Planning standards, population densities, sense of place, and subjective well-being: comparing five sub-regions in Hong Kong

Does the use of antidepressants change the subjective well- being of individuals with ICD-10 depressive disorder identified in the general population?

Subjective Well-Being Is Associated with Food Behavior and Demographic Factors in Chronically Ill Older Japanese People Living Alone.

With the great pressure of modern social life, the problem of residents’ subjective well-being has attracted scholars’ attention. Against the background of institutional transformation, China has a special social stratification structure. The socio-economic resources and living needs of different social classes are different, resulting in differences in the level of subjective well-being and the influencing factors for this. Taking Guangzhou as an example, based on the data of a household survey conducted in 2016, this paper obtains the social hierarchical structure through two-step clustering, and explores the differences between influencing factors for subjective well-being using multiple linear regression models. The clustering results divided Guangzhou urban residents into four classes: retirees, white-collar workers outside the system, manual workers and white-collar workers inside the system. The subjective well-being of white-collar workers inside the system and manual workers is high. The subjective well-being of white-collar workers outside the system is below the average value, and retirees have poor subjective well-being. The results of the regression analysis show that the subjective well-being of all social classes could be improved by active participation in fitness exercises, harmonious neighborhood relationships and a central residential location. Health-related factors such as physical health, sleeping time and density of neighborhood medical facilities, have a significant impact on manual workers’ subjective well-being. An increase in the density of neighborhood leisure facilities could help to improve the subjective well-being of white-collar workers outside the system. However, this would inhibit the subjective well-being of white-collar workers within the system. By revealing the differences in influencing factors for different social groups’ subjective well-being, the research conclusions could provide a reference for the formulation of targeted policies and measures to improve residents’ subjective well-being in urban China.

Food Insecurity Is More Strongly Associated with Poor Subjective Well-Being in More-Developed Countries than in Less-Developed Countries

Background Evidence regarding the associations between indoor biomass fuels use and subjective well-being (SWB) is scarce. Methods Three waves from 2011 to 2019 of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey were used in this study. Indoor cooking fuels types were divided into biomass fuels and clean fuels. SWB status was assessed using a previously developed five-point Likert scale and classified as good SWB or poor SWB. Cox proportional hazards models were used to explore the associations of biomass fuels use with SWB. Results A total of 1269 participants (mean (SD): 79.01 (8.93) years, female: 51.30%) with poor SWB at baseline. After approximately 8 years of follow-up, 688 (54.22%) participants with good SWB were identified. Compared with clean fuels users at baseline, biomass fuels participants had a lower incidence of good SWB (HR (95% CI): 0.80 (0.67, 0.94)). In addition, persistent use of biomass fuels was further decreases the good SWB incidence (HR (95% CI): 0.67 (0.54, 0.82)). Moreover, the incidence of good SWB significantly increased (HR (95% CI): 1.43 (1.14, 1.81)), when participants changed from cooking with biomass fuels to cooking with clean fuels. Conclusions Indoor cooking with biomass fuels reduced SWB, whereas changing to cleaner fuels increased SWB.

BackgroundAlthough studies have demonstrated that both lifestyles and subjective well-being (SWB) are associated with mortality risk, the joint effects of a healthy lifestyle and SWB on the risk of mortality are unclear. This study aimed to explore the combined impact of lifestyles and SWB on total mortality among the older Chinese population.MethodsData were obtained from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted from 2002 to 2018. A total of 13,282 participants aged ≥ 65 years were included. SWB was measured by an eight-item tool covering life satisfaction, optimism, conscientiousness, anxiety, loneliness, personal control, feeling useless, and happiness. A total healthy lifestyle score was calculated by summing across five lifestyle factors (smoking, drinking, exercise, dietary diversity and body mass index), ranging from 0 to 5, and was categorized into the following groups: healthy (4–5 points), intermediate (2–3 points) and unhealthy (0–1 point). Cox proportional regression analyses were carried out adjusting for demographic characteristics and other potential confounders.ResultsIn total, 8549 (64.4%) deaths were reported during the follow-up period. Compared with the higher healthy lifestyle score, the hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause mortality for the intermediate and unhealthy lifestyle scores were 1.11 (1.04–1.17) and 1.17 (1.09–1.26), respectively, independent of SWB. A similar relationship between SWB and total mortality was observed, independent of lifestyle factors. The participants who had worse SWB experienced a 1.19 (1.14–1.25) higher risk of total mortality in comparison with those who had better SWB after adjusting for lifestyles. Combinations of unhealthy lifestyle scores and poor SWB were associated with an increased risk of total mortality, and the highest risk was found among participants with a healthy lifestyle score of 0–1 and worse SWB (HR = 1.41, 95% CI = 1.28–1.55).ConclusionsA stronger risk of total mortality was found when worse SWB and unhealthy lifestyle occurred together, suggesting that a comprehensive approach to healthy lifestyle and SWB might be a potential strategy to improve longevity.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-025-06345-2.

