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Quality of Life Research
Published in: Quality of Life Research 3/2016

20-08-2015 | Brief Communication

Well-being and environmental quality: Does pollution affect life satisfaction?

Authors: Kati Orru, Hans Orru, Marek Maasikmets, Reigo Hendrikson, Mare Ainsaar

Published in: Quality of Life Research | Issue 3/2016

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Abstract

Purpose

We aimed to explore the effect of ambient air pollution on individual persons’ levels of subjective well-being. Our research question was: to what extent is an individual’s life satisfaction shaped by exposure to PM10?

Methods

We used regression models to analyse data on subjective well-being indicators from the last two waves of the European social survey (ESS) and detailed information on local levels of the air pollutant PM10.

Results

An increase in PM10 annual concentrations by 1 μg/m3 was associated with a significant reduction in life satisfaction of .017 points on the ESS 10-point life satisfaction scale.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that even in cases of relatively low levels of PM10 air pollution (mean annual concentration of 8.3 ± 3.9 μg/m3), in addition to the effects on physical health, exposure negatively affects subjective assessments of well-being.
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Appendix
Available only for authorised users
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Metadata
Title
Well-being and environmental quality: Does pollution affect life satisfaction?
Authors
Kati Orru
Hans Orru
Marek Maasikmets
Reigo Hendrikson
Mare Ainsaar
Publication date
20-08-2015
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Published in
Quality of Life Research / Issue 3/2016
Print ISSN: 0962-9343
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2649
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-015-1104-6

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