ISSN 0798 1015
ISSN 0798 1015
Vol. 40 (Number 24) Year 2019. Page 6
AVERIN Yury P. 1 & SUSHKO Valentina A. 2
Received: 16/02/2019 • Approved: 28/06/2019 • Published 15/07/2019
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this work is to show the state of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population in the first decade of the XXI century. Based on the proposed integrated life quality research model, empirical research of the life quality and the nature of its changes during the 10 years was conducted in 2002, 2008 and 2012. The authors revealed changes in the state of eight parameters of the perceived life quality of the adult Russian population. |
RESUMEN: : El propósito de este trabajo es mostrar el estado de la calidad de vida percibida por la población rusa en la primera década del siglo XXI. Basado en el modelo de investigación integrado de calidad de vida propuesto, la investigación empírica de la calidad de vida y la naturaleza de sus cambios durante los 10 años se realizó en 2002, 2008 y 2012. Los autores revelaron cambios en el estado de ocho parámetros de la calidad de vida percibida de la población rusa adulta. |
The quality of life of the population is one of the system-related, resulting parameters of the society that characterizes its condition. Being the result of the life-sustaining activity of the whole social system and of all its spheres – political, economic, spiritual, social – the quality of life also acts as the most important factor influencing the state of social order in society, its sustainable self-reproduction and direction of development (Parsons, 1994). In conditions of the changing environment, this process is achieved through the sustainable development of individuals and the order of their interaction, which is the result of the improvement of their life quality.
The assessment of life quality and factors of its formation is intended to solve the fundamental and practical problems of social science. First of all, this assessment allows understanding the stage of development of the society and the characteristics of the achieved life quality in general and concerning its separate components; secondly, it helps understanding the influence of social system and state institutions over the conditions of life quality; thirdly, it shows the state of separate objective components of life quality; fourthly, it represents the way objective components of life quality determine the state of its subjective components – perceived quality of life and its components; finally, the state of the perceived life quality, its separate components and their influence over the state of social order in the society.
At present, there is still a huge gap in the quality of life of various social groups in Russia. The differentiation of the population by income level in the XXI century has steadily increased. By 2007, it had reached a maximum, and in the following years began to decrease slightly.
In 2008, the economic decline began. "According to data released by Federal State Statistics Service on January 23, 2009, in December 2008 the drop in industrial production in Russia reached 10.3% compared to December 2007 (in November – 8.7%), which was the deepest decline in production over the last decade. Overall, in the 4th quarter of 2008, the drop in industrial production was 6.1% compared to the same period in 2007" (Zarakovsky, 2009).The drop in industrial production has resulted in lower wages, increased unemployment, and increased economic uncertainty. By the beginning of 2010, the decline in industrial production had stopped, and economic growth had begun (Zarakovsky, 2009).During the period from 2002 to 2012, the economic situation of the Russian population improved at the fastest rate. During the period from 2002 to 2012, the average salary increased about 6 times, the minimum wage became about 6 times larger, the average old-age retirement pension – 15 times (IQ Rewiew, 2014-2015).
After 2012, the population incomes increased, but they grew at a very slow pace. In late 2014 - early 2015, Russia entered a new economic crisis. Wages and pensions have almost ceased to grow. Thus, in general, 2002-2012 years were the most favorable years in terms of improving the economic situation of the Russian population in comparison with subsequent years (The ESS - European Social Survey).
Although these studies were conducted in 2002, 2008 and 2012, nowadays their results present undeniable scientific and practical value. These results show what rate of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population was reached in the most prosperous period for Russia in XXI century, during the period of reconstruction and rapid growth of the Russian economy. How it changed, what components of the perceived quality of life in these years changed faster than other, what components changed slower, remaining at a low level and representing a social and socio-psychological problem for the Russian society and the state. This knowledge is particularly important at present time. Since 2014, the Russian economy has been experiencing an economic crisis. Nowadays the state emerges from it. This aggressively affected the exacerbation of previous problems in the condition of the perceived quality of life. The presented results of the research have allowed identifying these problems, have given an opportunity to define those "painful" components of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population, which can be purposefully changed today for the increase of the life quality in the near future. First, authors defined the social groups having the lowest quality of life. Secondly, they determined the way the economic situation of people influences the state of the quality of life they perceive.
