Life Satisfaction Of Older Adults Research Articles

Sense of coherence moderates the relationship between life stress and natural killer cell activity in healthy older adults.

A sense of coherence (SOC) has been found to be a strong predictor of health outcomes and life satisfaction in older adults. This study investigated mood and immune effects of anticipated voluntary housing relocation in 30 healthy older adults and 28 age-matched controls and examined whether SOC would buffer effects of relocation on natural killer (NK) cell activity. Movers completed assessments and had blood drawn 1 month before relocation to congregate living facilities; controls were assessed concurrently. Compared with the control group, movers showed decreased positive mood and NK activity and elevated thought intrusion. Positive mood mediated the relationship of moving with NK activity, whereas SOC moderated this relationship. Low SOC movers had the poorest NK activity; that of high SOC movers was less compromised. These findings are consistent with possible salutogenic contributions of SOC and positive mood to immune function in older adults facing stressful life transitions.

Health, Finances, Religious Involvement, and Life Satisfaction of Older Adults

ABSTRACT This study examines the patterns and relationships between twelve independent variables and the expressed subjective well-being of older adults within that classic community setting of the Lynds' “Middletown.” The twelve variables include measures of church attendance, religious activity, religious conservatism/liberalism, subjective health status, social participation, importance of leisure, participation in physical activity, age, sex, marital status, and level of education.

Participation in Religious Education and Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults

ABSTRACT Participation in older adult Bible study groups was investigated as a possible correlate to life satisfaction. Two hundred eighty-seven adults, 60 years of age and older, completed the Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale (LSES). Results of an ANCOVA indicated that participation in Bible study groups relates positively and significantly to life satisfaction in older adults when adjusted for the health variable. Older adults who participated regularly in Bible study groups scored significantly higher on the LSES than older adults who did not participate regularly in Bible study groups although they regularly attended worship services. Results suggest that religious education participation and life satisfaction may be related in such a way as to offer implications for improving quality of life in later years.

The Relationship Between Time Spent by Older Adults in Leisure Activities and Life Satisfaction

This study looked at the relationship between time spent in leisure and the life satisfaction of older adults. Questionnaires regarding demographics, life satisfaction, and time spent in leisure were distributed to 51 subjects, age sixty and older. The hypothesis, life satisfaction is higher in older adults who spend a greater amount of time engaged in leisure activity each week, was tested at an alpha level of .05. The results from this study were not statistically significant, and the hypothesis was rejected; however, the life satisfaction of this group of subjects was found to be normal to high while their degree of leisure participation was also high.

Conversation as therapy for older adults in residential care: the case for intervention.

Social isolation resulting from sensory loss tends to reduce life satisfaction in older adults. Residence in a long-term care facility such as a nursing home does little to alleviate their communication needs. Potenial communication partners are available (e.g. other residents, family and friends, nursing staff, volunteers, health-care workers), but many need instruction, counselling and feedback to become therapeutically effective. The speech pathologist's experience as both communication therapist and social facilitator can enhance consultation and staff training in this area.

The apprehensive respondent: Failing to rate future life satisfaction in older adults.

The apprehensive respondent: Failing to rate future life satisfaction in older adults.

The apprehensive respondent: failing to rate future life satisfaction in older adults.

Rating scales relating to the individual's past, present, and future were administered to subjects aged 60 to 90; those who completed all ratings (N = 589) were compared with others who specifically failed to rate the future (N = 150). The groups were differentiated by age, gender, health, and marital status. Total subjective well-being did not differ, but specific subjective well-being factors concerning time and aging could serve as discriminators. These differences suggest that these older adults might be apprehensive about their future, and that skipping future-related questions is a genuine reaction with both psychological and methodological implications.

Church Attendance, Religious Activities, and the Life Satisfaction of Older Adults in Middletown, U.S.A.

ABSTRACT The central focus of this study is to examine the patterns and relationships which may or may not exist between religious attendance and activity, sex, health, income, and age with regard to the sense of subjective well-being as expressed by older Middletowners. Based on a random sample of 400 persons, 60 years of age and older, a multiple regression analysis reveals that three variables account for the vast majority of variance in life satisfaction. Those variables are: SUBJECTIVE HEALTH STATUS, SATISFACTION WITH INCOME, and CHURCH ATTENDANCE. For those three variables R = .4780; R2 = .2284. When all seven independent variables were included R = .4851; R2 = .2351. In addition, further analysis was undertaken to examine the interrelationships between the seven independent variables.

The Impact of Creative Dance and Movement Training on the Life Satisfaction of Older Adults: An Exploratory Study

This study examined the impact of dance and movement training on the life satisfaction of older adults. Members of the experimental group participated in weekly dance and movement classes for 8 months. A matched comparison group was selected Members of both groups were pretested using a global measure of life satisfaction and the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale. Analysis of covariance revealed significant positive changes in life satisfaction in the experimental group when compared to the matched group (p = .05). Observations and verbal comments support these findings.

The role of psychology in the medical care of the older patient

The impact of familial attitudes toward normal and pathological aging on the health care and life satisfaction of older adults is reviewed both in the literature and by utilizing several representative case studies. The authors conclude that certain family attitudes and brief psychological intervention in the hospital setting can have a marked impact on the life satisfaction and happiness of older relatives.

The Study of the Relationship Between Wellness and Life Satisfaction of Older Adults

This study examines the relationship between the wellness status and life satisfaction of a sample of older adults (N = 180). Data was obtained by administering two instruments, the Self- responsibility for wellness measure (McConatha & McConatha, 1985) and the Life Satisfaction Index (Neugarten, Havighurst & To- bin, 1961). The results indicated that there was a positive significant relationship in the two variables, the implications of these results for the understanding and increasing the life satisfaction of older adults are discussed.

Social integration, leisure activity, and life satisfaction in older adults: activity theory revisited.

The relative contributions of objective integration, subjective integration, and total leisure activity to the life satisfaction of older adults are examined. A random sample of 400 persons ages forty through eighty-nine residing in a demographically typical midwestern city were interviewed by phone. Results show that Objective Integration does not contribute incrementally to Life Satisfaction except among males under age sixty-five. Subjective Integration, on the other hand, contributes significantly to Life Satisfaction of males and females under and over age sixty-five. Even when demographic variables, Objective Integration, and Subjective Integration are taken into account statistically, Total Leisure Activity contributes significantly to Life Satisfaction in all groups examined.

Health care environment and life satisfaction in the elderly

This study examines the impact of where health care is received on the life satisfaction of older adults. Using a questionnaire, this study surveyed 241 individuals receiving care in six health care environments. Life satisfaction was assessed using the Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale. Results indicated that individuals residing in long-term care facilities have higher overall levels of well-being. Those receiving home health care had the lowest. Score patterns are reviewed and possible explanations discussed.

Cognitive dissonance and the life satisfaction of older adults.

This article examines the implications of consistency theory with regard to the life satisfaction of older adults. Pre-and post-retirement interviews with 114 older males in an urban area of central Missouri were subjected to investigation. With the exception of the family area, pre-and post-retirement analysis yielded little support for the consistency hypothesis (i.e., expectational disconfirmation will be accompanied by negative changes in life satisfaction). Instead, some evidence was displayed which indicates the type of disconfirmation to be more central to the explanation of life satisfaction change than disconfirmation per se. In the family, for instance, the more positive the disconfirmation indicated, the more negative the change evidenced in life satisfaction. For voluntary association and community sectors, on the other hand, disconfirmation (both positive and negative) as well as the specific type of disconfirmation bore little relationship to the issue of satisfaction change. The findings do, however, suggest differential “rewards” to characterize the role areas in question.