Abstract
The independent association between socio-demographic characteristics and subjective well-being is well studied, however, the moderating impact of those characteristics are yet to be established in literature. This study examines the moderating influence of socio-demographic characteristics on subjective well-being among residents in Ibadan metropolis. Using a descriptive survey design and a multistage sampling technique, 10 enumeration areas each were selected from the five major Local Government Areas (LGAs) with simple random technique. The number of participants on the selected enumeration areas were determined with enumeration area maps. Two hundred and twenty participants each were selected from each LGA, using a systematic technique, making a total of 1,100 participants. A questionnaire focusing on socio-demographic profile and life satisfaction scale (r=0.74) was administered to the participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, co-relational analysis, moderated hierarchical multiple regression and analysis of variance at 0.05 level of significance. Two hypotheses were tested. The result reveals that socio-demographic factors jointly predicted life satisfaction (F (1, 1007) =4.61, p<.001). Age and marital status also interacted to predict life satisfaction (β=-0.13, t=-3.58, p<.01; β = -0.08, t=1.98, p<.05). The interaction effect of social demographic factors should be considered in a comprehensive examination of subjective wellbeing.
Highlights
Subjective well-being, known as life satisfaction or happiness or quality of life (Veenhoven, 2009) has been widely studied in psychology and other disciplines
The findings reveal that age, gender, marital status and educational qualification jointly and significantly predicted life satisfaction
The findings reveal that age, gender, marital status and educational qualification jointly and significantly predicted subjective wellbeing
Summary
Subjective well-being, known as life satisfaction or happiness or quality of life (Veenhoven, 2009) has been widely studied in psychology and other disciplines. Studies of subjective wellbeing from different disciplines have recorded different findings across nations (Veenhoven, 1993). This suggests that the association between subjective well-being and its determinants varies from place to place. In an attempt to predict subjective wellbeing, some recent studies in Nigeria have mainly focused on psychological factors (Oladipo & Olapegba, 2012), emotional intelligence and social support (Kolade & Dennis, 2015), personality factors (Mayungbo,2016) etc. These studies have sometimes reported different and conflicting results. The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating influence of age, gender, marital status and educational qualification on subjective wellbeing
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