Age, ethnicity, life events and wellbeing among New Zealand women

Abstract

By the year 2030, 19–21 per cent of the population of New Zealand (NZ) is projected to be aged 65 and over. Like many countries, life expectancy in NZ differs by gender but also ethnicity: in 2019, life expectancy for Māori (indigenous) women was 77.1 years compared with 84.4 years for non-Māori women. If Māori and NZ European women are to flourish in later life, examining the factors associated with their wellbeing is paramount. The current study draws on the Life Course Perspective to explore how wellbeing is associated with age-related life events among mid- to later-life NZ women. The women in this study (N = 19,624) are participants in the 2018 wave of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, a national probabilistic 20-year longitudinal study (mean age = 55.62; Māori = 10.8%, NZ European = 89.2%). We found that stressful life events were negatively associated with life satisfaction but positively associated with meaning in life. Māori women exhibited lower levels of life satisfaction but there were no ethnic differences for meaning in life; however, Māori and NZ European women showed different patterns of significant correlates associated with meaning in life. Findings highlight the necessity of an intersectional approach to the study of mid- to later-life wellbeing and the utility of measuring wellbeing in more than one way within NZ's unique cultural-historical context.

Demographic Variables and Flourishing Among Elderly: A Review

“…Based on Keyes' findings (2009), we can conclude that ethnicity has a bearing in how flourishing is experienced. In a recent study by Newton et al (2022), results indicated that there are differences between two ethnic groups (mid-to later-life Māori and New Zealand European women) in levels of life satisfaction (hedonic well-being), but no difference between ethnicities in levels of meaning in life (eudaimonic well-being/flourishing).…”

“…Well-being and age are closely related (Newton, Howard, Houkamau, & Sibley, 2022). Newton et al (2022) study revealed that, age is positively correlated with well-being/flourishing (life satisfaction and meaning in life) among mid-to later-life New Zealand women (mean age = 55.62). Life satisfaction (hedonic well-being) was highly correlated with age, with older women showing greater levels than midlife women.…”

“…Although women typically outlive men, they frequently do so with higher rates of disease and disability (Crimmins & Beltrán-Sánchez, 2011), as well as the effects of limited life paths because of expectations for caregiving, lower wages, and intermittent work histories (Newton et al, 2022).…”