Life satisfaction, ethnicity and neighbourhoods - Gundi Knies

Institute for Social & Economic Research

New Insights into Ethnicity & PovertyWestminster, 16th January 2014

Life Satisfaction, Ethnicity and Neighbourhoods: Is There an

Effect of Neighbourhood Ethnic Composition on Life Satisfaction?

Gundi Knies1, Alita Nandi1 and Lucinda Platt2

1University of Essex 2 London School of Economics

This work is part of the project “Migrant Diversity and Regional Disparity in Europe” (NORFACE-496, MIDI-REDIE) funded by NORFACE; financial support from NORFACE research programme on Migration in Europe - Social, Economic, Cultural and Policy Dynamics is acknowledged."



Why care about Life Satisfaction?

Life satisfaction is • a “reflective appraisal, a judgement of how well

things are going, and have been going” (Argyle, 2000)

• and a marker of people’s experienced utility (e.g. van Praag et al. 2003)

• Is influenced by 7 key aspects of life

• the family living context, health, financial situation, work-life, community and friends, personal values and personal freedom (e.g., Layard 2007)

• Is implicated in a range of positive outcomes

• more fulfilling relationships, higher incomes and more community involvement, as well as longer lives (e.g. Diener and Chan, 2011)

1. Introduction



Why expect differences in life satisfaction across ethnic groups?

• Differences in individual characteristics (e.g., Heath and Roberts 2008, Longhi and Platt 2008, Berry 1997):

– Higher risks of unemployment, lower earnings– Harassment & Discrimination– Living away from home (immigrants), being the “other”

(minority)– Special situation for 2nd generation?

• Differences in the local opportunity structure (e.g., Dietz 2002,Galster and Killen 1995)

– Ethnic minorities live in more economically deprived areas– Live with fewer people from same ethnic group which matters

for social network, information about jobs, protection against harassment, feelings of being the “other”

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1. Introduction



Research HypothesesH1: Ethnic minorities are less satisfied with their lives

because there is a psychological cost of being in the out-group

(as suggested by acculturation theory and also neuroscience)

- this is true for both 1st and 2nd generation ethnic minorities- and net of both objective individual and nb/hood

characteristics on which ethnic minorities tend to be disadvantaged

H2: Own group concentration is positively associated with life satisfaction through providing access to group level social, economic and cultural resources- more so for the 1st generation; 2nd generation will be more like

majority 4

1. Introduction



Large sample & wide geographical spread• More than 30k households living in more than 3000

primary sampling units across all regions and types of areas in the UK

Ethnic boost sample (GB only)

• designed to provide at least 1,000 adult respondents from five major ethnic groups

• drawn mostly from area with a proportion of minority ethnic groups of 5% or higher, but some minority group members will be members of the general population sample

Multi-topic focus & possibility to link neighbourhood data

• markers for all aspects that have been linked to life satisfaction 5

2. Data

Understanding Society



Key MeasuresOutcome variable: Life satisfaction• “Overall, how satisfied are you with your life?” 7-point Likert scale

Key Individual-level characteristics:GENERATION & ETHNIC GROUP: White British, Other White, Mixed, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Caribbean, African, Other

Neighbourhood-level characteristics (at LSOA level):

• Ethnic composition (year of interview):- % British White, % Other White, % South Asian (i.e., Indian,

Pakistani, Bangladeshi); % Black (i.e., Caribbean, African); % Chinese

- select % interacted with own group

(See results table footnotes for a list of all other characteristics included in multivariate models)

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2. Data and Methods



No controls

Ethnic group (comparison group: White British)

All1st Gen W UK-born

UK born

Other White

(-) (+) -Mixed grp - (-) -Indian

- (-) -Pakistani - - -Banglades

hi - - -Caribbean

- - -African

- - -Oth ethn

grp - - -

Predictions of life satisfaction: Ethnic group differences H1: Ethnic minorities are less satisfied with their life

