Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia

This study was carried out to develop a set of indicators for measuring and reporting the state of family well-being in Malaysia, and subsequently, to produce an Index of Family Well-Being. To build the set of indicators, domains of family well-being and relevant indicators were identified from past...

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Main Authors: Noor, Noraini M., Doshi-Gandhi, Anjli, Ishak, Ismahalil, Wok, Saodah
Format: Article
Language:English
English
Published: Springer 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/1/2012-Social_Indicators_Research.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/4/27868_Development%20of%20indicators_SCOPUS.pdf
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author Noor, Noraini M.
Doshi-Gandhi, Anjli
Ishak, Ismahalil
Wok, Saodah
author_facet Noor, Noraini M.
Doshi-Gandhi, Anjli
Ishak, Ismahalil
Wok, Saodah
author_sort Noor, Noraini M.
building IIUM Repository
collection Online Access
description This study was carried out to develop a set of indicators for measuring and reporting the state of family well-being in Malaysia, and subsequently, to produce an Index of Family Well-Being. To build the set of indicators, domains of family well-being and relevant indicators were identified from past studies. Focus group discussions with families, professional groups and NGOs helped to refine the indicators prior to the main study. Using a stratified random sampling design, 2,808 households were identified (a parent and a child aged at least 13 years), making a total sample of 5,616 respondents. Results indicated ten key indicators that can predict family well-being—resiliency, safety, savings, healthy lifestyle, time with family, work-family balance, importance of religion, number of bedrooms at home, debt and child care—supporting the notion of family well-being being multi-dimensional and interconnected. On the basis of the results, a model of family wellbeing was hypothesized. This model was used to guide the development of the Index of Family Well-being. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to determine the fit of the model to data. Five domains of family well-being were identified—family relationships, economic situation, health and safety, community relationship and religion/spirituality. The Index of Family Well-Being was calculated using the equal weighting strategy to each of these five domains. This index showed that the current family wellbeing of Malaysians is relatively high at 7.95 (SD = 1.38) on a 0–10 Likert response format. The findings suggest that family well-being is multifaceted, made up not only of the immediate family relationships and health and safety of its members, but include having adequate income to meet the demands of a minimum standard of living. Currently, the Index that is developed is only in the form of a numerical value reflecting the state of family well-being, but in future, it can be used to track changes in the family from time to time.
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spelling iium-278682017-09-19T04:20:41Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/ Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia Noor, Noraini M. Doshi-Gandhi, Anjli Ishak, Ismahalil Wok, Saodah HQ503 The family. Marriage. Home This study was carried out to develop a set of indicators for measuring and reporting the state of family well-being in Malaysia, and subsequently, to produce an Index of Family Well-Being. To build the set of indicators, domains of family well-being and relevant indicators were identified from past studies. Focus group discussions with families, professional groups and NGOs helped to refine the indicators prior to the main study. Using a stratified random sampling design, 2,808 households were identified (a parent and a child aged at least 13 years), making a total sample of 5,616 respondents. Results indicated ten key indicators that can predict family well-being—resiliency, safety, savings, healthy lifestyle, time with family, work-family balance, importance of religion, number of bedrooms at home, debt and child care—supporting the notion of family well-being being multi-dimensional and interconnected. On the basis of the results, a model of family wellbeing was hypothesized. This model was used to guide the development of the Index of Family Well-being. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to determine the fit of the model to data. Five domains of family well-being were identified—family relationships, economic situation, health and safety, community relationship and religion/spirituality. The Index of Family Well-Being was calculated using the equal weighting strategy to each of these five domains. This index showed that the current family wellbeing of Malaysians is relatively high at 7.95 (SD = 1.38) on a 0–10 Likert response format. The findings suggest that family well-being is multifaceted, made up not only of the immediate family relationships and health and safety of its members, but include having adequate income to meet the demands of a minimum standard of living. Currently, the Index that is developed is only in the form of a numerical value reflecting the state of family well-being, but in future, it can be used to track changes in the family from time to time. Springer 2014 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/1/2012-Social_Indicators_Research.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/4/27868_Development%20of%20indicators_SCOPUS.pdf Noor, Noraini M. and Doshi-Gandhi, Anjli and Ishak, Ismahalil and Wok, Saodah (2014) Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia. Social Indicators Research, 115 (1). pp. 279-318. ISSN 0303-8300 (p), 1573-0921 (online) http://link.springer.com/journal/11205 DOI 10.1007/s11205-012-0219-1
spellingShingle HQ503 The family. Marriage. Home
Noor, Noraini M.
Doshi-Gandhi, Anjli
Ishak, Ismahalil
Wok, Saodah
Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia
title Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia
title_full Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia
title_fullStr Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia
title_short Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia
title_sort development of indicators for family well-being in malaysia
topic HQ503 The family. Marriage. Home
url http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/
http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/1/2012-Social_Indicators_Research.pdf
http://irep.iium.edu.my/27868/4/27868_Development%20of%20indicators_SCOPUS.pdf