Faculty of Humanities, North-West University, Mafikeng, 2735, South Africa.
Statistics South Africa, ISIbalo House, Koch Street, Salvokop, Pretoria, South Africa.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Oct 18;23(1):2030. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16868-1.
Migrant populations in any country are a vulnerable group, and psycho-demographic research measuring life satisfaction has been used to assess migrants' well-being in developed and developing countries. However, South Africa, with its high influx of migrant populations, has investigated these topical concerns from the perspective of xenophobia, with mixed findings. However, no, or very few studies have examined life satisfaction among migrants in South Africa. This study, therefore, extends previous literature by examining the determinants of life satisfaction among South Africa's internal and international migrant populations.
We conducted a cross-sectional study from the 2009 to 2021 Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO) Quality of Life (QoL) surveys among migrant populations in two ways: a full sample and a gender-stratified sample. A sample of male and female migrants ranging from 15 to 49 years of age were recruited into this study. Cantril's Self-Anchoring Ladder Life Satisfaction scale captured their life satisfaction alongside relevant social demographic factors. Descriptive statistics were applied for the data analysis of the demographic factors. Bivariate and multivariate logistics regression analyses were conducted to assess the associations and the predictive factors of life satisfaction among migrants, both internal and international.
The key findings were the gender distribution of life satisfaction, showing that more international (male - 66.0% and female - 67.1%) migrants reported having a thriving life satisfaction than internal migrants (male - 61.7% and female - 61.5%). Findings from the Pearson correlation coefficient revealed a significant association between the individual, household, and community factors by migrant status (ρ < 0.05). However, the probit coefficients revealed that individual factors (age 48: AOR = 2.18, 95% CI: 1.13, 3.23, and secondary/higher education: AOR = 1.1., 95% CI: 0.01, 1.19) and household factors (two persons living in households (H/H): AOR = 1.05, 95% CI: 0.50, 1.10), and community factors (international migrant status: AOR = 2.12, 95% CI: 0.08, 2.16) significantly increase the prediction of higher odds of life satisfaction by gender among migrants. The ordered logit coefficients also showed that individual factors (middle and high income and having health insurance) and household factors (receiving SASSA social grant) predicted the highest life satisfaction among migrants (internal and international).
We found substantial evidence that individual-, household-, and community-level factors were associated with life satisfaction among migrants. In particular, the pattern of life satisfaction varied slightly between male and female migrants, as well as with migrant status in South Africa. These findings collectively may provide helpful information for policymakers and practitioners to optimise interventions for migrant populations to improve their life satisfaction. Evidence from this study also calls on the government of South Africa to begin tracking the life satisfaction of its nationals, whether migrants or not.
任何国家的移民群体都是弱势群体，衡量生活满意度的心理人口学研究已被用于评估发达国家和发展中国家移民的幸福感。然而，南非作为一个移民大量涌入的国家，从仇外心理的角度调查了这些热点问题，结果喜忧参半。然而，南非的移民生活满意度研究要么没有，要么非常少。因此，本研究通过考察南非国内和国际移民群体的生活满意度决定因素，扩展了以往的文献。
我们通过两种方式从 2009 年至 2021 年的南非豪登城市地区观测站（GCRO）生活质量（QoL）调查中对移民群体进行了横断面研究：一个是完整样本，另一个是按性别分层的样本。我们招募了年龄在 15 至 49 岁之间的男性和女性移民作为研究对象。坎特里尔自我定位阶梯生活满意度量表（Cantril's Self-Anchoring Ladder Life Satisfaction scale）捕捉了他们的生活满意度以及相关的社会人口因素。对人口统计因素进行了描述性统计分析。进行了双变量和多变量逻辑回归分析，以评估国内外移民的生活满意度关联和预测因素。
主要发现是生活满意度的性别分布，结果表明，更多的国际（男性-66.0%，女性-67.1%）移民比国内移民（男性-61.7%，女性-61.5%）报告生活满意度较高。皮尔逊相关系数的结果显示，移民身份（ρ<0.05）与个体、家庭和社区因素之间存在显著关联。然而，概率系数表明，个体因素（年龄 48：AOR=2.18，95%置信区间：1.13，3.23，以及中等/高等教育：AOR=1.1，95%置信区间：0.01，1.19）和家庭因素（两人居住在家庭（H/H）：AOR=1.05，95%置信区间：0.50，1.10）以及社区因素（国际移民身份：AOR=2.12，95%置信区间：0.08，2.16）显著增加了性别之间移民生活满意度的预测。有序逻辑系数也表明，个体因素（中等和高收入以及有健康保险）和家庭因素（领取 SASSA 社会救济金）预测了移民的最高生活满意度（国内和国际）。
我们发现了大量证据表明，个体、家庭和社区层面的因素与移民的生活满意度有关。特别是，男性和女性移民以及南非移民身份之间的生活满意度模式略有不同。这些发现可能为政策制定者和实践者提供有益的信息，以优化干预措施，提高移民的生活满意度。本研究的证据还呼吁南非政府开始跟踪其国民（无论是移民还是非移民）的生活满意度。