The paper uses qualitative and quantitative data collected by the Wellbeing in Developing Countries ESRC research group in Bangladesh and Thailand to explore the extent to which objective need deprivation predicts subjective and psychological wellbeing, controlling for location, socio-economic status, and gender. The regression analysis is triangulated with qualitative analysis of three illustrative case studies to explore why people experiencing great need deprivation nevertheless report high subjective and psychological wellbeing and propose factors that might support their resilience. The paper reports perhaps unsurprisingly that need deprivation was lower in Thailand than Bangladesh, and subjective and psychological wellbeing higher, with the exception of life satisfaction which was higher in Bangladesh. While goal attainment was significantly associated with affect and life satisfaction in both countries, in Thailand life satisfaction and goal attainment were negatively correlated (−.334), so the more goals respondents felt they had attained, the less satisfied they were. These apparent anomalies are explored further using data from the case studies. The findings confirm that although measures of subjective and psychological wellbeing are correlated, they are not substitutable. For example, subjective wellbeing, especially positive affect, is more influenced by need deprivation than psychological wellbeing, while psychological wellbeing is more influenced by demographic factors, especially in Thailand. Finally, the paper discusses whether the distinct relationships of subjective and psychological wellbeing with need deprivation and income have any implications for policymakers.

BackgroundIn China, as domestic urbanization progresses and immigration expands, an increasing number of older people are choosing to follow their migrant children to new cities. Such people are referred to as “migrant elderly following children.” However, few studies have explored the subjective well-being of these older adults. The present study aims to investigate the factors that influence the subjective well-being of this population of older adults.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted among 656 older migrants who had followed their children to Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Multistage cluster random sampling was used. Binary logistic regression analyses were performed to explore, the relationships between intergenerational support, social integration, and subjective well-being.ResultsOverall, 96.3% of the older migrants showed good subjective well-being. Analysis of intergenerational support showed that those who had a female child (odds ratio [OR] = 0.401, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 0.180, 0.893) and those whose children had terrible conjugal relationships (OR = 0.223, 95% CI: 0.099, 0.504) were less likely to have better subjective well-being. Analysis of social integration showed that migrants who liked their current city (OR = 5.358, 95%CI: 1. 631, 17.599) and those who had a basic understanding of the local dialect (OR = 2.869, 95%CI: 1.203, 6.843) were more likely to have good subjective well-being. Migrants who had used in-patient service in the past year (OR = 0.216, 95%CI: 0.094, 0.497) were more likely to have poor subjective well-being.ConclusionIntergenerational support and social integration are positively associated with the subjective well-being of migrant elderly following children in China. Efforts should be made, including the creation of specialized policies, to improve the family atmosphere of such migrants and their integration into their new cities, as this would contribute to improving their subjective well-being.

