scholarly journals Character Strengths and Life Satisfaction in Later Life: an Analysis of Different Living Conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Baumann ◽  
Willibald Ruch ◽  
Katja Margelisch ◽  
Fabian Gander ◽  
Lisa Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Living Conditions

Repartnering and trajectories of life satisfaction after separation and divorce in middle and later life

2021 ◽  
pp. 026540752110095
Author(s):  
Sandra Gloor ◽  
Stefanie Gonin-Spahni ◽  
Hansjörg Znoj ◽  
Pasqualina Perrig-Chiello
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Recovery Period ◽  
Marital Dissolution ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adjustment Process ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Aged People ◽  
Initial Recovery ◽  
Trait Resilience

Separation and divorce are life events that might alter life satisfaction on the long term. Previous literature suggests a recovery of life satisfaction after marital dissolution for most individuals, simultaneously emphasizing considerable heterogeneity in the extent and timing of such adaptation. A new partnership seems to be a promising factor for a positive post-separation adjustment process. At the same time, the question arises whether people with beneficial characteristics, such as higher trait resilience, may have a double advantage by recovering faster and being more likely to find a new partner. However, little research has concurrently investigated the consequences of repartnering and favorable personal attributes on life satisfaction of middle- and older-aged people, especially not beyond the initial recovery period. Our data stem from a three-wave longitudinal questionnaire study including 199 participants after a separation, all single at the beginning of the study. Latent growth modeling was applied to investigate trajectories of life satisfaction, examining the role of a new intimate partnership, while controlling for trait resilience. Trait resilience represented a strong general predictor for inter-individual differences in the initial level of life satisfaction. However, an increase in life satisfaction over time was only observed in the group of participants who engaged in a new partnership. This increase occurred independently of preexisting differences in beneficial characteristics, such as high levels of trait resilience or life satisfaction. Thus, repartnering is associated with improvement of life satisfaction beyond the first adaptation phase after separation and is therefore important to prevent long-term negative consequences.

Community Access and Satisfaction: Racial Differences in Later Life

1983 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 209-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell A. Ward ◽  
Harold Kilburn
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Racial Differences ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Community Mobility ◽  
Community Access

Community access can be expected to have an important influence on the life satisfaction of the aged because of age-linked restrictions in social life space. Such access may be less important for older blacks, however, as a consequence of lifelong “ghettoization.” These hypotheses are tested using national survey data. Community mobility is found to have a stronger association with life satisfaction for older whites, while having only an indirect effect through social interaction for older blacks. Directions for future research are suggested.

scholarly journals Exploring the role of family ties on life satisfaction in later life in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-2019) ◽  
pp. 180-198
Author(s):  
Aïda Solé-Auró ◽  
Clara Cortina
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Protection Factor ◽  
Family Ties ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Level Data

We analyzed the relationship between family ties and the life satisfaction of people between the ages of 50 and 85 years in 13 European countries. We aim at determining the effects of partnership (being currently in a partnership) and parenthood (having remained childless). We use individual-level data from the sixth wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The analyses are restricted to respondents who are partnered or who have ever been married. We apply a multivariate analysis to examine the association of life satisfaction with family ties for men and for women. We add controls for age groups and education level, and we pay special attention to the role of individuals’ network size. Our findings indicate that in all countries, having no partner has the strongest and most negative association with life satisfaction. However, there was no clear association between not having children and life satisfaction across countries. We also find an important role of some protector variables, such as having a strong network which, in most countries, significantly increase one’s life satisfaction. We find that there is a relationship between individuals’ family situation and life satisfaction, but it is restricted to being in a partnership. The protection factor of having a partner improves one’s life satisfaction at older ages much more than protection by having children. This finding can reduce the concern about the long run implications of increasing childlessness among younger cohorts as it is not necessarily associated to a higher risk of low life satisfaction.

