Self-reported Life Satisfaction Research Articles

A Web-Based Intervention Using "Five Ways to Wellbeing" to Promote Well-Being and Mental Health: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Compromised well-being and mental health problems pose a significant threat to individuals and societies worldwide. Resource-intensive psychological treatments alone cannot alleviate this burden. There is a need for low-cost, evidence-based interventions aimed at preventing illness and promoting well-being. Five activity domains appear to be linked with well-being promotion across populations: connecting with others, being active, taking notice, learning, and being generous/giving. The activities mentioned are part of the Five Ways to Wellbeing framework and the web-based intervention Five Ways to Wellbeing for All (5waysA). This randomized controlled trial aims to test the effects of the 5waysA intervention, a web-based, low-cost, well-being-promoting measure targeting the general population. To date, the Five Ways to Wellbeing framework has not been tested in this specific format. The 5waysA intervention comprises 2 webinars and SMS text message reminders delivered over a 10-week period. In 2021, a total of 969 study participants from various regions across Norway were openly recruited through a web page. They were then randomly assigned to either an intervention group or 1 of 2 waiting list control groups, namely, active or passive. Self-reported life satisfaction (Satisfaction With Life Scale [SWLS]), flourishing (Flourishing Scale [FS]), positive emotions, anxiety, and depression symptoms (Hopkins Symptom Checklist-8 [HSCL-8]) were assessed before the intervention, at 4 weeks into the intervention, and 1-2 weeks after the intervention (over 10 weeks). Data analysis was conducted using linear mixed (multilevel) models. After 10 weeks, 453 participants (171 in the intervention group and 282 in the waiting list control group) were assessed on outcome variables, with a dropout rate of 53.2% (516/969). Results revealed a significantly greater increase in the intervention group compared with the controls for SWLS (b=0.13, 95% CI 0.03-0.23; P=.001), FS (b=0.19, 95% CI 0.08-0.30; P=.001), positive emotions (b=0.43, 95% CI 0.27-0.60; P<.001), and these factors combined into a global well-being measure (b=0.28, CI 0.16-0.39; P<.001). Effect sizes (Cohen d) for the well-being outcomes ranged from 0.30 to 0.49. In addition, a significant decrease in anxiety and depressive symptoms was observed (b=-0.17, 95% CI -0.30 to -0.04; P=.001) with an effect size (Cohen d) of -0.20. The findings suggest that the web-based 5waysA intervention could serve as an effective approach for enhancing well-being and mental health within the general population. This study offers individuals, policy makers, and local stakeholders an accessible and potentially cost-effective well-being intervention that could be easily implemented. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04784871; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04784871.

Evaluating the Long-Term Effects of Parental Involvement in Child’s Education

This study investigates the long-term effects of parental involvement in a child’s education, utilizing a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. The study employs co-relational analysis to explore the potential association between the degree of parental involvement throughout childhood and subsequent educational attainment, career choices, and self-reported life satisfaction in adulthood. The research utilizes a sample of 200 individuals aged 25-60, with varying levels of parental involvement reported through retrospective self-reports and parent-teacher communication records from their school files, obtained with informed consent.

Sleep Disorders and Subjective Well-Being in Portuguese Adults: Evidence from a Representative Study.

Objective The quality and quantity of sleep affect people's well-being, as chronic sleep disorders are associated with social, physical, and psychological problems, as well as low self-reported life satisfaction. The present cross-sectional study examined the associations of sleep disorders with self-reported life satisfaction in Portuguese adults. Materials and Methods Data from a representative sample of the Portuguese population (14,341 participants, aged ≥ 18 years) extracted from the Sixth Portuguese National Health Survey was analyzed. Data on subjective well-being and sleep disorders was collected through a questionnaire, and multivariable regression models were performed to examine the associations between these variables, adjusted for potential confounders such as age, gender, level of schooling, degree of urbanization, and family income. Results Sleep disorders were negatively associated with self-reported life satisfaction. Having at least one sleep disturbance in the last two weeks was significantly associated with a 3-point decrease in life satisfaction: β = -3.0 (95% confidence interval = -3.2--2.7). Discussion Among Portuguese adults, sleep disorders were associated with a decline in life satisfaction. The present study provides new evidence from a representative sample to support the promotion of good sleep hygiene intervention programs.

What is the Relationship Between the Perceived Quality of Neighbourhood and the Self-reported Life Satisfaction in Immigrants Versus Natives in Europe?

