Interaction of Sociological and Ecological Variables Affecting Women's Satisfaction in Brasilia

An attempt is made to show how the satisfaction of women in a newly constructed Ur center in Central Brazil is affected by the sector of residence & by related SE & sociol'al variables. It is further assumed that satisfaction with a place of residence is a generalized feeling which arises from a combination of the diff aspects of the relationship of the person to his environment. This feeling seems to be affected by the individual's relationship with work & other instrumental activities, by his physical environment, & by his access to soc & recreational opportunities. A sample of Ur wives was obtained from 1% of the households in the central city & in the major satellite cities of Brasilia in Sep, 1966. Precoded schedules for 329 wives were admin'ed & completed by trained interviewers. The measure of satisfaction was shown to be an index based upon a series of 4 questions, 3 of which refer to the R's feelings about his present situation & one referring to his anticipation of the future. More specifically these indicators were: happiness (in general), expectations, evaluation of the move itself, & intentions of moving. 4 hyp's emerged which were later tested: (1) the higher the ES of the fam, the greater the wife's satisfaction; (2) the greater the improvements in material & soc conditions, the greater the degree of satisfaction; (3) contact with friends & relatives is positively associated with wife's satisfaction; & (4) favorable evaluation of one's neighbors in the new area is positively associated with satisfaction. For the total sample there was little support for these hyp's. In fact, the conclusion was drawn that both the SE & socio-psychol'al variables used explain little of wife's satisfaction with Brasilia. 11 Tables. J. Karmen.