Social-Psychological Well-Being and Demographic Disparities in Malaysia

Abstract

Psychological and social well-being are important dimensions of individual functioning that may vary across socio-demographic groups. This study examined the associations between demographic characteristics, psychological well-being, social well-being and negative emotional symptoms among Malaysian adults. A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed, involving 382 adults aged 20 years and above recruited through snowball sampling between April and August 2022. Data were collected using a culturally adapted instrument informed by Ryff's psychological well-being framework, Keyes' social well-being model and measures of negative emotional symptoms. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis tests and multiple regression analyses were employed. The reported findings suggest differences in well-being associated with age, education, household income and gender, with income and education emerging as important correlates. These findings offer preliminary insights into demographic differences in well-being within the study sample. However, the non-probability sampling approach and cross-sectional design limit generalisability and causal interpretation. Further psychometric validation of the proposed index is recommended.