Development of indicators for family well-being in Malaysia

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)

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Abstract

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.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Additional Information:	1099/27868
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Indicators ; Index ; Family well-being ; Malaysia ; Satisfaction
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman > HQ503 The family. Marriage. Home
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of Psychology
Depositing User:	Professor Noraini M. Noor
Date Deposited:	27 Dec 2012 05:58
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2017 12:20
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/27868

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