Subjective well-being (SWB) is emerging as an important measure of individual and societal progress. Among the many individual factors associated with SWB, the quality of the neighbourhood is recently receiving growing attention as a factor shaping self-reported life satisfaction in contemporary societies. However, to the best of our knowledge, studies focusing on the perceived quality of the neighbourhood are still scant. We aim to fill this gap, comparing self-reported life satisfaction of different population groups (i.e., immigrants and natives) living in European countries, and to analyse the association between self-reported life satisfaction and the perceived quality of the neighbourhood, controlling for individual socio-demographic and human capital variables and socio-economic characteristics of the country of residence. The data are drawn from the cross-sectional European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) of 2016. Our findings reveal that first and second-generation immigrants report lower self-reported life satisfaction compared to natives. Moreover, our findings show that the positive subjective evaluation of the characteristics and services available in the immediate neighbourhood where people live is positively associated with self-reported life satisfaction. There is also a positive relationship between contacts and social networks in the neighbourhood and self-reported life satisfaction. Finally, the characteristics of the country of residence matter for both native and immigrants’ life satisfaction, with immigrants being more satisfied in countries with higher quality of life captured by country gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, life expectancy and unemployment rate.

Assessing the sustainability of socio-economic boundaries in China: a downscaled “safe and just space” framework

This study constructs a downscaled “safe and just space” framework consisting of 13 processes to evaluate China’s sustainability status of socio-economic sphere in 2020, with a focus on the impact of COVID-19. To minimize subjectivity in threshold setting, the study adopts the expected targets outlined in the national and sectorial official documents of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan. The results show that while overall employment and income have achieved satisfactory thresholds without deprivation, issues such as youth unemployment and wealth disparity have deteriorated. Social inequality and lack of trust remain prevalent despite high levels of self-reported life satisfaction. Developed areas exhibit a significantly higher average life expectancy than developing areas do, and gender imbalance persists as a chronic issue. The severity of energy deprivation compared with water is highlighted. In addition, this study confirms the validity of Hu Huanyong Line in dividing the spatial pattern of socio-economic sustainability status in China, as all the provinces meeting more than eight thresholds are located in the eastern part of the country. Based on these findings, the interactions between the socio-economic processes as well as their resilient behaviors to climate change under the COVID-19 impact are discussed. Finally, the study suggests future research directions to enhance the theoretical and methodological defects of the framework.

Trends in Well-Being Among Youth in Australia, 2017-2022

Little is known about temporal trends in children's well-being and how the COVID-19 pandemic may have influenced the well-being of young Australians. Certain demographic groups may be more vulnerable to experiencing declines in well-being. To examine well-being trends over 6 consecutive years among South Australian students and explore the influence of sociodemographic characteristics. Longitudinal analyses of annual (2017 to 2022) cross-sectional data of students in grades 4 through 9 (n = 40 392 to 56 897 per year) attending South Australian government schools from the Well-being and Engagement Collection (WEC) census. Calendar year (2017-2022) and sociodemographic characteristics (sex, school grade, parental education, language spoken at home, residential region) from school enrollment records. Students self-reported life satisfaction, optimism, happiness, cognitive engagement, emotional regulation, perseverance, worry, and sadness. Over 6 years (2017 to 2022), a total of 119 033 students (mean [SD] age, 12.1 y; 51.4% male) participated in this study. Most well-being measures declined over time, with consistent worsening of well-being from 2020 onward. For example, compared with 2017, sadness was 0.26 (95% CI, 0.25-0.27) points higher in 2020 (standardized mean difference [SMD], 0.27) and remained elevated by more than 0.26 points (SMD, 0.27) in 2021 and 2022. At almost every time point, greatest well-being was reported by students of male sex (except cognitive engagement and perseverance), in earlier school grades, with highest parental education, speaking a language other than English at home, and residing in outer regional and remote settings (for satisfaction, optimism, and emotional regulation). Sociodemographic differences in well-being were generally consistent over time; however, sex differences widened from 2020 for all indicators except cognitive engagement and perseverance. For example, between 2017 and 2022, sadness increased by 0.27 (95% CI, 0.25-0.29) more points among females than males (SMD, 0.28). In this longitudinal analysis of annual census data, there were downward trends in students' well-being, especially since 2020. The largest sociodemographic disparities were observed for students of female sex, those in later school grades, and those with lowest parental education. Urgent and equitable support for the well-being of all young people, particularly those facing disparity, is imperative.

