Subjective wellbeing at different spatial scales for individuals satisfied and dissatisfied with life

Ida Kubiszewski; Nabeeh Zakariyya; Diane Jarvis

doi:10.7717/peerj.6502

Subjective wellbeing at different spatial scales for individuals satisfied and dissatisfied with life

PeerJ. 2019 Feb 21:7:e6502. doi: 10.7717/peerj.6502. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Ida Kubiszewski¹, Nabeeh Zakariyya², Diane Jarvis³

Affiliations

¹ Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
² Research School of Economics, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
³ College of Business, Law & Governance, James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, QLD, Australia.

Abstract

Indicators that attempt to gauge wellbeing have been created and used at multiple spatial scales around the world. The most commonly used indicators are at the national level to enable international comparisons. When analyzing subjective life satisfaction (LS), an aspect of wellbeing, at multiple spatial scales in Australia, variables (drawn from environmental, social, and economic domains) that are significantly correlated to LS at smaller scales become less significant at larger sub-national scales. The reverse is seen for other variables, which become more significant at larger scales. Regression analysis over multiple scales on three groups (1) all individuals within the sample, (2) individuals with self-reported LS as dissatisfied (LS ≤ 5), and (3) individuals self-reporting LS as satisfied (LS > 5), show that variables critical for LS differ between subgroups of the sample as well as by spatial scale. Wellbeing measures need to be created at multiple scales appropriate to the purpose of the indicator. Concurrently, policies need to address the factors that are important to wellbeing at those respective scales, segments, and values of the population.

Keywords: Australia; Global progress; Life satisfaction; Spatial scales; Wellbeing.

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council on a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (Project ID: DE150100494). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.