A variety of conceptual approaches is currently used in the study of life quality. From the point of view of theoretical and methodical elaboration, it is necessary to define several conceptual approaches to the understanding of life quality - socio-economic, structural-functional approaches and the conception of the "perceived" life quality.
The socio-economic approach to understanding the quality of life began to develop from the early XX when English economist Arthur Pigou introduced the term "the quality of life" in his work "The Economics of Welfare" for the first time in the analysis of individual welfare, elements of which form the quality of life (Pigou, 1985). The socio-economic approach to understanding the quality of life of the population was developed in a number of works.
In terms of the socio-economic approach, the quality of life is understood as an integrated characteristic of the level and living conditions of the population (Gorelov, 2003). It includes a set of parameters of human life, providing a certain degree of satisfaction with their material and spiritual needs and interests in terms of compliance with the existing social norms of working and living conditions, social security, environment, etc. The quality of life is expressed in the quantity and the quality of the goods and services consumed by a person.
S.A. Ayvazyan (2012) and S. Filippenko (2011) considered this problem from the economic and metric point of view. D. Forrester (2003) considered the quality of life as a measure of the development of human society and formulated four main factors for improvement of the quality of life. D. Bell (1999) reveals the dependence of the life quality in the postindustrial society from the possibility of receiving such benefits as education and health care. J. Galbraith (1958) defined the quality of life as an opportunity to consume goods and services. The quality of life reflects the level of material well-being of the individual, as well as their ability to reproduce and increase material wealth. W. W. Rostow (1973) considered the quality of life as a human goal to improve indicators in education and health, recreation, environmental pollution, poverty, and inequality.
However, the socio-economic approach has its limitations in explaining the state of the quality of life, because for its evaluation in terms of this approach sociologists use only objective indicators characterizing the economic and social situation of the individual. Within the framework of these conceptions, the quality of life is as high, as big the quantity and high the quality of the material and spiritual benefits consumed by the individual. In the socio-economic conception of the quality of life, it is defined as meeting the needs of the individual, and the meaning of its existence is reduced to the consumption of benefits. The social role of the individual is eliminated from this conception.
A.I. Subetto (2002) notes fairly: "The growth of material wealth is not necessary on its own, but as a mean of improving human satisfaction with life, the opportunity to fulfill their roles in society. The analysis showed that satisfaction with life depends on economic conditions by 40% and on psychological factors by 60%".
The social role of an individual lies at the root of the structural and functional approach to understand the quality of life. In its terms, the quality of life is widely regarded as a condition of the individual's optimal ability to perform his/her roles and tasks for which he/she was socialized. However, this perspective is more of a conceptual nature and requires a special theoretical content necessary for the development of a conceptual model of sociological study of the life quality.
The nature of the aspirations, expectations and personal needs of people is taken into account within the concept of the "perceived" quality of life. It is based on the conception of structural functionalism to define the general criterion for the assessment of the life quality. The conception of the "perceived" life quality considers it as a subjective state of the individual, which is the result of existing conditions for fulfillment of his/her needs. The quality of life of an individual is equal to what extent the perceived physical, intellectual, emotional and volitional abilities allow him/her working and communicating, i.e. do not hinder the performance of the social role. Thus the perception of such abilities is defined by the individual, i.e. subjectively.
The basic concept in determining the quality of life within the framework of this conception is the notion of perceived opportunities for the fulfillment of the social role. The greater the ability of the individual to fulfill his/her social role is, the higher the quality of life is.
Within the concept of the "perceived" quality of life, there are various theoretical and methodological approaches to the evaluation of this phenomenon. A. Campbell (1976) associates the quality of life with the subjective perception of the well-being of the individual. Satisfaction with the financial situation, level of self-esteem and interpersonal relations play an important role. Researches of A. Campbell state that the presence of good interpersonal relationships, positive self-esteem and the feeling of control over their lives are as important as the factors of the real-life situation. A. Campbell and his colleagues, P. Converse and W. Rodgers, note that the level of satisfaction with the "perceived quality of life" is determined by the discrepancy between the claims of individuals and the levels of their satisfaction (Campbell, 1976).