An Economic Analysis of the Association Among Secondary Health Conditions, Health Care Costs, and Quality of Life for Persons With Spinal Cord Injury.

A previous analysis using the Canadian Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Community Survey data identified that there were individuals with a high number of secondary health conditions, high health care utilization, poor health outcomes, and unmet health care needs. The objectives of this study were to estimate the annual health care costs of persons with SCI who report secondary health conditions, and to determine the association between these secondary health conditions with health care utilization and self-reported life satisfaction and quality of life. The survey respondents were divided into four groups: traumatic SCI (tSCI; those who said they received needed care and those who said they did not) and nontraumatic SCI (ntSCI; those who said they received needed care and those who said they did not). The average annual health care costs per respondent were estimated for each group. Using regression analysis, we estimated the change in average annual health care costs that were associated with an additional secondary health condition for respondents in each group. Participants who reported not receiving needed care had on average 23% more secondary health conditions than those receiving needed care. The increase in average annual health care costs associated with one additional secondary health conditions was between $428 ($37-$820) (ntSCI, receiving needed care) and $1240 ($739-$1741) (tSCI, not receiving needed care). This study provides insight into potential cost savings associated with a reduction of secondary health conditions as well as an estimate of the reduction in health care costs associated with moving from not receiving all needed care to receiving needed care.

Socioeconomic Differences in the Association Between Bullying Behaviors and Mental Health in Canadian Adolescents.

Bullying and poverty are each associated with poor health in adolescents. We examined socioeconomic differences in the association of bullying and health. The 2017/2018 Canadian Health Behaviour of School-aged Children study surveyed 21,750 youth (9-18 years). We used linear regression models to investigate interactive effects of bullying involvement (traditional and cyberbullying) and socioeconomic position (SEP) on self-reported life satisfaction, psychological symptoms, and physical symptoms. Involvement in either form of bullying, as a perpetrator or a target, was associated with worse health and well-being compared to uninvolved youths. Associations of victimization via conventional bullying with low life satisfaction (b=-.33 [-.61, .05]), more psychological symptoms (b=.83 [.27, 1.38]), and more somatic symptoms (b=.56 [.14, .98]) were stronger at lower SEP. Socioeconomic disadvantage intensifies the association between bullying victimization and poor health. The intersections of victimization and poverty pose a significant health risk to adolescents.

Exploring the Impact of Improved Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation on Subjective Wellbeing of Adults in Punjab

Urban development including water and sanitation infrastructure is critical for mental health. Lack of access to water supply and sanitation can provoke unrest and conflict among the households. However, extant literature has not paid much attention to such association. This study uncovers the impact of improved access to safe drinking water and sanitation on the subjective wellbeing of men and women of the same households in the most populous province, Punjab, of Pakistan. The study extracted data from the latest multiple indicator cluster survey of Punjab and employed a two-level mixed effects logistic regression method due to data hierarchy. The results revealed a positive relationship between piped and bottled water access with the subjective wellbeing of adult men (OR=1.113 and OR=1.274, respectively) and women (OR=1.092 and OR=1.416, respectively). However, improved sanitation was found to have a positive association with the subjective wellbeing of just women (OR=1.169), implying that poor sanitation infrastructure is a particular source of mental stress for women. Improved sanitation was associated with higher self-reported life satisfaction among both men and women (OR=1.194 and OR=1.156 respectively). Our findings provide avenues for policymakers to intervene to improve household water and sanitation infrastructure, which has far-reaching impacts on the life satisfaction.

Exploring the Impact of Improved Access to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation on Subjective Wellbeing of Adults in Punjab

Urban development including water and sanitation infrastructure is critical for mental health. Lack of access to water supply and sanitation can provoke unrest and conflict among the households. However, extant literature has not paid much attention to such association. This study uncovers the impact of improved access to safe drinking water and sanitation on the subjective wellbeing of men and women of the same households in the most populous province, Punjab, of Pakistan. The study extracted data from the latest multiple indicator cluster survey of Punjab and employed a two-level mixed effects logistic regression method due to data hierarchy. The results revealed a positive relationship between piped and bottled water access with the subjective wellbeing of adult men (OR=1.113 and OR=1.274, respectively) and women (OR=1.092 and OR=1.416, respectively). However, improved sanitation was found to have a positive association with the subjective wellbeing of just women (OR=1.169), implying that poor sanitation infrastructure is a particular source of mental stress for women. Improved sanitation was associated with higher self-reported life satisfaction among both men and women (OR=1.194 and OR=1.156 respectively). Our findings provide avenues for policymakers to intervene to improve household water and sanitation infrastructure, which has far-reaching impacts on the life satisfaction.

