The Relationship Between Perceptions of Social Service Quality and Subjective Well-Being

How people perceive the quality of social services and how that influences their subjective well-being, or vice versa, is a topic that has received little attention in the literature. We explored these questions using a multilevel data analysis from the 2016 European Quality of Life Survey. We also used diffusion maps to get new insights arising from the data. While the correlations were statistically significant in both directions, the influence of perceptions of social service quality on subjective well-being seemed more prominent. Furthermore, types of service (especially childcare and education) and welfare regimes significantly impacted the relationship between perceptions of social service quality and subjective well-being. People with lower subjective well-being had more homogenous perceptions of the quality of social services than those with higher subjective well-being. Our study makes empirical and theoretical contributions to the social policy literature. The findings also have practical implications for policymakers.