Determinants of Life Satisfaction among Female-Headed Households in Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33736/ijbs.3175.2021Keywords:
Financial Capability, Financial Vulnerability, Life Satisfaction, Locus of Control, ReligiosityAbstract
Female-headed households in Malaysia have been a financially vulnerable community in the society where their life satisfaction becomes a question. Therefore, this study aims to determine the factors affecting life satisfaction among female-headed households in Malaysia. A total of 527 respondents who are single, divorced, separated or widowed women, with children in the home including those on public assistance participated in this study which adapted a multi-stage sampling method using self-administered questionnaire. The results show that locus of control, religiosity, financial capability, and financial vulnerability have positive significant relationships with life satisfaction. The multiple regressions show that locus of control, religiosity, financial capability, and financial vulnerability are significant determinants of life satisfaction among female-headed household in Malaysia. More knowledge, and enhancement through financial workshops could be helpful to empower female-headed household on the use of modern financial instruments. Hence, able to increase financial capability and reduce financial vulnerability of female-headed households in Malaysia towards a better life satisfaction.
References
Abdel-Khalek, A. M. (2010). Quality of life, subjective well-being, and religiosity in Muslim college students. Quality of Life Research, 19(8), 1133-1143. doi:10.1007/s11136-010-9676 -7.
Abdullah, N., Sabri, M.F., & Muhammad Arif, A.M. (2019). The relationship between attitude towards money, financial literacy and debt management with young worker’s financial well-being. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 27(1), 361-378.
Abolghasemi, A., & Varaniyab, T. S. (2010). Resilience and perceived stress: Predictors of life satisfaction in the students of success and failure. Procedia - Social and Behavioural Sciences, 5(2), 748-752. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.07.178.
Achour, M., Grine, F., Mohd Nor, M. R., & Yusoff, M. Y. Z. (2015). Measuring religiosity and its effects on personal well-being: A case study of Muslim female academicians in Malaysia. Journal of Religion and Health, 54(3), 984-997. doi:10.1007/s10943-014-9852-0.
Afifi, T. O., Cox, B. J., & Enns, M. W. (2006). Mental health profiles among married, never-married, and separated/divorced mothers in a nationally representative sample. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 41(2), 122-129. doi:10.1007/s00127-005-0005-3.
Ahmad, S. Y., & Sabri, M. F. (2015). Financial security of female-headed households: A Preliminary Study. Asian Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities , 4(4), 219-228.
Ahmad, S. Y., Sabri, M. F., Abd Rahim, H., & Osman, S. (2016). Mediating effect of self-coping mechanisms on associations between financial practices and financial security of female-headed households. Malaysian Journal of Consumer and Family Economics, 19, 143-160.
Aldana, S. G., & Liljenquist, W. (1998). Validity and reliability of a financial strain survey. Financial Counseling and Planning, 9(2), 11-19.
Al-Goaib, S. (2003). Religiosity and social conformity of university students: An analytical study applied at King Saoud University. Arts Journal of King Saoud University, 16(1), 51-99.
Arashiro, Z. (2011). Negotiating the free trade area of the Americas. United States: Palgrave Macmillan
Atkinson, A. McKay, S. Kempson, E. & Collard, S. (2006). Levels of financial capability in the UK. Results of a baseline survey. Bristol: University of Bristol. Retrieved August 28, 2019 from: http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/consumer-research/crpr47.pdf.
Baharudin, R., Krauss, S. E., Yacoob, S. N., & Pei, T. J. (2011). Family processes as predictors of antisocial behaviours among adolescents from urban, single-mother Malay families in Malaysia. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 42(4), 509-522.
Booth, A., & Amato, P. (1991). Divorce and psychological stress. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour, 32(4), 396-407. doi:10.2307/2137106.
Brandtstädter, J., & Baltes-Götz, B. (1990). Personal control over development and quality of life perspectives in adulthood. Successful Aging: Perspectives From The Behavioural Sciences, 197-224.
Bull, T., & Mittelmark, M. B. (2009). Work life and mental wellbeing of single and non-single working mothers in Scandinavia. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 37(6), 562-568. doi: 10.1177/1403494809340494.
Canady, R. B., & Broman, C. (2003). Marital disruption and health: Investigating the role of divorce in differential outcomes. Sociological Focus, 36(3), 241-255. doi:10.1080/0038 0237.2003.10570726.
Choi, L. (2009). Financial stress and its physical effects on individuals and communities. Community Development Investment Review, 5(3), 120-122.
Chou, K., & Chi, I. (2002). Financial strain and life satisfaction in Hong Kong elderly Chinese: Moderating effect of life management strategies including selection, optimization, and compensation. Aging & Mental Health, 6(2), 172-177. doi:10.1080/13607860220126781.
Diener, E. D., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71-75.
Economic Planning Unit (EPU) (2015). Eleventh Malaysia plan, 2016-2020: Anchoring growth on people. Pencetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad.
Endut, N., Azmawati, A. A., & Hashim, I. H. M. (2015). Formal and informal support systems for single women and single mothers in Malaysia. SHS Web of Conferences, 18, 1-9. doi:10.1051/shsconf/20151803002.
