This paper aims to identify the determinants of life satisfaction among older Filipino people. It uses a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative analyses in an embedded design. Using data from the 2007 Philippine Study on Aging (PSOA), the study used bivariate analysis and binomial logistic regression analysis to show the significance of the following in achieving life satisfaction—sex, education, marital status, self-assessed health status, chewing ability, depression symptoms, difficulty in performing activities in daily living, bodily pain, emotional support, and adequacy of household income in meeting household expenses. An in-depth interview of six purposively sampled older Filipino people also reveals how life satisfaction is affected by personal circumstances, and socio-cultural and economic contexts.
Keywords: life satisfaction, older Filipinos, aging in the Philippines
BIONOTE
Genny G. BANDOLES is a Senior Science Research Specialist at the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD), Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines.
When studying a religion in any society, a basic unit of analysis would be its followers and their ability to harmoniously co-exist and interact with one another. In Islam, intrafaith marriage is an example of this unit. Throughout the Islamic world, most Muslims belong to the Sunni sect, with a significant minority made up of about 15 percent of the population belonging to the Shia sect. However, the relationship between the two sects has been a topic fraught with controversy. Marriages between Sunnis and Shias illustrate the sensitivity of the sectarian divide. Some hardline Sunni Muslim clerics opine that Sunni-Shia marriages are not allowed in Islam as Shi’ism is seen as a deviation from Islam. This article sought to address the question of why and how Sunni-Shia marriages take place despite mistrust between the two communities. It also attempted to capture alternatives to mainstream sociological trends in family formation within the Islamic community where Muslims, as with any other group of people, may choose to marry someone more similar in terms of various social categories such as cultural background and theological belief.
Keywords: Sunni-Shia relations, marriage in Islam, Singapore, religion and marriage
BIONOTE
Syed Imad ALATAS is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. His research interests include the sociology of religion and gender, topics he enjoys writing on in academic and non-academic settings. His master’s thesis at the National University of Singapore, which was recently published as a book, focused on female Muslim NGOs in Malaysia and their discourses on marital issues and gender relations. Prior to commencing his master’s studies, he worked at the Middle East Institute at NUS, where he oversaw the institute’s publications and was in charge of the internship program. He has written for journals such as Kajian Malaysia, Asia-Pacific Social Science Review, and the Southeast Asian Social Science Review. Outside academia, he writes for publications such as Free Malaysia Today, Malay Mail, The Star, and Karyawan in Singapore.
Written by Veronica L. GREGORIO and Cleve V. ARGUELLES
LINK TO ARTICLE
EXCERPT
In making sense of families in present-day Asia, we look at both the effects of rapid modernization of and in Asia and its consequent ideational shifts as well as the persisting sociological and political trajectories that continue to shape family norms in this part of the world. This Asian Studies Special Issue on Families in Asia specifically gathers the latest empirical research and informed reflections on the themes of cultural shifts, inequalities, and politics within the family in the region.
ABOUT THE ISSUE EDITORS
Veronica L. GREGORIO is a Lecturer (Social Sciences) at the College of Humanities and Sciences, National University of Singapore. Her thematic research interests include gender and sexuality, family sociology, and youth studies, with a regional focus on Southeast Asia. She has conducted fieldwork in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore, utilizing ethnographic, visual, and digital methodologies. Her research has been published in academic journals, including Current Sociology, Review of Women's Studies, Philippine Sociological Review, and Simulacra Jurnal Sosiologi. Her latest work is the co-edited volume, Resilience and Familism: The Dynamic Nature of Families in the Philippines published by Emerald Publishing in 2023.
Cleve V. ARGUELLES writes on political and social change in the Philippines and Southeast Asia. He is President and Chief Executive Officer of WR NUMERO, Assistant Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Development Studies at the De La Salle University, and a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Political and Social Change, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University.
