Subjective Well-being In China Research Articles

Correlation of higher right-wing authoritarianism and lower social dominance orientation with greater subjective well-being in China.

The associations between authoritarian personality and subjective well-being remains understudied, especially in China. In addition, as Chinese individuals and Chinese organizations generally attach importance to authority, exploring the matching effect of individual authoritarian personality and organizational culture (OC) can provide information for career selection, talent recruitment and university enrollment. The present study aimed to test associations between authoritarian personality traits (right-wing authoritarian, RWA; social dominance orientation, SDO) and subjective well-being (SWB; including positive affect, PA; negative affect, NA; and life satisfaction, LS) at the general and component-specific levels and the possible moderating role of OC (military or nonmilitary universities) on the associations in Chinese culture for the first time. A total of 6,580 Chinese students from military and nonmilitary universities were surveyed using the Right Wing Authoritarianism Scale, Social Dominance Orientation Scale, Campbell Index of Well-being, Patient Health Questionnaire, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. A higher score on RWA, but lower on SDO, correlated with greater SWB at both the general level and the component-specific levels. The links of RWA/SDO and positive factors (PA/LS) of SWB as well as latent SWB were moderated by the OC (being in military or nonmilitary universities). Specifically, these correlations were stronger for military than for civilian students. Further, although the moderating roles of OC existed in all three subgroups (sex, age, and socioeconomic status [SES] level), the negative link between OC and latent SWB existed in the male, younger, and high-SES individuals, while this link was not significant in female, older, and low-SES ones. The present study extends the findings of the moderating roles of organizational culture on the positive RWA-SWB relationship and the negative SDO-SWB relationship in oriental cultural contexts.

A Top Model of Urban Residents’ Subjective Well-Being in China

Past research on subjective well-being (SWB) in Western society and China has revealed various contributing factors. This study conducted a series of interviews with Chinese urban residents to systematically analyze those factors based on Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System Theory. The results revealed that 5 layers, 23 factors, and 55 elements, many of which had distinct Chinese characteristics, contributed to Chinese urban residents’ SWB. The Top Model of SWB, visualized as a spinning top or gyroscope, showcased the interdependent layers of factors impacting Chinese urban residents’ SWB. At its vertical axis is a time dimension as residents often reflect on factors by comparing their present situation with the past and the future. Discussion regarding each layer, the primary factors that comprise each layer, links between the layers, and the impact of a time dimension was included to substantiate the proposed model. The discussions focus on the study’s contribution to SWB literature, public policy-making, and future research on urban Chinese residents’ SWB.

Online volunteering and subjective well-being in China

This study aims to examine the relationship between online volunteering and subjective well-being (SWB) and to explore the mediation effect of online bridging networks. The data used in this study came from the 2019 Chinese General Social Survey (CSS). In this study, individuals who responded to survey questions about their participation in online volunteering activities and their subjective well-being(SWB) were included for analysis (N = 5556). The results showed a positive relationship between online volunteering and online bridging networks and indicated that online volunteering affects subjective well-being through the mediating role of online bridging networks. The implications of this study are relevant to policy-makers in public health and social service organizations. Based on the findings, policy-makers and nonprofit organizations are called on to support this type of volunteering which is an important means of improving public health. Nonprofit organizations can establish online social networks for potential volunteers. In addition, nonprofit organizations need to invest more resources to enhance the digital literacy of employees and volunteers, in order to enhance the quality of online volunteering services.

Household income mobility and adolescent subjective well-being in China: Analyzing the mechanisms of influence

BackgroundThe relationship between adult happiness and income has been a topic of extensive discussion. However, among children and adolescents, who are not directly engaged in economic activities, the relationship between household income over time and happiness is more complex and remains less explored. MethodsWe used nationally representative data from the China Family Panel Study (CFPS) from 2012 to 2018. The analytic sample consisted of 3,607 Chinese adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in 2018. Using an ordinary least squares model, we investigated the associations of 2-year (2016–2018), 4-year (2014–2018), and 6-year (2012–2018) household income mobility (i.e., upward mobility and downward mobility) with adolescents’ subjective well-being (i.e., happiness and depression) in 2018. We further explored the potential mediating effects of parental care on these associations and whether they were moderated by adolescent age, adolescent sex, and initial household economic status. ResultsWe found that upward mobility in household income was associated with decreased subjective well-being and parental care mediated this association. Furthermore, we found that the effects of upward mobility on adolescent subjective well-being varied by age, sex, and initial household economic status. Additionally, downward income mobility did not significantly impact adolescents’ subjective well-being. ConclusionOur findings emphasized that economic progress and upward mobility should not come at the expense of parental care, as this would decrease adolescents’ subjective well-being. Collaboration between the government and families is crucial to address the conflicts between work and family responsibilities, ensuring that parents are available and supportive to their children.