One approach in terms of the concept of the perceived life quality is the approach proposed by J. E. Ware (1993). The methodological advantage of this approach is that it, first, reveals the concept of the life quality through a number of specific concepts characterizing the aggregate of individual's abilities to perform the social role; secondly, it provides an empirical interpretation of these concepts. They are a system of conceptual notions that allow theoretically describing the properties that characterize the state of the perceived quality of life. Empirical interpretation of conceptual notions gives an opportunity to calculate its average population norms – average value, standard deviation, percentage distribution, the percentage of minimum and maximum values. The following is an empirical interpretation of the notions of the conceptual model of the study of the perceived life quality proposed by J. E. Ware. Through the definition of these notions, the system of indicators of life quality evaluation is highlighted.
The advantages of the concept of the perceived quality of life are: Its use for theoretical composition of sociological research allows to receive: first of all, the resulting evaluation of the individual's perception of life quality, because this evaluation is general and "absorbs" objective conditions of life and his/her perception of these conditions; secondly, personalized evaluation of the perception of life quality for different social groups (socio-demographic, territorial, etc.).
Linking the socio-economic concept and the concept of the perceived quality of life within a single conceptual model allows using the values and eliminating the limitations in both conceptions. G. M. Zarakovskiy (2009) offers to investigate the problem of life quality, considering the psychological component. In their collective work, B.V. Boitsov, Y.V. Krianev, M.A. Kuznetsov try to approach the problem of life quality from the point of view which can be considered integral in general (Boytsov et al., 2004). A.M. Nagimova (2010) also follows the integral approach. Hagerty et al,. (2001) consider 22 of the most used indices to measure the life quality (Quality of Life Indexes) for the whole state or its regions. The European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions conducts a sociological study of the quality of life every 2 years in 31 European countries, combining objective socio-economic indicators and indicators of the perceived life quality (European Quality of Life Survey, 2016). The European social research on the life quality uses this approach, using such indicators as the satisfaction with life in general, financial situation, work, correlation of work and other aspects of life, feeling happy or unhappy (European Social Survey, 2018).
The advantage of the integrated conceptual model of sociological research of the quality of life is that it combines objective components of quality of life, considered within the framework of socio-economic concept, with its role-playing subjective content from the concept of the perceived quality of life.
The empirical study of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population was carried out based on the integrated research concept. The content of the questionnaire was based on the general questionnaire on the quality of life, SF-36, built on the basis of a theoretical and methodological approach to the evaluation of the life quality proposed by J. E. Ware (Russian version, which has undergone a full cycle of cultural adaptation in Research Institute of Pulmonology of Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation). It included 8 above-mentioned parameters of the perceived quality of life and was supplemented by objective indicators characterizing the socio-demographic, socio-educational and socio-economic situation of the population of Russia.
To assess the condition of the perceived quality of life, a method of household questionnaire survey was applied. A sample population of 1500 people was formed by the method of quota-random selection and ensured the representativeness of the results of the study to the entire adult population of Russia from 18 years and older, first - by sex; secondly - by age; thirdly, by social status; fourthly, by territorial settlement, namely by the regional viewpoint, in the context of the city/village and in the context of four types of urban settlements (1 million people and more, from 500 to 999.9 thousand people, from 100 to 499.9 thousand people, less than 100 thousand people).
The structure of the sample population includes 22 regions, territories and republics and cities of the Russian Federation - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow region, Smolensk region, Yaroslavl region, Lipetsk region, Tomsk region, Irkutsk region, Novosibirsk region, Sverdlovsk region, Volgograd region, Samara region, Nizhny Novgorod region, Saratov region, Rostov region, Murmansk region, Altai territory, Krasnodar territory, Krasnoyarsk territory, Stavropol territory, the republics of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan - representing its main territorial zones. In each territorial subject of Russia, the survey was conducted in accordance with its social-settlement structure: in the central city, in the regional town, and in the rural settlements. Regional towns and rural settlements were selected randomly. Thus, a high level of representativeness for the entire adult population of Russia was provided (± 3.5%).