Immigrant Integration in Europe. A Subjective Well-Being Perspective. Angela Paparusso (2021).

This book explores immigrant integration in Europe in all its complexity and multidimensional character. The author begins by providing a brief historical background of immigration in Europe in order to understand the evolution of this phenomenon towards something structural. She then goes into the traditional models of immigration in that continent and the immigration policies implemented in the different countries, assessing its effect by making reference to the Migrant Integration Policy Index 2020 affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. What makes this book original, in this sphere, is the introduction of the concept of subjective well-being applied both to immigrants and European host countries. This subject is tackled through surveys which lead to the analysis of self-reported life satisfaction among first generation immigrants in seven European countries. In this respect, Angela Paparusso focuses particularly in Italy where she studies the wellbeing and integration of children with a migrant background In her conclusions, she dwells on policy making which calls for the incorporation of local, national, and international governmental institutions and further proposes novel lines of study.

Trust in government and intention to emigrate in a post-soviet country: Evidence from Azerbaijan

Intention to emigrate has been one of the most challenging issues globally over the last decade for both migrant-sending and receiving countries. Rising emigration intentions trigger migration attempts and brain drain, while migrant-receiving countries are challenged by illegal emigration. Self-perceived trust in government is one of the fundamental determinants of citizens' emigration aspirations. This research applies path analyses to explore direct and indirect effects of trust in government on emigrating intentions in a post-soviet country – Azerbaijan. Using a pool of two social survey data (N=4092,n_Male=2106,n_Female=1986,〖Mean〗_Age=31.82) within a serial mediation analysis framework, we conclude that the trust in government has a significant direct (65-70%) and indirect (30-35%) negative impact on emigration aspirations among the people of Azerbaijan. The relationship is mediated by self-reported life satisfaction. Perceived income adequacy also mediates the relationship indirectly via life satisfaction. A key novelty of the study is that, contrary to popular belief, emigration aspirations in Azerbaijan are revealed to be less economic in motivation and are mainly explained by the lack of trust in government, which also reduces individuals' satisfaction with life. Therefore, improving the quality of public services and the trust in government institutions would reverse intentions to emigrate. The research can be replicated in other developing countries, and the findings can be used to design policies aimed at controlling international emigration issues.

The Role of Parenthood for Life Satisfaction of Older Women and Men in Europe

Previous research has widely addressed the gap in well-being between parents and childless individuals. While cross-sectional studies have regularly reported lower levels of well-being for parents, recent longitudinal studies suggest a short-term positive effect with a back-to-baseline adaptation. Whether, why, and how parenthood may affect well-being in older age is, however, still largely unclear. In this paper, a holistic view of well-being developments across the process of aging is combined with a transition-centered, gender sensitive approach to analyze the effects of health decline on the self-reported life satisfaction of parents and childless individuals. Life satisfaction in older age is hypothesized to be influenced by the onset of and coping with health limitations, which themselves may differ by parental status and gender. Using group-specific growth curve analysis based on data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) and accounting for selection into parenthood, we demonstrate how the life satisfaction of men and women evolves in the later life depending on parental status. Results show that from age 50 onwards, parents’ life satisfaction develops somewhat less favorably compared to that of childless individuals, but this difference is not significant. However, fathers' health evolves more favorably while they react less negatively to health limitations than childless men. Our results thus suggest that children are a source of social control with long-term positive effects on health and a coping resource in the face of health limitations for fathers but not for mothers.

Trajectories in life satisfaction before and during COVID-19 with respect to perceived valence and self-efficacy

Actions taken by governments to counteract the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic led to profound restrictions in daily lives, especially for adolescents and young adults, with closed schools and universities, travel restrictions, and reduction in social contacts. The purpose of the current study is to investigate the development of life satisfaction with assessments before and during the pandemic, including separate measurement occasions during a strict lockdown and when the implemented restrictions were relaxed again. Data are based on the German Personality Panel (GePP) with 1,920 young adults, assessed on four measurement occasions over a period of three years. Using latent change score modeling, we investigate the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to its perception as a critical life event over time. Further, we examine the influence of self-efficacy on change in life-satisfaction, as the belief in one’s innate abilities has been shown to promote health related behavior and buffers against effects of negatively perceived critical life events. While average life satisfaction remained stable across time, we found a main effect of perceived positive valence and self-efficacy on latent change in life satisfaction at the within person level. Expressions of self-efficacy did not moderate the influence of the perception of the pandemic on self-reported life satisfaction. This study provides an important contribution to the recent COVID-19 literature as well as to the debate on stability and change of self-reported life satisfaction.