Educational Discrepancy and Its Impact on Couples’ Subjective Wellbeing in China

Educational Discrepancy and Its Impact on Couples’ Subjective Wellbeing in China

Parental education and children’s subjective wellbeing in China: the roles of educational attainment and educational assortative mating

Parental education may influence children’s development both additively and multiplicatively. While parental educational attainment enriches financial and cultural investments in children’s development, parental educational homogamy is associated with consistency and agreement in parenting practices that may benefit the children. In this paper, using the 2014 China Education Panel Survey, we examine relationships between parental education, regarding both parental educational attainment and educational assortative mating, and children’s subjective wellbeing, measured by depressive symptoms and self-rated confidence in the future. We also explore the mediating mechanisms linking parental education and children’s subjective wellbeing. Results show that holding average parental years of schooling constant, both hypergamy and hypogamy predict lower levels of confidence and higher levels of depression than does parental homogamy. Children born to hypergamous parents where the mother has less than high school education are most vulnerable of all children. The negative effects of parental hypogamy are likely channelled through parent-child and interparental dynamics, as children from hypogamous families are more likely to experience issues in parent-child relationships, paternal drinking problems, and parental fights.

Income, aging, and the gendered patterns of wellness: Physical health and subjective well-being in China

This article investigates the impact of demographic and socioeconomic inequalities on wellness, composed of both physical health and subjective well-being. We examine how gender inequality moderates the joint effects of aging and income on wellness in China. Utilizing generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), we analyze data from the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) spanning from 2003 to 2021. Our results reveal that income inequality disproportionately affects physical health among older, underweight, lower-class females; males are more susceptible to negative impacts on subjective well-being, particularly among lower-class, middle-aged males. These gendered patterns are situated in the contemporary Chinese society and are explained in relation to intra-household distributional inequality and the gender role expectations in the Confucian culture. We also discussed the policy implications of how to reduce the gaps in wellness across social classes, age cohorts, and genders.

Impact of filial piety on residents' subjective well-being in China considering the moderating effect of income level.

Subjective well-being (SWB) reflects an individual's subjective evaluation of overall life satisfaction and healthcare situation. As one of the most important concepts in traditional Chinese culture, filial piety refers to an ancient and significant ethical concept that originates from traditional Chinese culture. Filial piety emphasizes the respect, care, and filial devotion of children towards their parents, and has a complex influence on SWB. Moreover, in the context of rapid economic development, an individual's income level significantly moderates the influence of filial piety. Revealing the influence of different types of filial piety on SWB is of great significance for enhancing residents' SWB. However, existing studies rarely touch upon this topic. Therefore, this paper focuses on the 7 kinds of filial piety, establishes an ordered logit model based on the data from the China General Social Survey, and analyzes the influence of these 7 kinds of filial piety on SWB. On this basis, this study analyzes the moderating effect of income level. Finally, it further analyzes the regional heterogeneity of China in the influence of filial piety. Concepts such as constant respect for father's authority, enhancing parents' honor, and bearing sons for the purpose of lineage continuity, have negative impact on SWB. Superior economic conditions can neutralize and salvage these concepts to a certain extent, but they are ultimately negative. In regions with a minority population such as the 4 northeastern provinces, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang, these concepts can increase SWB, which is restricted by the local economic level and might just be a transitional form of insufficient development. appreciating the kindness of upbringing; treating parents well under any circumstances; giving up personal ambitions to fulfill parents' wishes, positively influence individual SWB, especially when income is substantial. The research results indicate that different type of filial piety has different impacts on SWB; income level has a significant moderating effect; and there are significant regional heterogeneities in the influence of filial piety. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis and reference for enhancing residents' SWB.