Based on the methodology described above, three empirical studies were conducted under the guidance of the authors of this work – in 2002, 2008 and 2012 [3]. The results of the study allowed, first, to trace the change in the state of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population during this period; secondly, to reveal the nature of the influence of socio-demographic, socio-educational and socio-economic factors on the state of the perceived quality of life; thirdly, to determine the nature of the influence of the state of the Russian economy on the state of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population.
The analysis of eight parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population has shown that they have different level concerning the best possible condition (100%). In addition, for each of the eight parameters, this level changed differently from 2002 to 2012.
The first place in the value of 8 parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population is held by the perceived physical activity. During 10 years, its level is constantly and evenly grew, reached the value of 80.9% at 2012 and increased by 5.01%. This level was only 19.1% lower than the highest possible state (100%). The level of the perceived physical activity exceeded the integral index (average value) of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population at 2002, 2008 and 2012 about 1.2 times. At the same time, the rate of its increase was lower than the average of eight parameters of the life quality (6.4%), and it was not affected by the economic crisis, which began at 2008 in Russia. Consequently, the physical health of the Russian population was in good condition for 10 years, providing a very high level of the perceived physical activity, and this level constantly increased - people could perform the higher physical activity without limitation by their health.
The perceived social activity is in the second place among the 8 parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population. During 10 years, its level constantly increased, reaching the value of 77.1% in 2012 with an increase of 5.52%. This level was only 22,9% lower than the highest possible state (100%). However, the increase in the level of the perceived social activity of the Russian population during 10 years was uneven. From 2002 to 2008, it increased by 4.53%, from 2008 to 2012 only by 0.99%, i.e. 4.6 times less. The increase in the level of perceived social activity has almost stopped during these 4 years. This was influenced by the economic crisis that began at 2008 in Russia. It led to the fact that people reduced the usual communication with friends, neighbors, and colleagues in their spare time, visiting cultural events with the family, holiday trips.
During 2002, the level of the perceived social activity exceeded the average life quality of the Russian population about 1.14 times, 2008 – 1.13 times, in 2012 – 1.11 times. At the same time, the rate of its increase, in general, was lower than the average of eight parameters of the life quality (6.4%). Consequently, the social health of the Russian population – the desire and ability to communicate with the surrounding people – on average was in good condition, providing a high level of the perceived social activity, and this level in general increased for 10 years.
The perceived role of physical problems in the limitation of life-sustaining activity is in the third place among 8 parameters of the perceived life quality of the Russian population. The value of this role has been constantly falling for 10 years, reached 71.7%, decreasing by 11.97%, in 2012. The rate of this positive change is the largest in comparison with other parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population - 1.87 times above average according to eight parameters of life quality. The value of this role was 28.3% lower than the lowest possible state (100%). The reduction of the role of physical problems in the limitation of life-sustaining activity of the Russian population for 10 years was uneven. From 2002 to 2008 the value of this role increased by 8,86%, from 2008 to 2012 only by 3,11%, i.e. 2.85 times less. During the mentioned 4 years, the rate of reduction of this role has fallen greatly. The decline was influenced by the economic crisis that began at 2008 in Russia. It led to the fact that the physical activity of the Russian population continued to grow in the conditions of the economic crisis, and in accordance with this, there was an increase in physical problems in the limitation of life-sustaining activity.
The volume of subjective painful senses experienced by a person stands in the fourth place among 8 parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population. During 10 years its level constantly increased, reaching the value of 70,32% in 2012 with an increase of 4,34%. The rate of this positive change is the lowest in comparison with the change of the other 8 parameters of the perceived life quality of the Russian population and 1.47 times below the average. The volume of subjective pain senses was 29.68% higher than the lowest possible value (100%). The decrease in the volume of subjective pain senses of the Russian population within 10 years was uneven. From 2002 to 2008, it decreased by 2.37%, from 2008 to 2012 - only by 1.97%, i.e. 1.2 times. During 4 years the rate of reduction of this role fell, although in previous years it was not high. It was influenced by the economic crisis that began at 2008 in Russia. It led to the fact that in the conditions of the economic crisis there was an increase in physical problems, restricting people's life-sustaining activity, and, as a result, increasing the volume of subjective pain senses.