3. Empirical Results

Notes: Main effects, b-coefficients from Ordinary Least Squares regression. Models. All analyses are adjusted for sample design and non-response . England only. (1) Sex, age, age squared, educational qualifications, marital status, number of children, economic activity status, household income, housing tenure, longstanding illness and health status, whether have a religious affiliation, length of stay in UK, urban rural indicator. (2) 11 Mosaic groups, Townsend Score

+ individual factors(1)


UK born

- - -- (-) -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -- - -

+ area factors(2) except ethnic composition


UK born

- - -- (-) -- - -- - -- - -- - -- (-) (-)- - -



Main effects



UK born

Other White

- (-) (-)Mixed grp - (-) -Indian

- (-) -Pakistani - (+) -Banglades

hi - - (-)Caribbean

- - (-)African

- - (-)Oth ethn

grp - - -

H2: Ethnic minorities are happier the greater the % own ethnic group in the neighbourhood


Notes: All analyses are adjusted for sample design and non-response . England only. Additional controls: Sex, age, age squared, educational qualifications, marital status, number of children, economic activity status, household income, housing tenure, longstanding illness and health status, whether have a religious affiliation, length of stay in UK, urban rural indicator,11 Mosaic groups, Townsend Score.

Ethnic composition effects

All

1st Gen W UK-born

UK born

% Other White - - -% South Asian (-) (-) (-)% Black - (-) (-)% Chinese (+) (+) +

OW_OW (+) (+) (-) IN_SA (+) (-) + PK_SA (+) - + BD_SA (+) (+) (+) CA_BL (+) (+) (+) AF_BL + + (+)



Summary of results• Strong support for H1: life satisfaction is negatively

associated with ethnic minority status• true for all groups; effects typically bigger for 2nd generation (exception:

Pakistani)• Differences in life satisfaction persist when we control for individual

characteristics and neighbourhood characteristics.

• Weak support for H2: The % co-ethnic acts as a protective factor• Positive association with life satisfaction for all ethnic minorities although

not statistically significant• Africans are happier in neighbourhoods with greater proportion of Blacks• interesting variations across generations:

• 1st generation Indian and Pakistani: no main effect & unhappier in more South Asian nb/hoods

• 2nd generation Indian and Pakistani: more marked main effect & happier in more South Asian nb/hoods

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4. Conclusions and outlook

Analysis of further waves of Understanding Society will help us throw more light at this and also provide more robust estimates

Minority ethnic groups fare worse on subjective well-being compared to the White majority:

• feelings of being in the out group, being the outsider• 1st generation: "frustrated achievers” more likely to migrate, but

also use contemporaries in the home country as reference group• 2nd generation: have expectations of being treated the same as

anyone else born in the UK, but are disappointed by reality

Overall, ethnic minorities appear to be happier in neighbourhoods with a greater share of co-ethnics

• positive selection into neighbourhoods? • 1st generation: mismatch between their expectations and their

reality in terms of area composition, • 2nd generation: more sensitive to ethnic inequalities and racism,

may also be more sensitive to the benefits of having 'comrades' around.



That’s it! Thanks for your attention!

[email protected]



Supplementary slides for the discussant and as back-up slides for the discussion (if necessary)


New Insights into Ethnicity & PovertyWestminster, 16th January 2014 13

Source: Understanding Society, Wave 1, 2009/10. England only.

Average Life Satisfaction by Ethnic Group and Generation


01

23

45

67

Overall Life Satisfaction, (1-7 scale)

All First Generation UK Born




Variation in individual characteristics (1)

0.2

.4.6

.81

Weig

hte

d P

rop

ort

ion

Proportion Employed including self-employed

First Generation UK Born





0.2

.4.6

.81

Weig

hte

d P

rop

ortio

nProportion in Partnership






0.2

.4.6

.81

Wei

ghte

d P

rop

ortio

nProportion Less than 25 years





Variation in nb/hood characteristics (1)

0.2

.4.6

.81

Weig

hte

d P

rop

ort

ion

Proportion Living in Metropolitan Areas






0.2

.4.6

.81

Weig

hte

d P

rop

ort

ion

Proportion Living in Deprived Areas(Townsend Score > 75th Percentile)






