A Structural Equation Model of Improvement in Quality of Life in a Community-Based Development Projects in Nigeria

Abstract

The lingering problem of poverty has prompted many countries to adopt community-based development strategy towards improving the Quality of Life (QoL) of their citizens. Numerous studies have focused on assessing QoL by measuring the manifested (measured) variables and ignored the significant contribution of some “latent” factors. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), this paper investigated the factors that influence improvement in the QoL in a Community-based Poverty Reduction Project (CPRP) in Nigeria. The model indicates that the measured variables cause only 36% (R2 = 0.36) of the reduction in poverty level of the project beneficiaries. This finding implies that there are other “hidden” factors responsible for the improvement in the quality of life.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Quality of Life, Community-based Development Projects, Poverty Reduction, Structural Equation Modelling