Association of living arrangements with happiness attributes among older adults

BMC Geriatrics

Eun Jeong Hwang¹  In Ok Sim² 

[1] Department of Nursing, Sehan University, 1113 Samho-eup, 58447, Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do, Republic of Korea;Red Cross College of Nursing, Chung- Ang University, 84 Heukseok-ro, Dongjak-Gu, 06974, Seoul, Republic of Korea;

关键词: Living arrangements;    Happiness;    Older adult;    Social activities;    Socio-physical environment;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-021-02017-z

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn Korea, along with the rapid aging of the population, older adults’ living arrangements have changed in various ways. In particularly, the happiness of older adults living alone warrants attention because they are more vulnerable to unhappiness than those living with families are. This study reports on the level of happiness among older adults in Korean and examines the potential mediating roles of depressive symptoms, present health status, socio-physical environment, social support networks, and social activities, and happiness in three different living arrangements, older adults living alone, with their spouse, or with their family.MethodData for this study were extracted from the secondary data from the 2017 Korean Community Health Survey, a non-experimental, cross-sectional survey conducted among Korean individuals that were aged 65 and above (n = 14,687). The chi-square test, one-way ANOVA, and Logistic regression were used to explore the related factors of happiness among the three groups.ResultsFindings revealed a significant difference in the happiness index among older adults living alone (6.22 ± 2.11), older adults living with their spouse (6.76 ± 1.99), and older adults living with their family (6.46 ± 1.94) (F = 88.69, p < .001). As the result of logistic regression, older adults living alone (odds ratio (OR) = 0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.57–0.99) and those living with their family (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.65–0.99) demonstrated greater happiness as the frequency of contact with their family increased. Older adults living with their spouse indicated an increase in happiness when their contact with friends was higher (OR = 0.69, 95% CI = 0.56–0.84).ConclusionIt was recognized that factors influencing happiness differed according to older adults’ living arrangements, thus suggesting that older adults’ happiness could be facilitated through interventions that consider their circumstances, including living arrangements.

【 授权许可】

CC BY