The volume of subjective pain senses of the Russian population in 2002 was about 1.05 times above the average value of the perceived quality of life in Russia. From 2002 to 2012, there was a decrease in the volume of subjective pain senses. At 2012, the value of this parameter in relation to the average value of the perceived quality of life decreased and became 1.01 times higher than its value. In general, the perceived quality of life of the Russian population grew faster than the volume of its subjective pain senses decreased. Consequently, in 2012 the Russian population felt a little less pain than it was 10 years ago. The level of people's physical and social activity increased faster than the volume of their subjective pain sensations decreased, although in absolute terms this volume decreased during 10 years.
The perceived role of emotional problems in the limitation of life-sustaining activity is in the fifth place among 8 parameters of the perceived life quality of the Russian population. The value of this role has been constantly falling for 10 years, reached 69,6%, decreasing by 8,94%, in 2012. The rate of this positive change is one of the largest in comparison with other parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population - 1.4 times above average according to 8 parameters of life quality. The value of this role was 30.4% lower than the lowest possible state (100%). The reduction of the role of emotional problems in the limitation of life-sustaining activity of the Russian population for 10 years was uneven. From 2002 to 2008 the value of this role increased by 8,14%, from 2008 to 2012 only by 0,8%, i.e. 10 times less. The rate of decrease in the value of this role in 4 years has fallen greatly, i.e., in essence, this decrease has stopped. It was connected with the economic crisis, which began at 2008 in Russia. It led to the fact that in the conditions of this crisis emotional experience intensified, and they increased the importance of the perceived role of emotional problems in limiting the life-sustaining activity of the Russian population.
At 2002, the importance of the perceived role of emotional problems in the limitation of life-sustaining activity of the Russian population was about 1.03 times below the average value of the life quality of the Russian population. From 2002 to 2008, there was a rapid decline in the importance of this role and by 2008 it became 1.02 times higher than the average value of life quality. From 2008 to 2012, the decrease in the importance of this role has essentially stopped, and its condition has become roughly equal to the average value of the quality of life of the Russian population in general. However, the rate of decreasing the value of this role was high. Consequently, for 10 years the physical health of the Russian population improved - emotional problems hindered people to perform their professional duties and other activities much less and limited their activities less.
The perceived mental health is in the sixth place among the 8 parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population. During 10 years, its level constantly increased, reaching the value of 63.4% in 2012 with an increase of 4.8%. The rate of the positive change of this parameter is one of the lowest in comparison with other parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population - 1.3 times below average according to eight parameters of life quality. The level of the perceived mental health was 36.6% less than the greatest possible condition (100%). However, the increase in the level of the perceived mental health of the Russian population during 10 years was uneven. From 2002 to 2008, it increased by 3.37%, from 2008 to 2012 only by 1.43%, i.e. 2.36 times less. During 4 years the rate of increase of this level has fallen. It was influenced by the economic crisis that began at 2008 in Russia. It led to the increase of mental tension among the Russian population during this period due to unfavorable economic conditions – the reduction of wages, the growth of unemployment, the uncertainty of the future, which undermined mental health of people.
The level of the perceived mental health of the Russian population at 2002 was about 1.07 times lower than the average quality of life in general. From 2002 to 2012, this level grew slower than the level of the life quality of the Russian population in general, so at 2012 the value of this parameter decreased in regards to the average value of quality of life and became 1.09 times lower than this value. On the average, the perceived quality of life of the Russian population grew faster than the level of the perceived mental health of the Russian population increased. Consequently, in general, by 2012, the level of the perceived mental health of the Russian population has become higher than it was 10 years ago. However, the economic crisis did not allow this level to grow higher.
The perceived general health is in the seventh place among the 8 parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population. During 10 years, this level constantly increased, reached the value of 60.75% at 2012 and became 5.31% higher. The rate of this positive change is below average in comparison with the change of the other parameters of the perceived life quality of the Russian population - 1.2 times (6.4%) below average according to 8 parameters of life quality. The level of general health of the Russian population was 40.25% less than the highest possible value (100%). The increase in the level of the perceived general health of the Russian population during 10 years was uneven. From 2002 to 2008, it increased by 2.77%, from 2008 to 2012 - by 2.54%. During the 4 years, the rate of increase of this level remained almost unchanged. The economic crisis that started in Russia in 2008 did not affect it.
