Department of Social Work and Social Administration,The Jockey Club Tower,Centennial Campus,The University of Hong Kong,Pokfulam Road,Hong Kong SAR,China.
Institute of Health Behaviors and Community Sciences, and Department of Public Health,College of Public Health,National Taiwan University,17 Xu-Zhou Road,Taipei City,Taiwan.
Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2019 Feb;28(1):112-130. doi: 10.1017/S2045796018000124. Epub 2018 Apr 10.
There has recently been an increased interest in mental health indicators for the monitoring of population wellbeing, which is among the targets of Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations. Levels of subjective wellbeing and suicide rates have been proposed as indicators of population mental health, but prior research is limited.
Data on individual happiness and life satisfaction were sourced from a population-based survey in Hong Kong (2011). Suicide data were extracted from Coroner's Court files (2005-2013). Area characteristic variables included local poverty rate and four factors derived from a factor analysis of 21 variables extracted from the 2011 census. The associations between mean happiness and life satisfaction scores and suicide rates were assessed using Pearson correlation coefficient at two area levels: 18 districts and 30 quantiles of large street blocks (LSBs; n = 1620). LSB is a small area unit with a higher level of within-unit homogeneity compared with districts. Partial correlations were used to control for area characteristics.
Happiness and life satisfaction demonstrated weak inverse associations with suicide rate at the district level (r = -0.32 and -0.36, respectively) but very strong associations at the LSB quantile level (r = -0.83 and -0.84, respectively). There were generally very weak or weak negative correlations across sex/age groups at the district level but generally moderate to strong correlations at the LSB quantile level. The associations were markedly attenuated or became null after controlling for area characteristics.
Subjective wellbeing is strongly associated with suicide at a small area level; socioeconomic factors can largely explain this association. Socioeconomic factors could play an important role in determining the wellbeing of the population, and this could inform policies aimed at enhancing population wellbeing.
人们最近对用于监测人口福祉的心理健康指标越来越感兴趣，而这是联合国通过的可持续发展目标之一。主观幸福感水平和自杀率已被提议作为人口心理健康的指标，但之前的研究有限。
个体幸福感和生活满意度的数据来自香港的一项基于人群的调查（2011 年）。自杀数据从死因裁判官法庭档案中提取（2005-2013 年）。区域特征变量包括当地贫困率和从 2011 年人口普查中提取的 21 个变量的因子分析得出的四个因素。使用 Pearson 相关系数评估了平均幸福感和生活满意度得分与自杀率之间的关联，评估的区域水平有两个：18 个区和 30 个大街道街区（LSB；n=1620）的分位数。与区相比，LSB 是一个具有更高单元内同质性的小区域单元。使用偏相关来控制区域特征。
幸福感和生活满意度与区一级的自杀率呈弱负相关（分别为 r=-0.32 和-0.36），但与 LSB 分位数水平呈极强的负相关（分别为 r=-0.83 和-0.84）。区一级的性别/年龄组之间通常存在非常弱或弱的负相关，但 LSB 分位数水平上的相关性通常为中度到强。在控制区域特征后，这些关联明显减弱或变得无关。
主观幸福感与小区域一级的自杀密切相关；社会经济因素在很大程度上可以解释这种关联。社会经济因素可能在决定人口福祉方面发挥重要作用，这可以为旨在提高人口福祉的政策提供信息。
