Formulation of a subjective sustainable well-being model for Malaysia

Abstract

This research intends to formulate a subjective sustainable well-being model for Malaysia as complimentary social indicators to the Malaysian Well-Being Index. The typical gap found in reports by government agencies on well-being is the need to understand what may have affected the nations’ well-being. Priorities in gauging social progress should also be placed on causal factors of well-being. Locally conducted research could have filled in this gap, yet almost all of the studies focus on self-reported satisfaction surveys which concentrate on the self-centredness of the respondents. The surveys commonly inquire for perceived satisfaction experienced from physical amenities, services, relationships other living aspects. There are very few indications on how subjective well-being can be experienced from self-adjusting to one’s surroundings or contributing to social and environmental contexts. The majority of research on well-being disregard human ingenuity to adapt justly to social and natural environments, consume resources with caution and act civilly with their surroundings. The alarming risk of the majority of subjective well-being approaches is the detachment of individuals from their context. This research offers complimentary indicators to measure the sustainable well-being of Malaysians. By placing the respondents as the causal agents to well-being, the sustainable well-being model gauges progresses of lifestyle that are environmentally friendly and people-oriented. The measures of sustainable well-being account for human interdependence with the social and environmental contexts. The dimensions of human interdependency involve personal empowerment, positive relations, organisational opportunities and community movements. Other dimensions include personalities and lifestyles, interactions with nature, environmental attitudes and behaviours and external conditions. Additionally, by incorporating Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy of Needs, the research also determines if human interdependency is affected by levels of human needs. Indicators of human interdependency are distinguished, evaluated and substituted into 100 scaled questionnaire items, measuring human interdependency and subjective well-being. The Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis explore the variances and confirm the factor structure of subjective sustainable well-being. The Structural Equation Modelling examines the causal effect of human interdependency on subjective well-being. The analysis discovers that human interdependency estimates approximately 70% of subjective well-being, evidencing the causal model of subjective sustainable well-being. Significant statistical interactions are identified among the dimensions of human interdependency. Statistical differences are also found among different demographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as different levels of human needs fulfillment. This research is unique because it acknowledges the citizens as the causal agents to their well-being instead of being the outcome of resources provision or policy implementation to enhance well-being. Sustainable well-being is attained by functioning and contributing to the social and the environmental contexts. The sustainable well-being model is valuable for measuring the readiness and social progress of Malaysians to embrace sustainability in their lifestyle. The research delivers beneficial findings for policy review, which, hitherto, was difficult to evaluate due to the lack of quantifiable subjective data in the Malaysian Well-Being Index