Entrepreneurship and subjective wellbeing in China: Exploring linkages and potential channels

We analyse the effect of entrepreneurship on subjective wellbeing in China. To do so, we use four waves of the nationally representative China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) longitudinal survey data. Employing a suite of quasi-experimental analytical procedures, we find that being an entrepreneur increases subjective wellbeing in China. Our estimates suggest that being an entrepreneur results in a 0.46 standard deviation higher subjective wellbeing than not being an entrepreneur. This finding is robust to different quasi-experimental methods. We also find that entrepreneurship enhances subjective wellbeing more among males and rural residents. Results on mediation analysis suggests that social and economic status are important channels through which entrepreneurship influences subjective wellbeing.

Household health expenditure does not improve people's subjective well-being in China.

Household health expenditure plays a crucial role in the daily spending of individuals. Meanwhile, the attention of the public to subjective well-being (SWB) is constantly increasing in China. Household health expenditure could reduce real family income, harming personal SWB. However, the aim of household health expenditure is to improve the physical condition of an individual, and improvements in individual health could enhance personal SWB. Therefore, the effect of household health expenditure on personal SWB is uncertain; hence, it is essential to assess the effects of household health expenditure on the SWB of Chinese residents. The Chinese family panel studies database from 2016 to 2020 was applied in this study. A fixed effects model was used to examine the impact of household medical and health protection expenses on personal SWB. Fixed effects instrumental variable regression and propensity score matching were then used to conduct robustness testing. On the basis of a fixed effects model, it was found that household medical and health protection expenditure did not improve the happiness and life satisfaction of individuals; rather, household health protection expenditure could significantly reduce personal happiness. Fixed effects instrumental variable regression and propensity score matching analysis supported these results. Household health protection expenditure had a greater negative impact on the happiness and life satisfaction of females compared with males. Household health expenditure does not improve the SWB of individuals in China; this has certain significance for the formulation of relevant policies.

Parental Warmth and Children’s Subjective Well-Being in China: the Indirect Effect of Parent–Child Relationship

Parental Warmth and Children’s Subjective Well-Being in China: the Indirect Effect of Parent–Child Relationship

Impact of informal caregiving on caregivers’ subjective well-being in China: a longitudinal study

BackgroundWhile informal caregiving is crucial for improving and maintaining health of the elderly, there is limited evidence of its potential effect on caregivers’ wellbeing. Understanding this effect is important for policy makers to design effective long-term care policies. This longitudinal study aims to investigate the impact of informal caregiving on caregivers’ subjective wellbeing in China.MethodsThree waves (2016, 2018, 2020) of data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) are constructed for empirical analysis. Ordered logit model is first used to estimate the effect. Fixed effects ordered logit model and mixed effects ordered logit model are further employed to control for the possible bias from unobserved individual heterogeneity.ResultsInformal caregiving significantly reduces caregivers’ subjective wellbeing and the negative effect is stronger for high-frequency caregivers. Subgroup analysis reveals that informal caregiving imposed greater negative impacts on women, those living in rural areas, being married, working, and living separately from parents. Further analysis of mechanism indicates that decrease in wage income, leisure and sleep time were channels through which informal caregiving affects caregivers’ well-being.ConclusionWhen policy makers formulate sustainable long-term care policies and home support services, interventions to improve caregivers’ stress-coping skills and ensure their engagement in leisure and social activities could be adopted to mitigate the negative effects on caregivers’ subjective well-being.

Energy affordability and subjective well-being in China: Causal inference, heterogeneity, and the mediating role of disaster risk

This paper examines how energy affordability affects the subjective happiness of Chinese households in the face of an extreme event that could affect the energy industry. We use two waves of nationally representative survey data to examine the variation in subjective happiness with the level of energy affordability. The results suggest that worsening energy affordability reduces household happiness. We also present robust evidence that energy affordability is also associated with where energy is sourced. We further show that this nexus is heterogeneous in that Eastern China households sense energy affordability as the key determinant of happiness. The perceived risk of extreme events moderates a household's subjective well-being when considering energy affordability. Our results call for a targeted approach to re-allocate economic benefits for alleviating energy poverty.

Satisfaction with community public services, social support, and subjective well-being in China

Satisfaction with community public services reflects the quality of public services in communities, which is important for residentsâ–™ well-being. We collected data in China through a survey, and regression analyses were used to test our hypotheses. Results from 1,112 residents show that satisfaction with community public services is positively related to subjective well-being, and social support h as a mediating effect on the relationship between satisfaction With community public services and subjective well-being. Findings of this study provide a culture-specific and geographical perspective of community public services and subjective well-being, and highlight the importance of wellbeing in community studies.

