Abstract
BackgroundThe happiness of older adults living alone warrants attention because they are more vulnerable to unhappiness than those living with families. The present study aimed to construct and test a structural equation model to elucidate the relationship among participation in social activities, satisfaction with the neighborhood environment, subjective health status, and happiness in older adults living alone in South Korea.MethodsSecondary data of 2768 older adults (605 males and 2163 females) living on their own were extracted from the 2017 Korean Community Health Survey and used in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected via self-reported questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and AMOS version 20.0.ResultsThe hypothetical model exhibited a good fit: χ2 = 342.06 (df = 58, p < .001), goodness-of-fit index = .98, adjected goodness-of-fit index = .97, root mean square error of approximation = .04, and nonstandard fit index = .92. Participation in social activities had a significant effect on participants’ subjective health status (path coefficient = .45, p = .001) and happiness (path coefficient = .20, p = .003).ConclusionsInterventions to improve the health and happiness of older adults living alone should aim to enhance their social and physical environmental dimensions based on the participants’ various social activities and their neighborhoods’ characteristics.
Highlights
The happiness of older adults living alone warrants attention because they are more vulnerable to unhappiness than those living with families
This study aimed to develop and test a structural equation model describing the structural relationship among personal aspects, environmental aspects, subjective health status, and happiness in older adults living alone in Korea
The skewness ranged from −.77 to .72, and kurtosis ranged from −.67 to 1.8, which indicates that the data met the normal distribution
Summary
The happiness of older adults living alone warrants attention because they are more vulnerable to unhappiness than those living with families. The present study aimed to construct and test a structural equation model to elucidate the relationship among participation in social activities, satisfaction with the neighborhood environment, subjective health status, and happiness in older adults living alone in South Korea. Kim [9] suggested that household income, depression, subjective stress levels, subjective health levels, quality of life, and lack of required medical services influence the happiness of adults aged 65 years and over and living alone. The World Health Organization [15] identified health and social services, behavioral determinants, personal determinants, physical environment, social determinants, and economic determinants as factors affecting happy and active aging [16] Such findings suggest that social participation, housing environment, and health status are the major factors influencing happiness in older adults living alone. In listing the factors influencing happiness in older adults, it is important to understand the structural relevance of these factors
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