Faizah, A., & Azian, A. (2013). Profile of single mothers in southern Malaysia and issues afflicting their lives. British Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 16(1), 197-206.
Faizah, G., & Hashim, H. B. (2013). Challenges and locus control among single mothers in Muar, Johor. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 4(5), 760-765.
Falahati, L., & Sabri, M. F. (2015). An exploratory study of personal financial well-being determinants: Examining the moderating effect of gender. Asian Social Science, 11(4), 33-42.
Financial Services Authority (FSA) (2006). Financial Capability in the UK: Establishing a Baseline. Retrieved from http://doc.ukdataservice.ac.uk/doc/5697/mrdoc/pdf/5697 baseline.pdf.
Firth, L., Mellor, D. J., Moore, K. A., & Loquet, C. (2004). How can managers reduce employee intention to quit? Journal of Managerial Psychology, 19(2), 170-187. doi:10.1108/02683 940410526127.
Frey, B. S., & Stutzer, A. (2002). What can economists learn from happiness research? Journal of Economic Literature, 40(2), 402-435. doi:10.1257/002205102320161320.
Garcia, D. (2011). Two models of personality and well-being among adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(8), 1208-1212. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.02.009.
Hamid, T., Mottan, J., & Tyng, S. (2010). Keluarga induk tunggal: Penekanan kepada cabaran keluarga ibu tunggal. Keluarga dan Keibubapaan (3rd Ed.). Selangor: Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Hashim, I. H. M., Azmawati, A. A., & Endut, N. (2015). Stress, roles and responsibilities of single mothers in Malaysia. SHS Web of Conferences, 18, 1-8.
Hosseinkhanzadeh, A. A., & Taher, M. (2013). The relationship between personality traits with life satisfaction. Sociology Mind, 3(1), 99-105.
Huber, S., & Huber, O. W. (2012). The Centrality of Religiosity Scale (CRS). Religions, 3, 710-724. doi: 10.3390/rel3030710.
Ishak, D., Selvaratnam, D. P., & Idris, N. A. (2009). Isu dan cabaran ibu tunggal dalam menghadapi perubahan persekitaran global. Prosiding PERKEM Iv, 1, 324-336.
Joshanloo, M., & Afshari, S. (2011). Big Five Personality Traits and self-esteem as predictors of life satisfaction in Iranian Muslim University students. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(1), 105-113. doi:10.1007/s10902-009-9177-y.
Klasen, S., Lechtenfeld, T., & Povel, F. (2011). What about the women? Female headship, poverty and vulnerability in Thailand and Vietnam. Discussion Papers No 76. Göttingen: Courant Research Centre: Poverty, Equity and Growth (CRC-PEG) in Developing and Transition Countries, University of Göttingen.
Klonowicz, T. (2001). Discontented people: reactivity and locus of control as determinants of subjective well‐being. European Journal of Personality, 15(1), 29-47. doi:10.1002/per.387.
Lee, H., Hwang, S., Kim, J., & Daly, B. (2004). Predictors of life satisfaction of Korean nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 48(6), 632-641. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2004.03251.x.
Loke, Y. J. (2017). Financial vulnerability of working adults in Malaysia. Contemporary Economics, 11(2), 205-218.
Lucas, R. (2005). International migration and economic development: Lessons from low-income countries. Canadian Studies in Population, 39(1-2), 151-153.
Mahal, A., Seshu, M., Mane, S., & Lal, S. (2012). Old age financial security in the informal sector: Sex work in India. Journal of South Asian Development, 7(2), 183-202. doi:10.1177/ 0973174112466433.
Melhuish, E., Belsky, J., & Malin, A. (2008). An investigation of the relationship between financial capability and psychological well-being in mothers of young children in poor areas in England. Financial Services Authority (FSA) Occassional Paper Series 30. London: Institute Studies of Children, Families, and Social Issues, Birkbeck College, University of London.
Ministry of Women Family and Community Development (KPWKM) (2014). Pelan tindakan pemerkasaan ibu tunggal 2015-2020. Putrajaya.
Mirowsky, J., & Ross, C. E. (2004). Education, social status, and health. Canadian Journal of Sociology Online, 3, 242-245.
Moga Dass, T., & Sabri, M. F. (2017). The Financial Status and Factors Affecting Personal Well-Being Among Urban Poor in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2(1), 21-39.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2011). How’s life?: Measuring well-being. OECD Publishing.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2016). OECD economic surveys (November). OECD Publishing.
Pettijohn, T. F., Pettijohn, T. F., & Sacco, D. F. (2005). A locus of control measure as a teaching demonstration. Psychological Reports, 97(2), 666-666. doi:10.2466/pr0.97.2.666-666
Pollmann-Schult, M. (2016). Single Motherhood and Life Satisfaction in Comparative Perspective: Do Institutional and Cultural Contexts Explain the Life Satisfaction Penalty for Single Mothers? Journal of Family Issues, 39(7), 2061-2084. doi:10.1177/0192513X177411 78.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological monographs: General and applied, 80(1), 1-28. doi:10.1037/ h0092976.