Social Quality and Residents’ Subjective Well-Being in China—An Empirical Analysis Based on CSS2021 Data

Happiness is the eternal pursuit of human beings, and subjective well-being is an essential indicator for evaluating happiness. Research on subjective well-being mainly focuses on material, economic, and psychological factors, and there is insufficient research on the impact of social factors on subjective well-being. Focusing on the influence of social factors on subjective well-being can help us better understand the “Easterlin Paradox”. Based on the theoretical model of social quality, this paper analyzes the influence of the current Chinese social quality on Chinese people’s subjective well-being using the data from the China Social Survey 2021 (CSS2021). It is found that the higher the social quality, the stronger the people’s subjective well-being, and this conclusion is stable for different groups. By dimension, socio-economic security, social cohesion, and social inclusion significantly affect people’s subjective well-being, but social empowerment does not significantly affect subjective well-being. This paper provides new evidence to explore the impact of social quality on people’s well-being.

Does targeted poverty alleviation policy lead to happy life? Evidence from rural China

Based on 2013–2019 data from the China Household Finance Survey, we used the difference-in-differences method to systematically and quantitatively analyze the relationship between a targeted poverty alleviation policy and the rural poor's subjective well-being in China. The results showed that the targeted poverty alleviation policy has a spillover effect of improving rural poor households' happiness. Mechanism analysis found that the increment of both material and non-material welfare dimensions, as well as the building of positive attitudes during the process of policy implementation improve the rural poor's happiness status. Heterogeneity analysis shows that “hematopoietic” poverty alleviation policies have significant effects on the subjective well-being of all poor households, while “blood transfusion” policies have more significant effects on the subjective well-being of poverty caused by illness and old age.

The Relationship Between Deaf Adolescents’ Empathy and Subjective Well-Being in China During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Inconsistent Role of Peer Support and Teacher Support

The Relationship Between Deaf Adolescents’ Empathy and Subjective Well-Being in China During COVID-19 Pandemic: The Inconsistent Role of Peer Support and Teacher Support

IMPACTS OF CONSUMER EXPENDITURE PATTERNS ON SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING IN CHINA: EVIDENCE FROM MICROSURVEY DATA

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of consumer expenditure patterns, rather than categories, on subjective well-being (SWB) in China. This study adopts microsurvey data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and performs cluster analysis to form household consumer expenditure patterns for five burdens. The primary finding is that consumer expenditure patterns as well as consumer characteristics can significantly affect Chinese people’s SWB. However, the results from using consumer expenditure categories as explanatory variables are not reliable due to inconsistent results from using the amount and ratio of consumption expenditure. The conclusions regarding the influences of consumer expenditure patterns on Chinese people’s SWB are, nevertheless, robust.

Urban and individual correlates of subjective well-being in China: An application of gradient boosting decision trees.

Subjective well-being (SWB) is attributable to both individual and environmental attributes. However, extant studies have paid little attention to the contribution of environmental attributes at the urban level to SWB or their nonlinear associations with SWB. This study applies a machine learning approach called gradient boosting decision trees (GBDTs) to the 2013 China Household Income Survey data to investigate the relative importance of urban and individual attributes to and their nonlinear associations with SWB. The urban and individual attributes make similar relative contributions to SWB. Income and age are the most important predictors. Urban facilities make a larger contribution than urban development factors. Moreover, urban attributes exert nonlinear and threshold effects on SWB. Cultural facilities and green space have inverted U-shaped correlations with SWB. Educational facilities, medical facilities, and population size are monotonically associated with SWB and have specific thresholds. Improving urban attributes is important to enhancing residents' SWB.

Did COVID-19 affect rural households’ subjective well-being? A social survey from rural China

Improving rural households' subjective well-being is an important element of economic and social revitalization in the post-epidemic period. Based on the survey data obtained from rural households in Hubei Province, the center of the outbreak in China, and its surrounding areas, this paper explores the impact mechanisms of the COVID-19 epidemic on subjective well-being from both economic and sociological perspectives with the help of structural equation modeling. The results show that COVID-19 significantly influenced rural households' subjective well-being in China. Furthermore, COVID-19 indirectly affected their subjective well-being by influencing optimism. The negative impact is moderated by government intervention and income resilience. Therefore, strengthening the emergency management capacity of local governments and encouraging the diversification of rural households’ income sources are important strategies to effectively resolve epidemic shocks and improve the level of well-being.