Determinants of life satisfaction among women of reproductive age (15–49 years) in Bangladesh: A cross-sectional analysis

Abstract

The life satisfaction of women is an essential component of their subjective well-being. It is an indicator of a woman’s life quality based on personal perception. Considering the importance of women’s subjective well-being, the United Nations (UN) has recognized this as one of its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To the best of our knowledge, no study has been done yet for Bangladeshi women aged 15-49 years using nationally represented data. This study is the first study, to our knowledge, that will identify the determinants of life satisfaction and investigate the association between these determinants and life satisfaction among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) in Bangladesh. This study examined the overall life satisfaction and impact of some personal and sociodemographic characteristics on it among the women aged 15 to 49 years in Bangladesh using the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2019 data, a cross-sectional data. In our study, information regarding life satisfaction was available for a sample of 64,283 women after categorizing the variable overall life satisfaction and adjusting the missing values. The variable overall life satisfaction was categorized into three categories, namely low (0-3), moderate (4-6), and high (7-10), according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. Results showed that 14.67% of women are low satisfied, 50.65% are moderately satisfied, and 34.68% are highly satisfied with their lives. A bivariate analysis was applied in this study to show the significant association between the determinants and life satisfaction. The multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed to draw valid conclusions about the effects of the potential determinants on life satisfaction. The study revealed that satisfaction increases with age, education level, and wealth status. For the variable marital status, which has three categories: currently married, formerly married, and never married, current marriage was strongly associated with higher life satisfaction. In contrast, a former marriage and a never marriage were associated with lower life satisfaction. Migration status was also significantly associated with life satisfaction, where women who changed their location were more satisfied than those who never changed their current location. Bangladesh aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, which promotes well-being, and the goal 5, to empower all women and girls, addressing the issues related to life satisfaction and applying appropriate intervention is a must.