The aim of this 3-month cohort study was to examine the association between low sense of coherence (SOC) and poor subjective well-being of new medical students at a university. Participants were first-year students at Dokkyo Medical University (111 students in 2011, 107 in 2012, and 118 in 2013) who completed self-report questionnaires comprising 29 SOC items and 12 lifestyle items upon entry in April and again in July. Total SOC scores for April (131.8) and July (130.8) were almost unchanged, although meaningfulness and manageability scores decreased significantly and comprehensibility scores increased significantly. Mean scores of total SOC, manageability, and comprehensibility of students whose subjective well-being was good in April but poor in July were significantly lower than those of students whose subjective well-being was good in both months, whereas the mean score of meaningfulness of students with poor subjective well-being in both months was significantly lower than that of students whose subjective well-being was poor in April but good in July.Odds ratios for poor subjective well-being adjusted for age, sex, and year of admission were significantly high for low comprehensibility (4.33: 1.35-13.9) and low manageability (8.51: 1.90-38.1).Thus, our study suggested that the SOC of new medical students can be used to identify those students at risk of poor QOL.

This study investigated the possible influence of parents’ socioeconomic status on their children’s well-being with focus on mediating effect of parents’ subjective well-being and autonomy support for their children’s well-being from the perspectives of self-determination theory. 730 Korean middle school students and their parents were investigated by survey questionnaires. Structural equation modeling was tested to analyse the data by using AMOS and Mplus. The results show that (1) parents of poorer economic condition have tendency to have poorer subjective well-being, and less autonomy supportive parenting, (2) parents’ economic condition has positive influence on their children’s psychological well-being via partial dual mediating effects of parents’ subjective well-being and autonomy support. (3) parents’ economic conditions has positive influence on their children’s subjective well-being via partial dual mediating effects of parents’ subjective well-being and autonomy support. (4) parents’ education level has positive influence on their children’s subjective well-being via full dual mediating effects of parents’ psychological well-being and autonomy support. (5) parents’ education levels has positive influence on their children’s psychological well-being via full dual mediating effects of parents’ psychological well-being and autonomy support. Based on these results, the educational implications were discussed.

ObjectivesWe aimed to elucidate the moderating effect of volunteer participation on the association between insomnia and subjective well-being.MethodsThis was a community-based, cross-sectional study that targeted community-dwelling older adults aged ≥ 65 years in Yilan city, Taiwan. Whether individuals had volunteered in the past month was asked. Insomnia was measured using the Athens Insomnia Scale-5. Subjective well-being was evaluated using self-rated health, self-rated happiness, the physical component summary (PCS), and the mental component summary (MCS) of Short-form 12. Interaction terms between volunteer participation and insomnia were examined to test the moderating effect of volunteer participation on subjective well-being.ResultsIn total, 3,875 participants were included in the study. After controlling for confounders, older adults with insomnia were more likely to have poor subjective well-being, except with respect to PCS. By contrast, volunteering was associated with a low risk of association between self-rated health and happiness. The interaction terms for volunteering with self-rated happiness (p = 0.03) and the MCS (p = 0.02) were significant. The association between insomnia and poor self-rated happiness among volunteers (odds ratio [OR] = 3.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.85–8.28) was significantly stronger than that in non-volunteers (OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.18–1.86). However, insomnia was linked with poor MCS in non-volunteers (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.21–1.94), but not in volunteers (OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.27–1.50).DiscussionVolunteer participation moderated the association between insomnia and subjective well-being; specifically, volunteering strengthened the association between insomnia and poor self-rated happiness but mitigated the relationship between insomnia and poor MCS.

Background: Commuting has become an integral part of modern life, impacting individuals’ daily routines and overall wellbeing. The duration of commuting has been recognized as important determinants of subjective wellbeing, with potential implications for public health.Aim: To examine the association between commuting time and subjective wellbeing across the seven emirates of the UAE.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted on adults aged 18 years and above, encompassing both officially employed and self-employed individuals in the UAE. The sample of 5,476 participants was randomly selected from the population across the seven Emirates. To assess subjective wellbeing, the WHO-5 instrument, available in 31 languages and known for its ease of completion, scoring, and interpretation, was employed. Both Arabic and English versions of the tool were provided to the participants. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between commuting time and wellbeing, while controlling for individual, social, economic, and environmental factors. The adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were calculated to determine the association with poor wellbeing.Results: The commuting time was associated with a higher odds ratio (OR) of experiencing poor subjective wellbeing. This association remained consistent even after accounting for individual, social, economic, and environmental factors in the analysis models. Among employees with commuting times greater than 60 min, the adjusted OR of poor subjective wellbeing was 2.24 (95% CI, 1.82–2.77) times higher compared to individuals with less than 15 min of commuting time. Similarly, for employees with commuting times between 31 and 60 min, the adjusted OR of poor subjective wellbeing was 1.7 (95% CI, 1.39–2.09) times higher, while for those with commuting times between 15 and 30 min, the adjusted OR was 1.26 (95% CI, 1.04–1.53) times higher, both compared to individuals with less than 15 min of commuting time.Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that commuting time plays a crucial role in determining the subjective wellbeing of employees in the UAE. Specifically, employees with longer commuting times tend to report lower levels of subjective wellbeing. This suggests a potential opportunity to implement policies aimed at reducing commuting durations, which could ultimately enhance the wellbeing of the employed workforce. Such measures have the potential to positively impact the mental wellbeing of employees in the United Arab Emirates.