The level of the perceived general health of the Russian population at 2002 was about 1.13 times lower than the average quality of life in general. From 2002 to 2012, this level grew slower than the level of the life quality of the Russian population in general, so at 2012 the value of this parameter decreased in regards to the average value of quality of life and became 1.16 times lower than this value. In general, the perceived quality of life of the Russian population grew faster than the level of the perceived general health of the Russian population. Nevertheless, at 2012 the level of the perceived general health of the Russian population became noticeably higher than it was 10 years ago. It grew faster than the perceived mental health increased and subjective pains diminished. During 10 years, there was an accelerated increase in the level of the perceived general health due to the rapid reduction of the importance of the perceived role of physical and emotional problems in limiting the life-sustaining activity of the Russian population. I.e. from the physical and emotional points of view, people felt better than from mental.
The eighth place among the 8 parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population is held by the viability, i.e. the level of the perceived vitality - the amount of time when a person felt cheerful and full of energy. During 10 years, this level constantly increased, reached the value of 59.9% in 2012 and became 5.4% higher. The rate of the positive change of this parameter is lower than the rate of other parameters of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population - 1.18 times below average according to 8 parameters of life quality. The level of viability of the Russian population was 40.1% less than the highest possible value (100%). However, the increase in the level of the perceived viability of the Russian population during 10 years was uneven. From 2002 to 2008, it increased by 4.38%, from 2008 to 2012 only by 1.1%, i.e. about 4 times less. During 4 years the rate of increase of this level has fallen. It was influenced by the economic crisis that began at 2008 in Russia. It led to the fact that during this period the role of physical and emotional problems, mental tension among the Russian population grew, so people felt cheerful and full of strength less time.
The integrated index (average value) of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population changed in accordance with the change of its eight parameters. During 10 years, this level constantly increased, reached the value of 69.2% in 2012 and became 6.4% higher. The value of the integrated index of the life quality of the Russian population was 30.8% lower than the highest possible condition (100%). During 10 years, the increase in this value was uneven. From 2002 to 2008, it increased by 4.6%, from 2008 to 2012 only by 1.8%, i.e. about 2.5 times less. During 4 years, the rate of increase of this value has significantly decreased. It was influenced by the economic crisis that began at 2008 in Russia. It led to the fact that during this period the improvement of the state of the majority of the 8 parameters constituting the quality of life either slowed or stopped.
With the increase of age, stratification on the perceived quality of life of the Russian population grew. This stratification has also increased due to the economic crisis in Russia, which began at 2008. Stratification on the perceived quality of life was determined not only by age changes among the Russian population but also by the difference in the influence of social factors on people. In general, during 10 years, stratification according to the quality of life was greater for women than for men.
The change in the perceived quality of life of the Russian population significantly varied depending on its socio-demographic and territorial characteristics. For women, the perceived quality of life has grown faster than for men, although it has always remained below the average value in Russia. The significant deterioration of the perceived quality of life for men and women began after 44 years. Due to the number of components, this process begins earlier for women than for men (after 34 years according to the general health, the amount of subjective pain, vitality, social activity). In the city, the perceived quality of life of the Russian population is higher than in the village. The place of residence affects the quality of life for women only. It is harder for women to tolerate unfavorable social conditions of life. By 2012, the influence of women's place of residence on the level of their perceived quality of life had decreased. Living conditions in the village began to improve.
The results of the study of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population show that from 2002 to 2012 it constantly grew. In general, the stratification according to the perceived quality of life among the Russian population has decreased. At the same time, it did not change or worsened in the most components for the population groups with the low and very low perceived quality of life. These groups of the population fell to the "bottom" according to the state of the perceived quality of life.
The increase in the value of the eight parameters composing the perceived quality of life occurred largely in accordance with the nature of the increase in the average wage and the old-age retirement pension. From 2002 to 2008, they increased by 4 and 7.7 times, respectively, whereas from 2008 to 2012, in connection with the economic crisis that started in Russia at 2008, they grew significantly slower - 1.5 and 2 times, respectively. This nonconformity has predetermined the uneven growth of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population during 10 years. The perceived quality of life grew most rapidly in the period from 2002 to 2008, when the state of the eight parameters characterizing the content of the perceived quality of life was improving. These years have been the most prosperous from the point of view of its increase. From 2008 to 2012, the improvement of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population slowed down significantly in all its parameters. People were affected by the 2008 economic crisis not equally.
