Self-assessment of health status and its relationship with psychological and sociocultural values in elderly residents of Petrozavodsk

Abstract

AIM: To analyze the relationship between the subjective assessment of their health status by elderly citizens of Petrozavodsk and the indicators of their personal and sociocultural values.
 MATERIAL AND METHODS: Psychological characteristics, leisure activity, and subjective assessment of the health of 411 elderly people were studied through medical and sociological questioning. These people consisted of residents of the city of Petrozavodsk (men: 32.6% [n=134]; women: 67.4% [n=277]). The average age of the respondents was 64.436.57 years.
 RESULTS: Elderly citizens have predominantly internal personal characteristics: responsibility (48.42%), diligence (41.36%), and accuracy (35,04% of respondents). Responsibility (p=0.021) and accuracy (p=0.017) significantly dominate in women, and courage (p=0.001), purposefulness (p=0.002), and efficiency in business (p=0.043) dominate in men. The prioritized ways of organizing their free time are passive forms: communicating with friends and relatives (24.09%), watching TV (20.68%), and reading (17.76% of respondents). Gender specificity is determined only in the following positions: visiting exhibitions and theater and concert performances (p=0.044), reading (p=0.008), and communication (p=0.041), with a predominance of women. A satisfactory subjective assessment of the health status of older Petrozavodsk residents is in direct proportion to their sociocultural values and is not associated with their psychological values.
 CONCLUSIONS: Among the elderly of Petrozavodsk, a satisfactory subjective assessment of the state of health has a healthy significantly positive correlation with sociocultural values in the absence of a statistically significant relationship with their psychological characteristics. Responsibility, diligence, and accuracy are the leading psychological characteristics of the elderly residents of Petrozavodsk. At the same time, responsibility and accuracy prevail in women, but courage, determination, and efficiency in business prevail in men. The most frequent activities older people engage in during their free time are live communication, watching TV shows, and reading. Gender specificity can be traced only in the positions of visiting exhibition and theater and concert productions, reading, and live communication. These preferences prevail in women. The revealed trends of personal properties and sociocultural characteristics are associated with the health status of elderly people. These trends may be in demand for the construction of population strategies for medical, psychological, pedagogical, and social rehabilitation among this age cohort of the population. These strategies aim to prevent diseases and improve the quality of life within the framework of the concept of successful aging.