Relationship between the perception of aging and life satisfaction in healthy older adults

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the association between the perception of aging and life satisfaction in healthy older adults. Method: The sample consisted of 1015 older adults who attended the Active Maturity groups of the Social Service of Commerce of Rio Grande do Sul (SESC/RS), Brazil. The Generalized Anxiety Inventory, Self-Esteem Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, General Health Inventory (GHQ12) and Social Well-Being Scale were used. For data analysis, Pearson's correlation was used to assess the correlation between life satisfaction and the perception of aging. Logistic regression was also performed to assess factors associated with life satisfaction. Results: In general, the elderly had a good perception of health, 88.1% considered it good to excellent. The self-perception of the quality of aging highlighted as good or excellent was 94.6%. It is important to highlight that the elderly with a poor perception of aging were three times more likely to have dissatisfaction with life. As for social support, all elderly people have someone to count on when they need help. Regarding the emotional and psychological aspects, it was found that most of the elderly had anxiety (24.82±2.97); perceived stress (45.24±5.23); social welfare (72.33±0.28); subjective well-being (30.83±3.50;). In addition, most of the elderly practiced physical activity and had lived in the groups for more than 4 years. Conclusion: The elderly had a healthy profile and it was found that the perception of old age has an impact on the satisfaction with the life of the elderly.