Multidimensional construct of life satisfaction in older adults in Korea: a six-year follow-up study

Abstract

BackgroundAging raises wide-ranging issues within social, economic, welfare, and health care systems. Life satisfaction (LS) is regarded as an indicator of quality of life which, in turn, is associated with mortality and morbidity in older adults. The objective of this study was to identify the relevant predictors of life satisfaction and to investigate changes in a multidimensional construct of LS over time.MethodsThis analysis utilized data from the large-scale, nationally representative Korean Retirement and Income Study (KReIS), a longitudinal survey conducted biennially from 2005 to 2011. Outcome measures were degree of satisfaction with health, economic status, housing, neighbor relationships, and family relationships. GEE models were used to investigate changes in satisfaction within each of the five domains.ResultsOf a total 3531 individuals aged 65 or older, 2083 (59%) were women, and the mean age was 72 (s.d = ±6) years. The majority had a spouse (60.8%) and lived in a rural area (58%). Analysis showed that physical and mental health were consistently and significantly associated with satisfaction in each of the domains after adjusting for potential confounders. Living in a rural area and living with a spouse were related to satisfaction with economic, housing, family relationships, and neighbor relationships compared to living in urban areas and living without a spouse; the only outcome that did not show relationship to these predictors was health satisfaction. Female and rural residents reported greater economic satisfaction compared to male and urban residents. Living in an apartment was associated with 1.32 times greater odds of economic satisfaction compared to living in a detached house (95% CI: 1.14–1.53; p < 0.0001). Economic satisfaction was also 1.62 times more likely among individuals living with a spouse compared to single households (95% CI: 1.35–1.96; p < 0.0001). Financial stress index value was found to be a significant predictor of satisfaction with family relationships.ConclusionsOur study indicates that a single domain of LS or overall LS will miss many important aspects of LS as age-related LS is multi-faceted and complicated. While most studies focus on overall life satisfaction, considering life satisfaction as multidimensional is essential to gaining a complete picture.

Effects of changes in family social capital on the self‐rated health and family life satisfaction of older adults in Taiwan: A longitudinal study

“…Adults’ independence from their parents in comparison with adolescents’ independence might explain the insignificant effect. Furthermore, the trend in SRH and family LS of Taiwanese older adults corroborates the results found in Western countries …”

“…Earlier research showed that getting along with adult children increased LS among Taiwanese older women, but this did not apply to the family LS of older adults. As shown in previous research, LS is a multidimensional construct . Financial strain is more related to family LS than to other dimensions of LS .…”

“…Family LS was evaluated by asking “How satisfied are you with your present family life?” This variable was collapsed into two categories: 0 for the unsatisfied (very unsatisfied, fairly unsatisfied) and 1 for the satisfied (fairly satisfied, very satisfied). Other studies on the LS of older adults dichotomized the responses in the same way …”

“…Other studies on the LS of older adults dichotomized the responses in the same way. 8 Predictors of health-related quality of life © 2019 Japan Geriatrics Society | 229…”

“…The increased proportion of the reporting of poor SRH with age is observed among those aged ≥50 years . Nevertheless, the trend in older adults’ family LS is relatively stable . When encountering the problem of population aging, previous research has paid more attention to the relevance of social capital outside of the family than to that inside the family.…”