Impact of Savoring Ability on the Relationship Between Older Adults’ Activity Engagement and Well-Being

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Smith ◽  
Joseph G. Bihary ◽  
Dugan O’Connor ◽  
Ajla Basic ◽  
Catherine J. O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Activity Engagement ◽  
Moderating Factors ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Positive Feelings ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between activity engagement and well-being can vary based on individual characteristics, and it is important to identify moderating factors to support the development and implementation of aging services. The current study examined whether the relationship between activity engagement and well-being depends on older adults’ savoring ability, that is, the ability to attend to positive experiences and to engage in emotion regulation strategies to enhance positive feelings during those experiences. A total of 5,128 older adults ( Mage = 83.86 years) completed measures of activity engagement, savoring, and well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, depression, loneliness, purpose, and health). Multilevel modeling analyses revealed that activity engagement and savoring independently predicted better functioning across all well-being measures. However, savoring moderated the relationship between activity engagement and four well-being measures (life satisfaction, depression, loneliness, and purpose). Findings suggest that older adults with low activity engagement may particularly benefit from savoring-skills training to enhance their psychological well-being.

Who We Live With and How We Are Feeling: A Study of Household Living Arrangements and Subjective Well-Being Among Older Adults in China

2020 ◽  
pp. 016402752096154
Author(s):  
Wen-Jui Han ◽  
Ying Li ◽  
Cliff Whetung
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Relationship

Using a sample of Chinese adults over the age of 50 from wave 1 of the WHO Study on Global Ageing and Adult Health (n = 13,367), we investigated the relationship between living arrangements and subjective well-being (SWB) in regard to life satisfaction, happiness, and control. We also looked at the moderating role of resources, proxied by income and hukou status. Multivariate regression results indicate that living only with a spouse was significantly associated with better SWB. Multigenerational living arrangements may not always promote SWB, particularly when resources are constrained. Yet, results also underscore the importance of daughters and daughters-in-law in promoting SWB among older adults. Older adults in rural areas had better SWB, including greater life satisfaction if living with grandchildren only, compared to their urban peers living with a spouse only. Findings suggest that context matters in the association between living arrangements and older adults’ SWB.

The Benefits of Savoring Life

2016 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L. Smith ◽  
Fred B. Bryant
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Physical Health ◽  
Social Functioning ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Positive Interventions ◽  
Reported Health ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Lower Life Satisfaction

We investigated the protective impact of savoring capacity on the relationship between physical health and psychological well-being among older adults. A total of 266 adults over 55 years old ( Mean = 73.4 years) completed measures of savoring ability, self-reported health, and life satisfaction. Savoring ability moderated the relationship between health and life satisfaction in older adults. Among people with less savoring ability, poor health was associated with lower life satisfaction. In contrast, people with greater savoring ability maintained higher life satisfaction, regardless of their level of health. These effects were consistent across a variety of different aspects of health, including general health, pain, limitations due to physical health, energy, and social functioning. These findings have direct implications for developing positive interventions to support the psychological well-being of older adults.

scholarly journals Benefits of Gardening for Elderly Women

HortScience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 609a-609
Author(s):  
M.L. George ◽  
J.M. Zajicek
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Elderly Women ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Educational Background ◽  
Community Gardening ◽  
The Relationship

Persons ≥60 years of age comprise a significant and growing segment of the U.S. population. More than one half of the elderly are female, and as age increases, the ratio of women to men increases as well. Gardening has long been known to be beneficial to older adults physically and psychologically. Our quantitative objective was to investigate the relationship between gardening and life satisfaction, self-esteem, and locus of control of elderly women. Our qualitative objective was to investigate the motivations to garden and the personal, self-rated benefits of gardening experienced by older women. About 45 participants were chosen from 1) volunteers in a horticultural therapy program, 2) participants in a community gardening project for older adults, and 3) participants in a community health project. During the first of two interviews, the participants completed survey instruments measuring self-esteem, locus of control, and life satisfaction. They also provided brief information about their gardening history along with demographic variables of age, ethnicity, educational background, and income level. During the second interview, the participants expanded on their experiences as gardeners, relating information such as how they became gardeners, how they learned to garden, and what factors influenced them to continue gardening. They were specifically asked to relate how they have personally benefited from gardening. Results examine the relationship between gardening and the psychological well-being of the older women.