01

23

4

0 .2 .4 .6 .8x

Indian

0.5

11.5

22.5

0 .2 .4 .6 .8x

Pakistani

0.5

11.5

2

0 .2 .4 .6 .8 1x

Bangladeshi

02

46

810

0 .1 .2 .3x

Caribbean0

24

6

0 .1 .2 .3 .4x

African

05

10

15

0 .1 .2 .3 .4x

Irish, Other White

Proportion Co-ethnic in LSOA




No controls



UK born

Other White

-0.04 0.01 -0.33**Mixed grp

-0.24** -0.09 -0.32**

Indian

-0.18** -0.08 -0.38**

Pakistani

-0.32**

-0.40** -0.21*

Bangladeshi

-0.47**

-0.48** -0.44*

Caribbean

-0.49**

-0.42** -0.56**

African

-0.17** -0.15* -0.31*

Oth ethn grp

-0.30**

-0.30** -0.32**

Predictions of life satisfaction: Ethnic group differences H1: Ethnic minorities are less satisfied with their life


Notes: Main effects, b-coefficients from OLS. All analyses are adjusted for sample design and non-response . (1) Sex, age, age squared, educational qualifications, marital status, number of children, economic activity status, household income, housing tenure,

longstanding illness and health status, whether have a religious affiliation, length of stay in UK, urban rural indicator(2) 11 Mosaic groups, Townsend Score

+ individual factors(1)


UK born

-0.19** -0.11* -0.21+ -0.20** -0.13 -0.20* -0.35** -0.21** -0.47** -0.38** -0.41** -0.27** -0.50** -0.43** -0.52** -0.34** -0.30** -0.32** -0.21** -0.14+ -0.23 -0.40** -0.37** -0.23*

+ area factors(2) except ethnic composition


UK born

-0.18** -0.10+ -0.20+ -0.19** -0.12 -0.18* -0.31** -0.17* -0.43**-0.32** -0.34** -0.20*-0.44** -0.36** -0.46*-0.30** -0.26* -0.27**-0.17* -0.1 -0.18-0.38** -0.35** -0.22+




Predictions of life satisfaction: individual Xs (summary)

Consistent with the happiness literature• unhappier the older they get but this peaks around midlife• Females are happier than males• Those in better health are happier• Being single, divorced or widowed is associated with less

happiness than being married or cohabiting• Those employed are happier than the unemployed, but

unhappier than the retired• Positive association with religiousness (mainly for White British who tend to not be

religious but not for minority ethnic group members)

Robust across model specifications and True for White British as well as minority ethnic

groups



Main effects



UK born

Other White

-0.16* -0.11 -0.11Mixed grp -0.15* -0.08 -0.14+Indian

-0.33** -0.1 -0.60**Pakistani -0.30* 0.05 -0.61**Banglades

hi -0.48* -0.43+ -0.45Caribbean

-0.31** -0.36* -0.22African

-0.32** -0.24* -0.32Oth ethn

grp -0.36** -0.32** -0.19+

H2: Ethnic minorities are happier the greater the % own ethnic group in the nb/hood


Notes: All analyses are adjusted for sample design and non-response . Additional controls: Sex, age, age squared, educational qualifications, marital status, number of children, economic activity status, household income, housing tenure, longstanding illness and health status, whether have a religious affiliation, length of stay in UK, urban rural indicator,11 Mosaic groups, Townsend Score.

Ethnic composition effects

All

1st Gen W UK-born

UK born

% Other White -0.90** -0.97** -0.94*% Sth Asian -0.18 -0.13 -0.18% Black -0.54+ -0.55 -0.51% Chinese 1.63 1.44 2.02+ OW_OW 0.21 0.4 -0.48 IN_SA 0.17 -0.16 0.71* PK_SA 0.06 -0.94+ 1.06** BD_SA 0.2 0.29 0.09 CA_BL 0.6 1.2 0.24 AF_BL 1.37* 1.35* 1.26

Life satisfaction, ethnicity and neighbourhoods - Gundi Knies

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