The aim of this study is to examine the influence of environmental satisfaction, job satisfaction, and Big Five personality traits on subjective well-being. Data were collected from white-collar workers across four Chinese cities in 2009. All the research variables were measured with multi-item instruments with good psychometric properties. The research found that environmental satisfaction, job satisfaction, conscientiousness and extraversion have a positive effect on subjective well-being. In addition, individuals married, managers and working in state sector were found to be happier in their lives than individuals who are single, in non-managerial position and in private sector. However, the research found no relationship between neuroticism, agreeableness and subjective well-being. The finding of a positive relationship between environmental satisfaction and subjective well-being suggests that by pursuing a balance between economic development and environmental protection, urban residents' SWB could be enhanced.

To assess the association between erectile dysfunction and subjective well-being among primary care patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This cross-sectional study included 340 men with type 2 diabetes treated in primary health care settings in the Ismailia governorate between April 2021 and April 2022. A multistage random cluster sampling technique was used. Sociodemographic data, disease characteristics, lifestyle, surgical and sexual history, and the Arabic translations of the abridged 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) Questionnaire, and the 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) were gathered. Erectile dysfunction was identified in 72.94% of diabetic patients, with 55% mild or mild-to-moderate (ED I), and 17.9% moderate or severe (ED II). Twenty percent had Poor subjective well-being, with a mean WHO-5 index of 63.4 (± 15.4). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that education, diabetes duration, insufficient income, dyslipidemia, benign prostate hyperplasia, and IIEF-5 score were significantly associated with poor subjective well-being. Increasing IIEF-5 score was significantly associated with a 22% decrease in the odds of poor subjective well-being (OR: 0.78; 95% CI 0.66-0.93). Multinomial regression analysis showed that increasing score of the WHO-5 well-being index was associated with a 11% and 14% reduction in the odds of ED I and II, respectively (OR: 0.89 (95% CI 0.86-0.93), and 0.86 (95% CI 0.81-0.92), respectively). Erectile dysfunction and subjective well-being were interrelated. Early detection of erectile dysfunction is essential for improving the positive mental health of men with type 2 diabetes in primary care.

We examine the associations between different patterns of sexual behavior and function and three indicators of subjective well-being (SWB) covering eudemonic, evaluative, and affective well-being in a representative sample of partnered older people. Using data from a Sexual Relationships and Activities Questionnaire (SRA-Q) in Wave 6 of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, latent class analysis identified groups characterized by distinctive patterns of sexual behavior and function and then examined their link to SWB. Eudemonic SWB was measured using a revised 15-item version of the CASP-19, evaluative SWB using the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and affective SWB using the 8-item version of the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression scale. Sexual behavior and function was best described by six classes among men and five classes among women. These ranged from high sexual desire, frequent partnered sexual activities, and few sexual problems (Class 1) to low sexual desire, infrequent/no sexual activity, and problems with sexual function (Class 5([women])/6([men])). Men and women who reported either infrequent/no sexual activity, or were sexually active but reported sexual problems, generally had lower SWB than those individuals identified in Class 1. Poorer SWB in men was more strongly associated with sexual function difficulties, whereas in women desire and frequency of partnered activities appeared more important in relation to SWB. Within the context of a partnered relationship continuing sexual desire, activity and functioning are associated with higher SWB, with distinctive patterns for women and men.