Wellbeing in Developing Countries: Quality of Life, 2004-2005

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.Wellbeing in Developing Countries is a series of studies which aim to develop a conceptual and methodological approach to understanding the social and cultural construction of wellbeing in developing countries. The Wellbeing in Developing Countries Research Group (WeD), based at the University of Bath, drew on knowledge and expertise from three different departments (Economics and International Development, Social and Policy Sciences and Psychology) as well as a network of overseas contacts. The international, interdisciplinary team formed a major programme of comparative research, focused on six communities in each of four countries: Ethiopia, Thailand, Peru and Bangladesh. All sites within the countries have been given anonymous site names, with the exception of Ethiopia where the team chose to follow an alternative locally agreed procedure on anonymisation. Data can be matched across studies using the HOUSEKEY (Site code and household number). The research raises fundamental questions both for the academic study of development, and for the policy community. The WeD arrived at the following definition of wellbeing through their research: "Wellbeing is a state of being with others, where human needs are met, where one can act meaningfully to pursue one's goals, and where one enjoys a satisfactory quality of life". Further information about the project can be found on the WeD website and the ESRC Award webpage.Wellbeing in Developing Countries: Quality of Life, 2004-2005 comprises the Quality of Life (QoL) Survey which was carried out in each of the four countries. The QoL was administered to approx 370 men and women in each country (approximately 60 per research site) in the local language by a team of interviewers selected by each of the country teams. The majority of respondents also completed the other surveys that form part of this research project and are available from the UKDA under GN 33394. The remainder were sampled proportionately according to age, socio-economic status, ethnicity and religion. For each country there is one data file at the individual level. Main Topics:Topics covered include:positive and negative affect Scale (PANAS)goalssatisfaction with goal attainmentvalues (both individual and group) satisfaction with life scale (SWLS)