한국 노인의 삶의 만족도와 영향 요인은 시대에 따라 어떻게 변화했는가?

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to compare the life satisfaction and its influencing factors between the elderly population in 2011 and in 2020, when the baby boom generation entered. Through this comparison, it was intended to provide basic data necessary for setting the direction of education and welfare policies targeting the elderly in the future.
 Methods This study analyzed the factors affecting the life satisfaction of the elderly, categorizing them into three areas: health, education, and social relationships. The study included a total of 10,675 participants from the Elderly Survey in 2011 and 10,097 participants from 2020. Differences in the general characteristics of the two generations of elderly, such as residential area, marital status, educaitonal level, and lifelong learning participation, were analyzed. The levels of the life satisfaction and its influencing factors were analyzed using one-sample-t tests to examine the differences between the two time periods. Furthermore, this study analyzed how various variables in the domains of health, education, and social relationships differed in their impact on life satisfaction across different time periods.
 Results Compared to the elderly in 2011, the elderly in 2020 showed significant improvements in their educational level, life satisfaction, and health-related areas such as overall health status, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL), and cognitive function. On the other hand, depression and the number of chronic diseases decreased. In the domain of education, both educational attainment and lifelong learning participation improved. In the social relationships domain, both family relationships and interpersonal relationships of the elderly decreased. In both 2011 and 2020, overall health status, cognitive function, the number of chronic diseases, educational attainment, and family relationships all influenced the life satisfaction of the elderly.
 Conclusions Future educational and welfare policies targeting the elderly should take into account the changing characteristics of the elderly population and be based on higher educational levels. In addition, social efforts are needed to improve the overall health status, cognitive function, number of chronic diseases, educational attainment, and family relationships in order to enhance the life satisfaction of the elderly.