Positive Interventions and Theoretical Assumptions

2018 ◽  
pp. 8-21
Author(s):  
Tayyab Rashid ◽  
Martin Seligman
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Therapeutic Relationship ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Positive Interventions ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions

Positive psychology interventions applied in diverse clinical settings and tackling complex clinical issues are advancing the knowledge base of psychotherapy and health outcomes. Positive psychotherapy (PPT) is based primarily on two major theories: Seligman’s PERMA (Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishment) conceptualization of well-being and character strengths. PPT also operates on three assumptions regarding the nature, cause, course, and treatment of specific behavioral patterns: (a) inherent capacity for growth, (b) the authenticity of strengths compared to symptoms, and (c) the role of positives in fostering a of the therapeutic relationship. The notion of happiness espoused in PPT is much more than the sum of its components that can be pursued simultaneously with each individually association with life satisfaction.

The role of travel in enhancing life satisfaction among Chinese older adults in Hong Kong

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1824-1848 ◽  
Author(s):  
XUE BAI ◽  
KAM HUNG ◽  
DANIEL W. L. LAI
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Chinese Older Adults ◽  
Travel Motivation ◽  
Travel Motivations

ABSTRACTLife satisfaction is an important indicator of wellbeing and successful ageing, while boosting life satisfaction in later life has long been a policy and service challenge. Based on a questionnaire survey with 415 Chinese older adults aged 60 years and over in Hong Kong, this study examined how older adults' travel motivations influenced their travel actions and how the travel affected their life satisfaction using structural equation modelling. A proposed ‘travel motivation–action–life satisfaction’ model showed an acceptable fit with the data. It was found that travel motivations stimulated older adults' travel actions, while their travels further contributed to greater life satisfaction. The findings of this study indicated the need for improved knowledge and understanding of older adults' travel preferences and requirements, and highlight the importance of enhancing awareness among professionals and service providers about the benefit of travelling in enhancing life satisfaction of older adults.

Successful Aging, Life Satisfaction, and Generativity in Later Life

1995 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley J. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Older People ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Basic Needs ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Developmental Task ◽  
Survey Questionnaire

This article explores the meanings older people attach to successful aging and life satisfaction and how these concepts can be differentiated. Forty elderly employees of the Ozarks Area Foster Grandparent Program (ages 61–92) were randomly selected and interviewed using an open-ended survey questionnaire. These questions explored understandings of successful aging and life satisfaction, the factors essential for each, and the differences perceived between these concepts. Qualitative data were coded by two independent reviewers. Respondents' understandings of successful aging involved attitudinal or coping orientations nearly twice as often as those for life satisfaction. Descriptions of life satisfaction emphasized the fulfillment of basic needs and was viewed as a precursor to successful aging. Content analysis confirmed five features of successful aging: interactions with others, a sense of purpose, self-acceptance, personal growth, and autonomy. The findings suggest that generativity contributes to successful aging and remains a vital developmental task in later life.

Reliability Generalization as a Seal of Quality of Substantive Meta-Analyses: The Case of the VIA Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) and Their Relationships to Life Satisfaction

2018 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 1167-1188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mercedes Ovejero Bruna ◽  
Andreea C. Brabete ◽  
Jesús M. Alvarado Izquierdo
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Character Strengths ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Reliability Estimation ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
Sample Type ◽  
Reliability Generalization ◽  
The Relationship

Reliable test scores are essential to interpret the results obtained in statistical analyses correctly. In this study, we used the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) as an example of a widely applied assessment instrument to analyze its metric quality in what is known as reliability generalization (RG). In addition, we conducted a meta-analysis of the correlations between character strengths and life satisfaction to examine the potential relationship between the reliability of test scores and the intensity of these correlations. The overall variability of alpha coefficients supports the argument that reliability is sample dependent. Indeed, there were statistically significant mean reliability differences for scores across the 24 scales, with the highest level of reliability observed for Creativity and the lowest for scores on Self-regulation. Significant moderators such as the standard deviation of the scores and the sample type contribute to understand the high variability observed in the reliability estimation. The second meta-analysis showed that Zest, Hope, Gratitude, Curiosity, and Love were the character strengths that were highly related to life satisfaction, while Modesty and Prudence were less related to life satisfaction. Furthermore, the high heterogeneity between samples might be an indicator of the relationship between the variability of reliability of character strengths' scores and the intensity of their correlations with life satisfaction. Those character strengths with high-potential RG are related or unrelated to life satisfaction, whereas character strengths with less-potential RG showed unstable correlation patterns. The results of both studies point out the role of the relationship between the reliability of test scores and substantive studies, such as Pearson's correlations meta-analysis.

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