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

Hyun Ja Lim,Chel Hee Lee,Lilian Thorpe,Dae Kee Min

doi:10.1186/s12877-016-0369-0

Hyun Ja Lim, Chel Hee Lee + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-016-0369-0

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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.

Highlights

Aging raises wide-ranging issues within social, economic, welfare, and health care systems
In the older population, Life satisfaction (LS) should be considered as a multidimensional construct, including domains such as physical health, mental health, socio-economic status, social and family relationships, and the environment [6, 7]
In terms of household composition type, 40% were living with a spouse and 60% were either single or in a mixed arrangement living with others

Summary

Introduction

Aging raises wide-ranging issues within social, economic, welfare, and health care systems. Global aging raises wide-ranging issues within social, economic, welfare, and health care systems which impact older adults and their families [2]. In the older population, LS should be considered as a multidimensional construct, including domains such as physical health, mental health, socio-economic status, social and family relationships, and the environment [6, 7]. As these domains are known to impact health, LS might be used to predict mortality and morbidity in older adults [8,9,10]. Since both LS and health are frequently thought to decline with age, LS is a popular outcome variable for evaluating older people’s lives and typically reflects broad domains in community-based and population-based studies of older adults [6, 11]

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