What older people do: Time use and exploring the link between role participation and life satisfaction in people aged 65 years and over

This paper explores the relationship between the way older people use their time and well-being in later life in Korea, applying the ‘life balance framework’. This framework was developed to examine how patterns of time use change across the life course in terms of the balance between constraints (constrained time), freedom of choice (discretionary time) and time spent on biological maintenance (regenerative time), this paper illustrates how the time use of Korean people aged 65 and older varies by gender, age, and economic activity status. Using data from the 2014 Korean Time Use Survey, the study shows that the balance in time use in Korea shifts towards having greater discretionary and less constrained time in later life as shown in previous studies in other countries such as the UK, yet with a considerably larger gender gap which persists even in very old ages. More importantly, the study found a negative relationship between having too much discretionary time and older people’s level of life satisfaction, which supports the assumption of the life balance framework that having too much free time can also be detrimental to well-being.

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Time use, role participation and life satisfaction of older people: Impact of driving status

Australian Occupational Therapy Journal ◽

10.1111/j.1440-1630.2011.00956.x ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 59 (5) ◽

pp. 384-392 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Jacki Liddle ◽

Louise Gustafsson ◽

Helen Bartlett ◽

Kryss McKenna

Keyword(s):

Life Satisfaction ◽

Older People ◽

Time Use

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Factors Influencing Daily Time Use Types of Older Adults and Their Effect on Life Satisfaction: A Study using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA)

Korea Gerontological Society ◽

10.31888/jkgs.2020.40.4.781 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 781-800

Author(s):

Seok In Nam ◽

Joosuk Chae ◽

Hae Sol Won ◽

Ju Young Lee

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Life Satisfaction ◽

Time Use ◽

Latent Profile Analysis ◽

Profile Analysis ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Daily Time ◽

Latent Profile

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Differences in Life Satisfaction according to Type of Time Use in the Rural Elderly

Journal of Korean Family Resource Management Association ◽

10.22626/jkfrma.2019.23.2.003 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 23 (2) ◽

pp. 41-59

Author(s):

Hee-Keum Cho ◽

Keyword(s):

Life Satisfaction ◽

Time Use ◽

Rural Elderly

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The impact of living arrangements and intergenerational support on the health status of older people in China: are rural residents disadvantaged compared to urban residents?

Ageing and Society ◽

10.1017/s0144686x21000702 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-26

Author(s):

Yazhen Yang ◽

Maria Evandrou ◽

Athina Vlachantoni

Keyword(s):

Life Satisfaction ◽

Older People ◽

Adult Children ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Living Arrangements ◽

Psychological Wellbeing ◽

Urban Residents ◽

Intergenerational Support ◽

Rural Residents ◽

The Impact

Abstract Research to-date has examined the impact of intergenerational support in terms of isolated types of support, or at one point in time, failing to provide strong evidence of the complex effect of support on older persons’ wellbeing. Using the Harmonised China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (2011, 2013 and 2015), this paper investigates the impact of older people's living arrangements and intergenerational support provision/receipt on their physical and psychological wellbeing, focusing on rural–urban differences. The results show that receiving economic support from one's adult children was a stronger predictor for higher life satisfaction among rural residents compared to urban residents, while grandchild care provision was an important determinant for poor life satisfaction only for urban residents. Having weekly in-person and distant contact with one's adult children reduced the risk of depression in both rural and urban residents. Older women were more likely than men to receive support and to have contact with adult children, but also to report poor functional status and depression. The paper shows that it is important to improve the level of public economic transfers and public social care towards vulnerable older people in rural areas, and more emphasis should be placed on improving the psychological wellbeing of urban older residents, such as with the early diagnosis of depression.

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A time-use perspective of out-of-home activity participation by older people in Hong Kong

Asian Geographer ◽

10.1080/10225706.2020.1808488 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-23

Author(s):

Sylvia Y. He ◽

Sandip Chakrabarti ◽

Yannie H.Y. Cheung

Keyword(s):

Hong Kong ◽

Older People ◽

Time Use ◽

Activity Participation

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Do opposite ends of same factors underlie life satisfaction vs. depressive symptoms among older people?

Aging Clinical and Experimental Research ◽

10.1007/s40520-020-01765-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Katja Pynnönen ◽

Katja Kokko ◽

Milla Saajanaho ◽

Timo Törmäkangas ◽

Erja Portegijs ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Satisfaction ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Older People ◽

Executive Functions ◽

Physical Performance ◽

Well Being ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽

Financial Situation ◽

Self Acceptance

Abstract Background Although depressive symptoms are more common among older than younger age groups, life satisfaction tends to remain stable over the life course, possibly because the underlying factors or processes differ. Aim To study whether the factors that increase the likelihood of high life satisfaction also decrease the likelihood of depressive symptoms among older people. Methods The data were a population-based probability sample drawn from community-dwelling people aged 75, 80, and 85 years (n = 1021). Participants’ life satisfaction was measured with the Satisfaction with Life Scale and depressive symptoms with the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Physical performance, perceived financial situation, executive functions, loneliness, self-acceptance, and having interests in one’s life were studied as explanatory variables. The data were analyzed using cross-sectional bivariate linear modeling. Results Better physical performance, not perceiving loneliness, having special interests in one’s life, and higher self-acceptance were associated with higher life satisfaction and fewer depressive symptoms. Better financial situation was related only to life satisfaction. Executive functions were not associated with either of the outcomes. Discussion The opposite ends of the same factors underlie positive and negative dimensions of mental well-being. Conclusion Further studies are warranted to better understand how people maintain life satisfaction with aging when many resources may diminish and depressive symptoms become more prevalent.

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