Determinants of quality of life of youths in an English-speaking Caribbean nation

BACKGROUND: Studies on quality of life (QoL) on youths are limited and have not examined determinants of QoL for this cohort. AIMS: The current study seeks to examine the QoL of Jamaican youths and to build a model that identifies factors that explain QoL. MATERIALS AND METHOD: During the period June to August 2006, the Centre of Leadership and Governance, Department of Government, at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, conducted a stratified random probability survey of 1,338 respondents. Data were collected using a 166-item questionnaire. Of the sampled population (N=1,338), the proportion of those respondents age 18 to 25 years was 27% (N=364) and this constitutes the sample for the current study. The data were stored and retrieved in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 12). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data, and logistic regression was used to establish the model. RESULTS: The quality of life of Jamaican youths was determined by 4 factors which explain 20% of the variability in quality of life. The parents’ economic wellbeing has the most influence on the quality of life of Jamaican youths (OR=1.348; 95% CI: 1.35, 3.04), followed by moderate religiosity (OR=3.594; 95% CI: 1.47, 8.82), the extent of the welfarism of the state (OR=5.273; 95% CI: 1.04, 1.69) and gender (OR = 1.329, 95% CI = 1.04, 1.69). CONCLUSION: The current work has offered us an understanding of the determinants of QoL of youths and how interventions can be planned for in the future.