scholarly journals Affective Fear of Crime and Its Association with Depressive Feelings and Life Satisfaction in Advanced Age: Cognitive Emotion Regulation as a Moderator?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4727
Author(s):  
Nadezhda Golovchanova ◽  
Katja Boersma ◽  
Henrik Andershed ◽  
Karin Hellfeldt
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Fear Of Crime ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Advanced Age ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Cognitive Emotion Regulation ◽  
Depressive Feelings ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Fear of crime is a substantial problem for older adults and is associated with reduced subjective well-being. However, less is known about factors that could moderate the associations between fear of crime and mental health problems and well-being in advanced age. Cognitive emotion regulation could serve as a potentially buffering factor for adverse health outcomes related to fear of crime due to its potential importance in managing feelings when facing threatening situations. The current study investigated the associations between affective fear of crime with depressive feelings and life satisfaction and examined whether adaptive and maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies moderated these associations in a sample of older adults (age 64–106) in Sweden (N = 622). The results showed that affective fear of crime was associated with more depressive feelings, less life satisfaction, and more frequent use of such maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies as rumination, catastrophizing, and blaming others. Moreover, rumination and self-blame moderated the associations between affective fear of crime and life satisfaction. Adaptive emotion regulation strategies were not associated with affective fear of crime and did not decrease the strength of its association with depressive feelings and with life satisfaction. These findings allow us to conclude that maladaptive emotion regulation could be considered a vulnerability factor in the association of fear of crime with life satisfaction.

scholarly journals Presence of Meaning Mediates the Relationship Between Meaning Search and Outcome: A Cross-Cultural Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 308-308
Author(s):  
Nicole Long Ki Fung ◽  
Helene Fung
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Dialectical Thinking ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Presence Of Meaning ◽  
Process And Outcome ◽  
Eastern Cultures ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Search for meaning (SFM) is associated with many well-being measures. The mechanism behind remains unclear. This study explores presence of meaning (POM) as a mediator to explain the association. While dialectical thinking in Eastern cultures values both process and outcome, oppositional thinking in Western cultures makes the two opposing. Since dialectical thinking increases with age, we hypothesize that with increased age, SFM is associated with POM more positively (less negatively). This heightened POM results in better well-being. We surveyed 2014 participants (aged 18-96, Mage= 55.6) in Eastern cultures: Hong Kong and Taiwan; Western cultures: Germany, United States and the Czech Republic. In Eastern cultures, SFM was positively associated with POM and life satisfaction. POM partially mediated the relationship between SFM and life satisfaction (b=0.328, p<.001). With age, SFM was associated more positively with POM and life satisfaction (b=0.009, p<.001). While POM partially mediated the relationship in younger adults (b=0.162, p<.001), full mediation was found in older adults (b=0.451, p<.001). In Western cultures, SFM was negatively associated with POM and life satisfaction. POM partially mediated the relationship between SFM and life satisfaction (b=-0.120, p<.001). With age, the negative association of SFM with POM and life satisfaction was attenuated (b=0.002, p<.001). These finding suggested that SFM becomes more beneficial to older adults across culture via establishing POM. Identifying factors that facilitate the process of achieving meaning through searching is therefore important.

scholarly journals Older Canadians’ Identity and Well-Being in Retirement

2021 ◽  
pp. 009141502110015
Author(s):  
Nicky J. Newton
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Identity Processes ◽  
Age Related ◽  
New Information ◽  
Identity Disruption ◽  
Process Assimilation ◽  
The Relationship

Retirement can be a time of identity disruption for many older adults. Identity process theory (Whitbourne et al., 2002) states that age-related changes, such as retirement, can prompt an individual to incorporate new information about themselves into their personal identity using one of three identity process: assimilation, accommodation, and balance. Additionally, individual identity and the manner in which individuals retire—voluntary or involuntary—are associated with post-retirement well-being (Newton et al., 2018). The current study examined the relationship between identity processes, planned/unplanned retirement, and hedonic (life satisfaction) and eudaimonic (meaning in life) well-being in a sample of retired Canadians. Results indicated that identity accommodation and balance were associated with both types of post-retirement well-being, whereas unplanned retirement was consistently only related to life satisfaction. This study emphasizes the importance of including individual difference factors when examining older adults’ well-being and the utility of measuring well-being in multiple ways.

