DETERMINANTS OF WELLBEING IN A SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP

Öz

Life evaluations capture a reflective assessment on a person’s life or some specific aspects of it. Given the relative lack of empirical work on subjective wellbeing (SWB) amongst residents in South African townships, this paper seeks to fill that gap by exploring the determinants of SWB in a township of Kwakwatsi. This study is based on household data collected through a survey to investigate the factors that might affect wellbeing. A multiple regression model was used to determine the impact of selected socio-economic variables on wellbeing. The mean score for wellbeing was 12, indicating that on average people in the area are substantially dissatisfied with their lives. The age, educational attainment, employment status of the head, and the number of household members employed were found to exert a positive impact on wellbeing, whereas household size was negatively associated with wellbeing. Information provided through the study can be used when planning interventions relating to low income residents

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Wellbeing, Life satisfaction, Determinants, Township, South Africa

Kaynakça

1. Bookwalter, J. and Dalenberg, D (2004), “Subjective Wellbeing and Household Factors”, Social Indicators Research, Vol. 65, pp. 333-353
2. Cramm, J., Moller, V. and Nieboer, A (2010), “Improving subjective wellbeing of the poor in the Eastern Cape”, Journal of Health Psychology, Vol. 15, No.7, pp.1012-1019.
3. Diener, E., Carol, L., Suh, E. and Oishi, S (2000), “Similarity of the Relations between Marital Status and Subjective Wellbeing Across Cultures”, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 419-436.
4. Diener, E., Emmons, R., Larsen, R. and Griffin, S (1985), “The satisfaction with life scale”, Journal of Personality Assessment, Vol. 49, pp. 71-75.
5. Diener, E., Eunkook, S. and Shigehiro, O (1997), “Recent findings on subjective wellbeing”, Indian Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol. 67, pp. 55-84.
6. Diener, E., Suh, E., Luca, R. and Smith, H (1999), “Subjective Wellbeing:Three Decades of Progress”, Psychological Bullettin, Vol.125, No. 2, pp. 276-302.
7. Heller, D., Watson, D. and Ilies, R (2004), “The role of person versus situation in life satisfaction: A critical examination”, Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 130, pp. 574-600.
8. Hutchinson, G., Simeon, D., Bain, B., Wyatt, G., Tucker, M. and Lefranc, E. (2004), “Social and health determinants of well being and life satisfaction in Jamaica”, International Journal of Social Psychiatry, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp. 43- 53.

9. Kingdon, G. and Knight, J. (2006), “Subjective wellbeing poverty vs. Income poverty and capabilities poverty?”, The Journal of Development Studies,Vol. 42, No. 7, pp.1199–1224.
10. Knight, J., Songb, L. and Gunatilaka, R. (2009). “Subjective wellbeing and its determinants in rural China”, China Economic Review,Vol. 20, pp. 635-649.
11. Le Roux, M. and Kagee, A (2008), “Subjective wellbeing of primary healthcare patients in the Western Cape,South Africa”, South African Family Practice, Vol. 50, No. 3, pp. 68.
12. Maluka, C. and Grieve, K (2008), ‘Determining the suitability of the Satisfaction With Life and the Rosenberg Self-esteem scales ina cross-cultural setting”, New Voices in Psychology”, Vol.4, No. 1, pp. 41-50.
13. Mİller, V (2001), “Happiness trends under democracy: Where will the new South African set-level come to rest?”, Journal of Happiness Studies, Vol. 2, pp. 33- 53.
14. Nolan, V and Surujlal, J (2012), “Working women’s perceptions of participation in physical activity and the relationship with life satisfaction”, African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, Vol. 18, No. 4:2, pp. 955-971.
15. Patel, C.J, Ramgoon, S. and Paruk, Z (2009), “Exploring religion, race and gender as factors in the life satisfaction and religiosity of young South African adults”, South African Journal of Psychology, Vol. 39, No.3, pp. 266-274.
16. Reynolds, J.R. & Ross, CE (1998), “Social stratification and health: education’s benefit beyond economic status and social origins”, Social Problems, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 221-247.
17. Sam, D (2001), Satisfaction with Life among International Students: An Exploratory Study, Social Indicators Research, Vol. 53, pp. 315-337.
18. Sekhampu, TJ (2012). “Poverty in a South African township: the case of Kwakwatsi”, African Journal of Business Management, Vol.6 (33), pp. 9504- 9509.
19. Westaway, M (2007), “Life and neighorhood satisfaction of black and white residents in a middle-class suburb of Johannesburg”, Psychological Reports, Vol. 100, pp. 489-494.
20. Westaway, M., Maritz, C. and Golele, N.J. (2003), “Empirical testing of the satisfaction with life scale: A South African pilot study”, Psychological Reports, Vol. 92, pp.551-554.
21. Westaway, M., Olorunju, S. and Rai, L. (2007), “Which Personal Quality of Life Domains Affect the Happiness of Older South Africans?”, Quality of Life Research, Vol. 16, No. 8, pp. 1425-1438.