Living in the Urban Environment: A Study on Predictors of Life Satisfaction

The relationship between inhabitants and their place of residence is important for people quality of life and well-being. This relationship entails both empirical and political challenges. Empirical challenges pertain to the investigation of different dimensions affecting well-being, distinguishing among personal characteristics (i.e., gender, age, income, status, education, etc.), psychosocial dimensions (i.e., place attachment, sense of community, place identity, etc.) and contextual aspects (objective dimension such as place dimension, services development, etc.). Political challenges refer to the importance of connecting different levels of intervention, in line with the World Health Organization approach "Health in all Policies." On these grounds the study here presented aimed at investigating the best predictors of life satisfaction, considering both personal characteristics (i.e., gender, age, and income) and contextual psychosocial variables (i.e., place attachment and social identification with inhabitants). Participants were 251 community people (53.8% females) living in a big city in the North-West of Italy. Their mean age was 33.91 (SD = 15.79). Data were collected via a self-reported questionnaire, which took about 20 minutes to complete. Results showed that place attachment is the most powerful predictor of life satisfaction, followed by income and lower age, whereas social identification with inhabitants has no influence. These findings are discussed from a psychosocial standpoint, considering also future challenges in public health involving urban environments.