The improvement of eight parameters characterizing the content of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population during 10 years was uneven. The greatest contribution to the improvement of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population was made by the reduction of the role of physical problems in limitation of life-sustaining activity, i.e. improvement of the physical well-being of people. At the same time, it became more dependent on the level of income compared to what it was 10 years ago. This is due, not least, to the increased commercialization of health care.
One of the biggest contributions to the improvement of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population was made by the reduction of the role of emotional problems in the limitation of life-sustaining activity, i.e. emotional problems limited everyday activities of people much less. They have become more emotionally stable.
During 10 years, increasing the level of such components of the perceived life quality as physical activity, social activity, general health and viability years was much slower than the two components mentioned above. Mainly, it took place in the pre-crisis period – from 2002 to 2008.
The least contribution to the improvement of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population was the improvement of mental health. The positive change of this parameter became slower than for all other components of the quality of life. The sense of calm and tranquility of the Russian population grew much slower than the wages and labor pensions. The growth of their amount is not the determining factor in the improvement of mental health of the Russian population. There is no group of people in Russia, men and women, who would feel completely calm and peaceful.
The integrated index (average value) of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population changed in accordance with the change of its eight parameters. During 10 years, this level constantly increased, reached the value of 69.2% in 2012 and became 6.4% higher. However, the increase in the level of the perceived life quality of the Russian population during 10 years was uneven. From 2002 to 2008, it increased approximately 2.5 times in comparison with the period from 2008 to 2012. This was influenced by the economic crisis that began in 2008 in Russia. It led to the fact that during this period the improvement of the state of the majority of the 8 parameters constituting the quality of life either slowed or stopped.
The state of the perceived quality of life of the Russian population is affected by a number of social factors characterizing the social situation of people. The higher the level of income per one family member, the higher the perceived quality of life of Russian population. The impact of income on the perceived quality of life increased markedly by 2012 compared to 2002. It has become more dependent on the level of income compared to what it was 10 years ago. One of the reasons for this dependence is the increase of commercialization of health care, education, constant growth of prices for goods and services. The impact of income per one family member on the perceived life quality of women is more significant than that of men. Women tolerate poverty harder - it has a stronger impact on their health and even worsens it. For men, the poverty means an increase in physical activity that undermines their health.
Life quality of unemployed people is lower, compared to working people. The impact of professional employment on the quality of life of the Russian population has significantly decreased in 2012 in comparison with 2002. Among the population of Russia, there was a group of people whose material situation does not depend on professional employment and thus it does not affect the state of their perceived quality of life.
The higher the level of education of people is, the higher their perceived quality of life is. Moreover, its influence within 10 years has increased. The level of education began to determine the content of work, physical activity, wage level and income per person in the family. With the rise in prices of goods and services from 2002 to 2012, it became harder for people with low income to afford them. Therefore, this has led to an increase in the influence of education on the perceived quality of life of the Russian population. Women with higher education haves the higher perceived quality of life than women with only secondary education. At the same time, the level of education does not affect the quality of life of men.
For married people, the perceived quality of life is higher than that for unmarried people; however, this connection works only for men. The presence of children in the family enhances women's quality of life compared to women who do not have children living in the family. At the same time, the quality of life of men is almost unaffected by the presence of children in the family.
Dependence of the perceived quality of life of the adult Russian population on the level of income, education, professional employment, place of residence, marital status is caused by the influence of these factors on the complete satisfaction of life needs of people. The more fully the life needs of people are satisfied, the higher the perceived quality of life is. At the same time, the full satisfaction of the necessities of life influences the level of the perceived quality of life of women stronger compared to men. Women are more sensitive than men to the full satisfaction of their necessities of life.
The analysis of the research results shows what high-priority tasks should be solved in order to improve the perceived quality of life of the Russian population now and in the near future.
First, it is necessary to improve the mental health of the Russian population, to create conditions for the appearance of a sense of calm. To solve this problem it is necessary to ensure political and economic stability in the development of the Russian society and the state, to increase the level of the spiritual and material well-being. This will reduce the level of mental tension in society, the concern of people for their present and future.
