Abstract
Objective: This study aimed to explore the relationship between life meaning and subjective well-being among older people and the mediating role of subjective exercise identification and objective amount of exercise.Methods: A total of 352 older respondents completed four questionnaires: the Chinese life meaning scale, the University of Newfoundland Happiness Scale, the physical activity habits questionnaire, and the exercise identification questionnaire designed for this study.Results: Gender differences existed in the respondents' perception of life meaning, and men had a better perception of life meaning (t = 2.28, SE = 0.63, p < 0.05). There were age differences in the subjective well-being of older people (F = 5.69, partial η2 = 0.03, p < 0.01); the subjective well-being of older individuals steadily declines with rising age. Life meaning not only directly affected the subjective well-being of the respondents but also indirectly influenced their subjective well-being through the following three pathways: life meaning → exercise identification → subjective well-being (mediating effect of 22%); life meaning → amount of exercise → subjective well-being (mediating effect of 22%); and life meaning → exercise identification → amount of exercise → subjective well-being (serial multiple mediation effect of 27%).Conclusion: The more positive the life meaning perception of older people is, the higher their experience of subjective well-being. For older people to sense the meaning of life, we recommend that they realize the importance of physical activities and take the initiative to engage in physical activities to obtain higher subjective well-being.
Highlights
According to recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China [1], the number of people in China has exceeded 240 million, accounting for 17.3% of the total population, and the number of people aged 65 years or above is nearly 160 million, representing 11.4% of the total population
Analysis of the Age Difference in Life Meaning and Subjective Well-Being Among Older People Using ANOVA, we found that older people of different ages exhibited no significant difference in life meaning perception [F(2, 349) = 2.63, partial η2 = 0.02, p > 0.05]
The results showed that the unconstrained model was equal to the model of the structural weight; there was no significant difference in the factor load values of the older person’s model for different genders
Summary
According to recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China [1], the number of people in China has exceeded 240 million, accounting for 17.3% of the total population, and the number of people aged 65 years or above is nearly 160 million, representing 11.4% of the total population. Steger et al [4] define it as individuals’ perceptions of themselves as human beings, the essence of their existence, and the things that are the most important to them It includes two dimensions: existential meaning and search for meaning. Existential meaning is the degree to which an individual perceives his or her life as meaningful, while the search for meaning is the degree to which an individual actively searches for the meaning of life and emphasizes the process [5] Both life meaning and subjective well-being are regarded as the most important components of a happy life [6], important qualities of an individual’s positive psychology and the cornerstone of a better life [7]. Older people with a high life significance score hold optimistic and positive attitudes toward life and are less likely to feel lonely [12]
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