Cognition–Well-Being Relations in Old Age

GeroPsych ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Wettstein ◽  
Hans-Werner Wahl ◽  
Vera Heyl
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Visually Impaired ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Sensory Impairment ◽  
Moderation Effect ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. We examine whether sensory impairment moderates the association between cognitive performance and well-being and, if so, whether such a moderation effect is due to a mediating mechanism via everyday competence in sensory-impaired individuals. Our sample consisted of visually-impaired (VI, n = 121), hearing-impaired (HI, n = 116), and sensory-unimpaired older adults (UI, n = 150), with a mean age of 82.50 years (SD = 4.71 years). Multiple measures of well-being (life satisfaction, affect, loneliness) as well as several established tests of cognitive performance were included. We found stronger relationships between cognitive performance and well-being in the HI and VI group than in UI individuals. Furthermore, the relationship was mostly mediated by everyday competence both in VI and HI older adults.

scholarly journals Social Well-Being and Chronic Disease Condition among Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 891-891
Author(s):  
Jungkyung Min ◽  
Idethia Harvey ◽  
Yuchen Yeh
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Religious Coping ◽  
Perceived Control ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Multiple Chronic Conditions ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Aging is characterized by the decline in physical health, functional status, and loss of social roles and relationships that can challenge the quality of life. A protective factor that moderates the impact of these phenomena is psychological (e.g., social) well-being. Despite the high prevalence of chronic conditions among older adults, research exploring the relationship between social well-being and chronic disease is sparse. The study aims were to investigate the relationship between social well-being among older adults (N = 1,251, R = 65 – 92 years) who participated in the National Survey of Mid-life in the United States (MIDUS 3). This study used variables for the MIDUS 3 study to test a structural equation model to examine the hypothesized relationships between social well-being, chronic conditions, life satisfaction, self-esteem, active coping, optimism, and religious coping. The findings indicate that perceived control, self-esteem, active coping, optimism, and religious coping were statistically significant for the participants’ social well-being (β =.29, p <.001, β =.16, p<.001, β =.08, p<.05, β =.35, p<.001, and β =.07, p<.05, respectively). However, life satisfaction was not significantly associate with social well-being (β =.04, p >.05). For individuals’ diagnosed with more than one chronic condition, perceived control, self-esteem, and optimism statistically significant impact their social well-being (β = .33, p < .001, β =.17, p < .001, and β =.33, p < .001, respectively). Findings suggested that multiple chronic conditions influence social well-being. Chronic disease management programs may be useful in increasing social well-being among individuals with multiple chronic conditions.

scholarly journals PENSION AND SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING AMONG OLDER ADULTS IN URBAN CHINA: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL PARTICIPATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S906-S907
Author(s):  
haojun jiang ◽  
Iris Chi
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Participation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Activity Participation ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This study highlighted the relationship and interaction mechanism among pension, social participation and subjective well-being of older adults in urban China, which provided cross-cultural evidence for theories, and had significant implications for social security policy. It examined the relationship between pension and subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, depression) among older adults in urban China. It also assessed the mediating and moderating effects of social participation (i.e., three types of activity participations including labor activity participation, political activity participation, voluntary activity participation; and the variation of activity participation) in the linkage between pension and subjective well-being. The data came from the 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS), a national, large-scale survey of a representative community aging sample (60 years and older) in urban China (N=6907). The study used hierarchical regression analysis and structural equation modeling methods. The results showed that pension could improve the subjective well-being of the older adults, specifically, pension enhances life satisfaction and reduces the depression of older adults. Both of three types of activity participation and the variation of activity participation were a significant moderator in the relationship between pension and subjective well-being. Besides, both labor activity participation and variation of activity participation were also a partial mediator in the relationship between pension and subjective well-being.

Different Future Time Perspectives Interplay in Predicting Life Satisfaction

GeroPsych ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 103-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minjie Lu ◽  
Angel Y. Li ◽  
Helene H. Fung ◽  
Klaus Rothermund ◽  
Frieder R. Lang
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Time Perspective ◽  
Hong Kong Chinese ◽  
Future Time ◽  
Time Perspectives ◽  
Time Extension ◽  
Future Self ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. This study addresses prior mixed findings on the relationship between future time perspective (FTP) and well-being as well as examines the associations between three aspects of FTP and life satisfaction in the health and friendship domains. 159 Germans, 97 US Americans, and 240 Hong Kong Chinese, aged 19–86 years, completed a survey on future self-views (valence) and life satisfaction. They also reported the extent to which they perceived future time as expanded vs. limited (time extension) and meaningful (openness). Findings revealed that individuals with more positive future self-views had higher satisfaction. However, those who perceived their future as more meaningful or perceived more time in their future reported higher satisfaction even when future self-views were less positive.

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