Aging and Life Satisfaction in Social Context: Family Home versus Old-Age Home
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16958545Keywords:
life satisfaction, residential setting, family home, old age homeAbstract
With rapid population ageing, understanding the determinants of life satisfaction in later life is essential for policy and practice. Residential setting—aging in place (own home) versus institutional residence (old-age homes)—is frequently assumed to shape well-being, yet evidence is mixed and often confounded by health and socioeconomic selection. To compare life satisfaction between older adults living in their own homes and those residing in old-age homes, and to examine the extent to which differences are explained by health status, social support, autonomy, and quality of care. We recruited total 300 participants (age 60 years and above) from urban areas of district Moradabad and Amroha (150 from those living in old age-homes and 150 those living in their own family home). Life Satisfaction Scale of Alam & Dr. Ramji Srivastava was used to assess the level of participants’ satisfaction with life. The findings of this study revealed that the mean scores of elders living in family home is significantly higher than those living in their old-age home, regarding the overall life satisfaction (t= 5.85; ρ < .01). Gender difference was found significant for only those who live in their family home, not for those who live in old-age home.
Downloads
References
Andrews, F.M., & Robinson, J.P. (1991). Measures of subjective well-being. in J.P. Robinson, P.R. Shaver & L.S. Wrightman (Eds) Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes, vol. 1. San Diego: Academic Press.
Cummins, R.A., & Nistico, H. (2002). Maintaining life satisfaction: The role of positive cognitive bias. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 37-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1015678915305
Deshpande, S.N., Mathur, M.N.L., Bhat, T., & Bohra, N. (1998) Psychiatric disordersin women above sixty in a general psychiatric outpatients department, 40.
Dew, T., & Huebner, E.S. (1994) Adolescents’ perceived quality of life: An exploratory investigation. Journal of School Psychology, 32, 185-199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-4405(94)90010-8
Diener, E., & Diener, M. (1995). Cross-cultural correlates of life satisfaction and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 653-663. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.68.4.653
Diener, E. (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. Social Indicators Research, 31, 103-157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01207052
Diener, E., Suh, E.M., Lucas, R.E., & Smith, H.L. (1999). Subjective wellbeing: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 272-302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276
Douthitt, R.A., MacDonald, M., & Mullins, R. (1992). The relationship between measures of subjective and economic well-being: A new look. Social Indicators Research, 26, 407-422. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00347898
Grob, A., Little, T.D., Wanner, B., & Wearing, A.J. (1996). Adolescents’ wellbeing and perceived control across 14 sociocultural contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 785-795. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.71.4.785
Hagerty, M.R. (2000). Social comparisons of income in one’s community: Evidence from four national surveys of income and happiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 764-771. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.78.4.764
Harkness, S., & Super, C.M. (2003). Culture and parenting. in M.H. Bernstein (Ed.) Handbook of Parenting, 2nd edn, vol. 2, 253-280. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Huebner, E.S. (1991). Correlates of life satisfaction in children. School Psychology Quarterly, 6, 103-111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0088805
Huebner, E.S. (1997). Happiness and life satisfaction. in G. Bear, K. Minke & A. Thomas (Eds) Children’s Needs II, 271-278. Washington, DC: National Association of School Psychologists.
Huebner, E.S., Drane, W., & Valois, R.F. (2000). Levels and demographic correlates of adolescent life satisfaction reports. School Psychology International Reports, 21, 281-292. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0143034300213005
Murtagh, K. N., & Hubert, H.B. (2004). Gender differences in physical disability among an elderly cohort. American J. Public Health, 94(8), 1406-1411.
Niriy, A., & Jhingan, H.P. (2002). Life events and depression in elderly. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 44(1).
Patel, V., & Prince, M. (2002). Ageing and mental health in a developing country.
Patil, P.P., Gaonkar, V., & Yadav, V.S. (2003). Effect of socio-demographic factors on depression of the elderly. Man in India, 83(1&2).
Pinquart, M., & Sorensen, S. (2001). Influences on loneliness in older adults: A meta analysis. Basic & Applied Soc. Psychol., 23(4), 245-266.
Ramachandran, V., SaradaMenon, M., & Ramamurthy, B. (1981). Family structure and mental illness in old age. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 23(1).
Suh, E., Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Triandis, H.C. (1998) The shifting basis of life satisfaction judgements across cultures: Emotions versus norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 482-493. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.2.482
Suldo, S.M., & Huebner, E.S. (2004). Does life satisfaction moderate the effects of stressful life events on psychopathological behavior during adolescence? School Psychology Quarterly, 19, 93-105. http://dx.doi.org/10.1521/scpq.19.2.93.33313
Veenhoven, R. (1999). Quality of life in individualistic society. Social Indicators Research, 48, 157-187. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1006923418502
Yvonneda, S.P., Ajoy, E., Rajesh, D., & John, F. (2002). Geriatric patients attending tertiary care in psychiatric hospital. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 444.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
ARK
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jagdeep Sharma, Sachin Kumar
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Research Articles in 'Social Science Journal for Advanced Research' are Open Access articles published under the Creative Commons CC BY License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. This license allows you to share – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Adapt – remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