It is also important to reduce the amount of subjective pain senses of the Russian population. These feelings arise due to low income per family member and uncertainty in the preservation of job. Increasing the level of wages and pensions at present and reasonable expectations of this in the long term will allow, in many ways, to reduce the amount of subjective pain senses of people. At the same time, it is necessary to increase the level of medical care in Russia and reduce the commercial medical burden on people.
Raising the level of mental health and reducing the amount of subjective pain of the Russian population will decrease the role of the perceived physical and emotional problems in the limitation of life-sustaining activity, increase physical and social activity, general health and vitality. Thereby, this will increase the perceived quality of life in general.
Ayvazyan, S.A. (2012). Analysis of the quality and lifestyle of the population, Central Economics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. - Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.)
Bell, D. (1999). The future post-industrial society. Experience of social prediction: Per. With
English. M.: Academia. (In Russ.)
Boytsov, B. V., Kryanev, Yu. V., Kuznetsov, M.A. (2004). Quality of life. Moscow. (In Russ.)
Campbell, A. (1981). The Sense of Well-being in America: Recent patterns and trends. – NY.
Campbell, A., Converse P.E., Rodgers W.L. (1976). The Quality of American Life. NY.
European Social Survey. (2018), Retrieved from http://www.ess-ru.ru/index.php?id=334. (In Russ.)
European Quality of Life Survey 2016 - Data visualization, Retrieved from https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/data/european-quality-of-life-survey. (In Russ.)
Filippenko, S. (2003).The main directions of improving the quality of life in the regions, Social Policy and Social Partnership. №3. (In Russ.)
Forrester, D. (2003). World Dynamics: Trans. with English.M: AST; SPb.: Terra Fantasstica. (In Russ.)
Galbraith, J.K. (1958). The Affluent Society. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Hagerty, Michael R. (2001). Quality of life indexes for national policy: review and agenda for
research / M.R. Hagerty, R.A. Cummins, A.L. Ferriss, Social Indicators Research. №2.
Nagymova, A.M. (2010). Sociological analysis of the quality of life of the population: a
regional aspect, Kazan: Kazan. State University. (In Russ.)
Parsons, T. (2004).Coordinate system of action and the general theory of systems: culture,
personality and place of social systems.- In the collection: American sociological thought:
Texts, Ed. V.I. Dobrenkov. M. (In Russ.)
Pigou, A. (1985). Economic welfare theory. - М.: Publishing house Progress. (In Russ.)
Income policy and quality of life of the population. (2003). Ed. ON. Gorelov. - St. Petersburg:
Peter. (In Russ.)
IQ Rewiew, 2014-2015 // What is the real average salary in Russia - is Rosstat lying? Retrieved from http://iqreview.ru/economy/average-salary-in-russia-2015/#___2014-2015 (In Russ.)
Russia distinguished itself by doubling billionaires. (2010), Nezavisimaya Gazeta, March 12. (In Russ.)
Rostow, Walt W. (1973). Politics and the stages of growth. - Moscow: Progress. (In Russ.)
Subetto, A.I. (2002).The quality of life and the security of Russia are the main functionals of
being and the criteria of the state's social and economic policy. Extract from the report at the
Fifth Congress of the Petrovsky Academy of Sciences and Arts. October 17, St. Petersburg. (In Russ.)
The ESS - European Social Survey, Retrieved from http://www.ess-ru.ru/index.php?id=334 (In Russ.)
Ware, J.E. (1993). Measuring patients’ views: the optimum outcome measure. SF 36: a valid,
reliable assessment of health from the patients’ point of view, BMJ. – V. 306.
Zarakovsky, G.M.(2009). Quality of life of the population of Russia: Psychological
components. - M.: Sense. (In Russ.)
1. Department of Sociology. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow. Head of Chair of Sociological Research Methodology. Full Professor, Contact e-mail: marfenka28@gmail.com
2. Department of Sociology. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow. Chair of Sociological Research Methodology. Associate Professor. Contact e-mail: valentina.sushko@gmail.com
3. In 2002, the research was financed by GLAXOSMITHKLINE. In 2008 and 2012 the research was financed by the Faculty of Sociology of Lomonosov Moscow State University).