Sabri, M. F., Abdullah, N., Zenhendel, M., & Ahmad, S.Y. (2017). Moderation effect of gender on financial literacy, money attitude, financial strains and financial capability. Malaysian Journal of Consumer and Family Economics, 20, 83-101.
Sabri, M. F., & Aw, E. C. X. (2019). Financial literacy and related outcomes: The role of financial information sources. International Journal of Business & Society, 20(1), 286-298.
Sabri, M. F., Mokhtar, N., Ho, C. S. F., Anthony, M., & Wijekoon, R. (2020). Effects of gender and income on Malaysian’s financial capability. Malaysian Journal of Consumer and Family Economics, 24, 124-152.
Sabri, M. F., & Zakaria, N. F. (2015). The Influence of financial literacy, money attitude, financial strain and financial capability on young employees' Financial Well-being. Pertanika Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities, 23(4), 827-848.
Schaffer, H. R. (1996). Social development. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Sharif, S. P. (2017). Locus of control, quality of life, anxiety, and depression among Malaysian breast cancer patients: The mediating role of uncertainty. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 27, 28-35. doi:10.1016/j.ejon.2017.01.005.
Starkey, A. J., Keane, C. R., Terry, M. A., Marx, J. H., & Ricci, E. M. (2013). Financial distress and depressive symptoms among African American Women: identifying financial priorities and needs and why it matters for mental health. Journal of Urban Health, 90(1), 83-100. doi:10.1007/s11524-012-9755-x.
Suhail, K., & Chaudhry, H. R. (2004). Predictors of subjective well-Being in an Eastern Muslim Culture. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(3), 359-376.
Taylor, M. (2011). Measuring Financial Capability and its Determinants Using Survey Data. Social Indicators Research, 102(2), 297-314. doi:10.1007/s11205-010-9681-9.
Taylor, M., Jenkins, S., & Sacker, A. (2009). Financial capability and wellbeing: Evidence from the BHPS. Occasional Papers in Financial Regulation, 34(May), 1-98.
Tiliouine, H., & Belgoumidi, A. (2009). An exploratory study of religiosity, meaning in life and subjective wellbeing in Muslim students from Algeria. Applied Research in Quality of Life, 4(1), 109-127. doi:10.1007/s11482-009-9076-8.
Wan, C. K., Jaccard, J., & Ramey, S. L. (1996). The relationship between social support and life satisfaction as a function of family structure. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 58(2), 502-513. doi:10.2307/353513.
Williams, D. R., & Sternthal, M. J. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Medical Journal of Australia, 186(10), 47-50. doi:10.1080/19349637.2011. 616080.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright Transfer Statement for Journal
1) In signing this statement, the author(s) grant UNIMAS Publisher an exclusive license to publish their original research papers. The author(s) also grant UNIMAS Publisher permission to reproduce, recreate, translate, extract or summarize, and to distribute and display in any forms, formats, and media. The author(s) can reuse their papers in their future printed work without first requiring permission from UNIMAS Publisher, provided that the author(s) acknowledge and reference publication in the Journal.
2) For open access articles, the author(s) agree that their articles published under UNIMAS Publisher are distributed under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work of the author(s) is properly cited.
3) For subscription articles, the author(s) agree that UNIMAS Publisher holds copyright, or an exclusive license to publish. Readers or users may view, download, print, and copy the content, for academic purposes, subject to the following conditions of use: (a) any reuse of materials is subject to permission from UNIMAS Publisher; (b) archived materials may only be used for academic research; (c) archived materials may not be used for commercial purposes, which include but not limited to monetary compensation by means of sale, resale, license, transfer of copyright, loan, etc.; and (d) archived materials may not be re-published in any part, either in print or online.
4) The author(s) is/are responsible to ensure his or her or their submitted work is original and does not infringe any existing copyright, trademark, patent, statutory right, or propriety right of others. Corresponding author(s) has (have) obtained permission from all co-authors prior to submission to the journal. Upon submission of the manuscript, the author(s) agree that no similar work has been or will be submitted or published elsewhere in any language. If submitted manuscript includes materials from others, the authors have obtained the permission from the copyright owners.
5) In signing this statement, the author(s) declare(s) that the researches in which they have conducted are in compliance with the current laws of the respective country and UNIMAS Journal Publication Ethics Policy. Any experimentation or research involving human or the use of animal samples must obtain approval from Human or Animal Ethics Committee in their respective institutions. The author(s) agree and understand that UNIMAS Publisher is not responsible for any compensational claims or failure caused by the author(s) in fulfilling the above-mentioned requirements. The author(s) must accept the responsibility for releasing their materials upon request by Chief Editor or UNIMAS Publisher.
6) The author(s) should have participated sufficiently in the work and ensured the appropriateness of the content of the article. The author(s) should also agree that he or she has no commercial attachments (e.g. patent or license arrangement, equity interest, consultancies, etc.) that might pose any conflict of interest with the submitted manuscript. The author(s) also agree to make any relevant materials and data available upon request by the editor or UNIMAS Publisher.