Social Group Differences in Influencing Factors for Chinese Urban Residents’ Subjective Well-Being: From the Perspective of Social Stratification

With the great pressure of modern social life, the problem of residents’ subjective well-being has attracted scholars’ attention. Against the background of institutional transformation, China has a special social stratification structure. The socio-economic resources and living needs of different social classes are different, resulting in differences in the level of subjective well-being and the influencing factors for this. Taking Guangzhou as an example, based on the data of a household survey conducted in 2016, this paper obtains the social hierarchical structure through two-step clustering, and explores the differences between influencing factors for subjective well-being using multiple linear regression models. The clustering results divided Guangzhou urban residents into four classes: retirees, white-collar workers outside the system, manual workers and white-collar workers inside the system. The subjective well-being of white-collar workers inside the system and manual workers is high. The subjective well-being of white-collar workers outside the system is below the average value, and retirees have poor subjective well-being. The results of the regression analysis show that the subjective well-being of all social classes could be improved by active participation in fitness exercises, harmonious neighborhood relationships and a central residential location. Health-related factors such as physical health, sleeping time and density of neighborhood medical facilities, have a significant impact on manual workers’ subjective well-being. An increase in the density of neighborhood leisure facilities could help to improve the subjective well-being of white-collar workers outside the system. However, this would inhibit the subjective well-being of white-collar workers within the system. By revealing the differences in influencing factors for different social groups’ subjective well-being, the research conclusions could provide a reference for the formulation of targeted policies and measures to improve residents’ subjective well-being in urban China.