a necessary prerequisite for individuals’ participation in the labor market. Two original studies were conducted. Study 1 used data from a nationwide survey for comparative objectives. Study 2, designed for deepening understanding of the objectives not met in Study 1, collected data from a non-random convenience sample. Study 1 indicates that Israeli Arab women, especially economically inactive women, have relatively and significantly low levels of psychological capital. Study 2 shows that this demographic engages in more behaviors defined as overcoming barriers than labor market-oriented activity. The data reveal that the level of psychological capital among the research demographic prepares them for removing barriers actions; however, it is not sufficiently high to encourage actively seeking employment. The authors conclude that in order to facilitate Israeli Arab women’s transfer into economic activity, policymakers must expand existing employment interventions with short-term psychological capital enhancements. By applying psychological capital to a consideration of labor market transition among Israeli Arab women, this paper contributes to our understanding of labor inactivity among the specific population and broadly to inactivity among employment disadvantaged and ethnic minority groups.