Determinants of poor life satisfaction in adolescents with congenital heart disease or early acquired cardiovascular disease: a nationwide observational study

Abstract Background Life expectancy in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) and patients with early acquired cardiovascular disease (CVD) has increased due to improved treatments during the last decades. As life expectancy increases, focus on long term quality of life and life satisfaction as well as determining focus areas of preventive initiatives becomes essential. Purpose To investigate whether poor life satisfaction in adolescents and young adults with CHD or significant CVD is 1) associated with physical and mental challenges and 2) inversely associated with social support and self-efficacy have a protective effect against low life satisfaction. Methods Data from a Danish nationwide cross-sectional study was used to identify all patients with either CHD or significant CVD (e.g., arrhythmia, ischemia) aged 15–24 years with at least one contact to a Danish hospital department of cardiology between 2014–2018. Life satisfaction was measured on a scale of 0–10 and dichotomized into good life satisfaction if the score was &amp;gt;6. Using a logistic regression model with interaction terms for sex and adjusted for age and comorbidities, we estimated the association between physical challenges (New York Heart Association classification, NYHA), mental challenges (concentration limitations or memory limitations), social support, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction. Results 1961 patients were included, 58% had CHD. Median age was 20 years and 50% were female. NYHA-class III or IV were significantly associated with poor life satisfaction (OR: 0.42 [95CI: 0.26; 0.70]) (Figure 1). Likewise, self-reported memory limitations (OR: 0.79 [95CI: 0.68; 0.91]) and concentration difficulty (OR: 0.60 [95CI: 0.51; 0.70]) were associated with poor life satisfaction (Figure 1). In contrast, reported high self-efficacy (OR: 1.67 [95CI: 1.32; 2.12]) and good social support (OR: 2.16 [95CI: 1.60; 2.93]) were both associated with high life satisfaction (Figure 1). Finally, the association between NYHA class III (OR: 0.94 [95CI: 0.34; 2.59]), memory limitations (OR: 0.79 [95CI: 0.58; 1.07]), concentration limitations (OR: 0.71 [95CI: 0.49; 1.04]), and life satisfaction was not significant among individuals with high self-efficacy but remained significant among individuals with good social support. Conclusions In adolescents and young adults with CHD or early acquired heart disease, reported physical and mental challenges were associated with reduced self-reported life satisfaction. Both reported high self-efficacy and good social support were associated with increased life satisfaction. High self-efficacy among individuals reduced the negative association between mental or physical challenges and life satisfaction. These findings highlight the need for increased focus on promoting self-efficacy and the need for good social support in adolescents and young adults with functional limitations from their CHD or CVD in order to improve their long-term life satisfaction. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Private company. Main funding source(s): Danish Heart Foundation

Dirty skies lower subjective well-being

Self-reported life satisfaction of China's population has not improved as much as expected during the economic boom, which was accompanied by a significant decline in environmental performance. Is environmental pollution the culprit for the lagging subjective well-being? To explore this issue, this paper adopts sentiment analysis to construct a real-time daily subjective well-being metric at the city level based on the big data of online search traces. Using daily data from 13 Chinese cities centred on Beijing between August 2014 and December 2019, we look at the corelation between subjective well-being and air pollution and the heterogeneity in this relationship based on two separate identification strategies. We find that air pollutants are negatively correlated with subjective well-being, and well-being tends to decline more from pollution during hot seasons. In addition, residents in wealthier regions tend to be more sensitive to air pollution. This result may be explained by the differences in the subjective perception of air pollution and personal preferences at different levels of income. These findings provide information about concerns of the public, thereby helping the government to take appropriate actions to respond to the dynamics of subjective well-being.

The higher levels of self-reported satisfaction, the lower risk of depressive symptoms: Evidence from a nationwide cross-sectional study in China.

