The Effect of Attitudes Towards Money on Over-Indebtedness Among Microfinance Institutions ’ Customers in Tanzania
This study investigates the effect of the four attitudes towards money (FAM), namely security, love, freedom, and power, on over-indebtedness among MFIs customers in Tanzania. This relationship has not been investigated in previous studies. The study used an analytical cross-sectional design involving a survey of 428 MFI customers using a semi-structured questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis. The findings show that power (β = 0.432,p = 0.000), love (β = 0.114,p = 0.004), and freedom (β = 0.101,p = 0.02) significantly and positively affect over-indebtedne...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - March 2, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

Perceived Social Exclusion Partially Accounts for Social Status Effects on Subjective Well-Being: A Comparative Study of Japan, Germany, and the United States
AbstractPeople who are socioeconomically better off tend to report higher levels of well-being, with inconsistent roles ascribed to objective socioeconomic status (SES), subjective SES (SSES), and personal relative deprivation (PRD) —depending on the predictors, facets of well-being, and countries under study. We tested a comprehensive model of social status indicators as determinants of subjective well-being by a) including PRD, SSES, income, and education as predictors, b) assessing subjective well-being as well as interdep endent happiness (happiness in relation to significant others), c) testing the model in Japan, G...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - March 1, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

Can Social Participation Reduce and Postpone the Need for Long-Term Care? Evidence from a 17-Wave Nationwide Survey in Japan
This study examines whether and to what extent social participation can reduce and postpone the need for long-term care (LTC) among middle-aged and older adults in Japan. We used longitudinal data of 17,454 individuals born from 1946 to 1955, obtained from a 17-wave nationwide panel survey conducted from 2005 to 2021 in Japan. We examined (1) whether SP at baseline (2005) was associated with a lower risk of having LTC needs in the last wave (2021) using logistic regression models and (2) whether SP at baseline postponed the onset of these needs using Cox proportional hazards models, both controlling for baseline covariates...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - February 27, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

Fertility Intention in Hong Kong: Declining Trend and Associated Factors
AbstractHong Kong is characterized by extremely low fertility, with a total fertility rate of 0.701 in 2022. This paper reports significant declines in the intention to have children among non-parents and in the desire to have more children among parents, based on data from the Family Surveys conducted in Hong Kong in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, which imply more dramatic demographic changes in the future. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this paper explored individuals ’ attitudes toward marriage and having children, family functioning variables indicating subjective norms regarding fertility, and housing...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - February 27, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

Can Social Participation Reduce and Postpone the Need for Long-Term Care? Evidence from a 17-Wave Nationwide Survey in Japan
This study examines whether and to what extent social participation can reduce and postpone the need for long-term care (LTC) among middle-aged and older adults in Japan. We used longitudinal data of 17,454 individuals born from 1946 to 1955, obtained from a 17-wave nationwide panel survey conducted from 2005 to 2021 in Japan. We examined (1) whether SP at baseline (2005) was associated with a lower risk of having LTC needs in the last wave (2021) using logistic regression models and (2) whether SP at baseline postponed the onset of these needs using Cox proportional hazards models, both controlling for baseline covariates...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - February 27, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

Fertility Intention in Hong Kong: Declining Trend and Associated Factors
AbstractHong Kong is characterized by extremely low fertility, with a total fertility rate of 0.701 in 2022. This paper reports significant declines in the intention to have children among non-parents and in the desire to have more children among parents, based on data from the Family Surveys conducted in Hong Kong in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, which imply more dramatic demographic changes in the future. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this paper explored individuals ’ attitudes toward marriage and having children, family functioning variables indicating subjective norms regarding fertility, and housing...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - February 27, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

Transition Patterns of Intergenerational Solidarity and Digital Communication During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea: Association with Older Parents ’ Cognitive Decline
AbstractThis research aimed to discover hidden patterns of intergenerational solidarity and digital communication among older parents and adult children during and after the pandemic, examine the transition patterns of solidarity classes between the two-time points, and investigate whether solidarity transition patterns are associated with older parents ’ cognitive decline after the pandemic. Using the Korean longitudinal parent–child dyadic data in 2022 (during the pandemic) and 2023 (after the pandemic) studies, 326 older parent-adult child pairs were used in latent class and latent transition analyses. Results of la...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - February 23, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

Measurement Invariance of a Quality-of-life Measure, CASP-12, within the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA)
AbstractCASP-12 is a frequently used quality of life scale for older people, but limited efforts have been made to test the factor structure or to explore the measurement consistency of the scale across key characteristics. The aim of this study is to examine if the CASP-12 questionnaire has a well-defined factor structure with a second-order structure factor nested within four first-order domains: control, autonomy, pleasure, and self-realization. The study also aims to investigates if this factor structure is interpreted similarly by respondents of different genders, ages, educational levels, net wealth, and at two time ...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - February 22, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

What Makes People Happy with their Lives in Developing Countries? Evidence from Large-Scale Longitudinal Data on Ghana
AbstractA key objective of development thought is to improve the welfare of people and enhance their satisfaction with life. This is important following literature that suggests that increasing incomes may not necessarily lead to happiness in the long term. In this regard, this study investigates the drivers of happiness in Ghana and the determinants of transitions into different happiness states. Using a nationwide panel dataset over three time periods and employing econometric techniques, the study found that among the key determinants of happiness in Ghana are assets, social capital/networks, health status, ethnicity, a...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - February 21, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

Community Identity as an Indicator of Quality of Life: A Theoretical Model and Empirical Test
AbstractWithin the realm of identity research, community identity has garnered attention from disciplines such as sociology, community psychology, and public administration. However, previous studies have predominantly focused on the concept of “identity”, often overlooking the “community” itself as an object of identity. Further exploration of the theory of community identity within the specific context of communities is warranted. Drawing from social identity theory, this study employs thematic analysis and exploration, investiga ting aspects such as frequency, intensity, structure, and process. The analysis is b...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - February 21, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research

What Makes People Happy with their Lives in Developing Countries? Evidence from Large-Scale Longitudinal Data on Ghana
AbstractA key objective of development thought is to improve the welfare of people and enhance their satisfaction with life. This is important following literature that suggests that increasing incomes may not necessarily lead to happiness in the long term. In this regard, this study investigates the drivers of happiness in Ghana and the determinants of transitions into different happiness states. Using a nationwide panel dataset over three time periods and employing econometric techniques, the study found that among the key determinants of happiness in Ghana are assets, social capital/networks, health status, ethnicity, a...
Source: Applied Research in Quality of Life - February 21, 2024 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research