Correlates and Components of Subjective Well-Being Among the Elderly

Abstract

Interest in the subjective well-being of the elderly was kindled by social gerontologists'efforts to test theories of successful aging and to improve the quality of life of older people. Although a large body of studies have been amassed, critics have commented that this literature is contradictory and noncumulative. We review research on correlates and components of subjective well-being among the elderly. Drawing on quantitative and narrative reviews, we find that associations between indicators of subjective well-being and variables often correlated with them are generally weak. Our synthesis offactor analytic investigations among the elderly reveals that scales have more than one factor, and positive affect, negative affect, and cognition are components of subjective well-being. Implications are noted for understanding the relation between the objective environment and subjective well-being, program evaluation, and enhancing subjective well-being.

Dynamic Factor Analysis of Worldviews/Religious Beliefs and Well-Being among Older Adults

“…No indirect effect of worldviews/religious beliefs on physical and psychological well-being was found in concurrent or lagged relationships. The significant direct effect of worldviews/ religious beliefs on physical performance measures is in line with previous research findings that showed a significant positive relationship between religious beliefs and physical health but failed to show a significant relationship between religious beliefs and psychological well-being among older adults (e.g., Courtenay et al 1992;Hannay 1980; Koenig et al 1996;Levin and Markides 1986;Okun and Stock 1987). These results are inconsistent with some prior studies showing that individuals with higher levels of religious beliefs reported greater psychological well-being (e.g., Ellison 1991;Levin et al 1995).…”

Envejecimiento y bienestar: Avances en investigación

“…Existe evidencia empírica de que ambos componentes están relacionados (Beiser, 1974;Diener, 1994;Kushman & Lane, 1980), pero tal y como indican otros autores, como De Haes, Pennink & Welwaart (1987) ;Stock, Okun & Benin (1986); Okun & Stock (1987), también habría motivos para evaluarlos por separado, ya que muestran diferentes evoluciones a lo largo del tiempo, así como distintos patrones de relación con otras variables psicológicas.…”

Análisis del bienestar en la vejez según la edad

“…Este tipo de bienestar incluye un componente emocional o afectivo, relacionado con los sentimientos de placer y displacer que experimenta la persona y que comprendería el concepto de felicidad, y un componente de carácter cognitivo referido al juicio que merece a la persona su trayectoria evolutiva, es decir, lo que tradicionalmente se ha denominado satisfacción vital 8,9 . Este tipo de bienestar con respecto a su relación con la edad y cómo evoluciona parece mostrar una aparente estabilidad 10,11 .…”