ObjectivesThis study aimed to investigate the associations between several dimensions of self-reported satisfaction and the risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese middle-aged and older adults.MethodsThe China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study of middle-aged and older adults. Depressive status was evaluated using the 10-item center for epidemiological studies depression scale (CESD-10), and self-reported life, health, marital status, parent-child relationship, and air quality satisfaction were adopted using Likert 5-point evaluation methods. A generalized linear model (GLM) was applied to explore the association between satisfaction and depression risk.ResultsA total of 13,978 Chinese people aged over 45 years old were included in this study, and 35.7% of the participants had depressive symptoms. The GLM analysis indicated that all dimensions of satisfaction were negatively associated with the risk of depressive symptoms. For each 1-point increase in life, health, marital status, parent-child relationship, and air quality satisfaction, the incidence of depressive symptoms decreased by 60.8% (odds ratio (OR) = 0.392; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.370, 0.414), 56.3% (OR = 0.437; 95% CI: 0.418, 0.458), 41.8% (OR = 0.582; 95% CI: 0.555, 0.610), 37.2% (OR = 0.628; 95% CI: 0.596, 0.662), and 25.6% (OR = 0.744; 95% CI: 0.711, 0.778), respectively.ConclusionHigher satisfaction levels with life, health, marital status, parent-child relationship, and air quality are associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults. Given the aging society and the increasing mental health problems of middle-aged and older adults in China, our study provides a comprehensive perspective for depression prevention and mental health improvement.

Fractionalization of MENA Countries in Political Economy Categories

The article dwells on configuring Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries in three political economy dimensions: population, gross national income per capita in current international dollars converted by purchasing power parities (per capita GNI PPP), and human development measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). Furthermore, the relationship between the mentioned dimensions and self-reported life satisfaction as well as the Index of Happiness is analyzed. The author conducts comparative analysis of diversity within a target region, shows where it fits on the world scale, and focuses on drawbacks in the data. The author concludes that the MENA region is a volitile cluster from the standpoint of safety, political rationality, and living standards. Armed clashes, technogenic accidents, the refugee problem in coping with the trend of demographic growth will put extra stress on the national economies of states and create great challenges for the governments.

Playing Pokemon Go: Increased Life Satisfaction Through More (Positive) Social Interactions.

Pokemon Go (PoGo) is a social mobile game requiring both physical activity and social interaction, and previous research has reported positive effects of PoGo on physical health. However, little research has been conducted on the effects of PoGo on social functioning and life satisfaction, which are important factors for good mental health. The current study investigated the effects of PoGo on life satisfaction and social functioning in participants with and without self-reported diagnoses of mental disorders. Participants were 434 current PoGo players aged 18–69 of diverse genders and nationalities, with a subsample (N = 138) self-reporting diagnoses of various mental disorders with impairments in social functioning. Participants provided retrospective and current self-report measures about their PoGo use, life satisfaction, social functioning (sociality and social ability) and clinical symptom severity. Results showed higher self-reported social functioning and life satisfaction since playing PoGo compared to the time period before playing, which involved a shift from negative to positive ratings. The increases in self-reported life satisfaction and sociality (but not social ability) were more pronounced for the clinical compared to the non-clinical subsample. Results also showed the effect of the social ability change on the life satisfaction change was mediated by the sociality change and moderated by the number of daily in-person player interactions (including strangers). The findings here, using subjective judgements, show that PoGo motivates social interactions and increases life satisfaction, demonstrating that social mobile gaming provides an easy to implement tool to subjectively improve social functioning. This has important implications for populations with social difficulties and reduced social motivation.

What Matters More, Perceived or Real Crime?

Crime consistently penetrates public and political debate, where crime, either perceived or real, shapes one’s sense of security, safety and wellbeing. This matters, as the perceived versus real dilemma influences policy decisions. But what matters most? Here the evidence is mixed with often highly inconsistent findings. Against this background, and employing more recent and arguably more robust econometric models, we compare the effect of real crime and perceived crime on self-reported life satisfaction after controlling for the effect of victimisation. We also explore the heterogenous effects of real crime and perceived crime among different socioeconomic and demographic groups. Overall, our results, across all model specifications, demonstrate that perceived crime always matters, while real crime only matters to those on high-incomes. We also find that females tend to be more sensitive to their perceptions, while living outside major cities does not have a significant effect. Our results support our belief that more should be done to reduce the misperceptions of crime. Further, public media coverage related to crime should be more objective and informative to avoid inflating misperceptions and public distress.