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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Life satisfaction, life review, and near-death experiences in the elderly.

When 145 senior citizens living independently in the community were surveyed for incidence of near-death experiences (NDEs), 46 of the seniors believed they had had a "close call" with death. Twelve of those reported that they had had an unusual experience during their close call and were subsequently interviewed. Their stories were evaluated using research criteria to document sufficient number of characteristics of an NDE for inclusion in research data and if that set of characteristics of the NDE included a life review component. They were also compared to a non-NDE group on the Life Satisfaction Index, to determine if life review in the context of an NDE helped older people feel more satisfied with life. There was no correlation, because surprisingly, although older people do have NDEs at least as often as other groups, the life review does not seem to be a part of it. So the reasons for scores on the LSI-A are not attributable to the life review. Reasons for this finding are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Relationship of service satisfaction to life satisfaction and perceived well-being.

Two procedures for gaining patients' evaluations of health services were compared: (a) the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-18B), a direct approach assessing the setting and services actually encountered, and (b) the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ), an approach that indirectly assesses satisfaction with service by inquiring about general health care attitudes. Results from 148 public health patients indicated that the PSQ produced the most acceptability problems and was tapping aspects of life satisfaction other than service satisfaction. However, the PSQ produced significantly lower reports of satisfaction. Additional comparison and interpretation of typical responses generated from the two approaches suggested, on the whole, that the CSQ-18B data provided clearer, more efficient, and more useful information for program planning and evaluation. In this study, service satisfaction measured by the CSQ-18B did not have any significant relationship to global or multidimensional (LDQ-30) measures of life satisfaction and well-being. In contrast, over a third of the variance in PSQ scores was accounted for by measures of life satisfaction. It appears that the PSQ elicits attitudes toward the more generalized health care delivery system as well as aspects of life satisfaction rather than reactions to specific services actually received.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1988

Measurement of life satisfaction. Developing a life satisfaction scale.

The purpose of this study was to develop a life satisfaction scale (LSS) suited for elderly Finnish people. The subjects were non-institutionalized elderly living in rural and urban areas in south-western Finland. They were interviewed for a prospective follow-up study (TURVA project) concerned with the psychosocial development of elderly people during retirement. Following the interview, the first version of the LSS was submitted to 339 respondents. It was completed and returned by 330 (97%). This version of the scale was then reduced to a 26-item version (LSS-A), which had a high reliability coefficient (Cronbach alpha 0.89). In factor analysis, LSS-A consisted of three main components: psychic balance, assessment of past life, and present happiness. An abbreviated 12-item scale (LSS-B) was also drawn up. When the number of items was reduced, the roles of psychic balance and present happiness were emphasized. The LSS, proved to be easy to use, its reliability was good, and the correlations between the sum score of LSS and the questions concerning life satisfaction in the interviews suggested fairly good validity. To further evaluate the validity and applicability of the scale, we need further studies in different types of elderly populations.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2005

Think positively and feel positively: optimism and life satisfaction in late life.

This study developed a dispositional path model of life satisfaction for community dwelling Chinese elderly living in Hong Kong. A sample of 117 elderly completed scales measuring life satisfaction, optimism, self-esteem, relationship harmony, self-construals, and perceived/expected health and financial status. Modeling revealed that life satisfaction was predicted by self-esteem and relationship harmony, which in turn were predicted by independent and interdependent self-construals, respectively. In addition, optimism predicted life satisfaction directly and indirectly through self-esteem and relationship harmony. Financial status mediated entirely the effect of optimism on life satisfaction. Health status was predicted by optimism but did not predict life satisfaction. Optimism is a key contributor to subjective well being because it fosters self-esteem, relationship harmony, and positive perceptions of financial conditions.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Gender differences in the relationship between marital status transitions and life satisfaction in later life.

This study examined life satisfaction among individuals who had undergone a transition in marital status and those whose marital status remained stable over a 7-year period. In particular, using data from a large-scale, longitudinal study we assessed life satisfaction as measured in 1983 and 1990 among 2,180 men and women between the ages of 67 and 102. Groups of individuals were identified on the basis of whether a spouse was present or absent at the two measurement points. This allowed for a classification of groups who experienced stability or transitions in marital status. Among those individuals whose marital status remained stable over the 7 years, women's life satisfaction declined and men's remained constant. Among those who experienced a transition--in particular, the loss of a spouse--a decline in life satisfaction was found for both men and women, decline being more predominant for men. In addition, men's life satisfaction increased over the 7-year period if they gained a spouse, whereas the same was not true for women. Generally, these findings imply that the relationship between marital status transitions or stability differs for men and women.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Self-appraisal, life satisfaction, and retrospective life choices across one and three decades.

This research investigated the relationship of a self-appraisal of having lived up to one's intellectual abilities at midlife (average age of 49 years) with life satisfaction and retrospective life choices 1 and 3 decades later among 383 participants in the Terman Study of the Gifted. Study 1 showed that participants who reported living up to their intellectual abilities were higher in satisfaction with occupational success, satisfaction with family life, and joy in living 11 years later. Study 2 showed that participants who reported living up to their abilities were higher in overall life satisfaction and were less likely to report that they would make different life choices in work or family life 3 decades later. In an integrative structural equation model, the relation between the midlife self-appraisal of having lived up to intellectual abilities and overall satisfaction at age 80 was mediated by life satisfaction discrepancy at age 61.

Achievement↗
PubMed2006

Relationship with others and life satisfaction in later life: do gender and widowhood make a difference?

In this study we investigated whether social relationship is a stronger determinant of life satisfaction in older women than in older men, and whether this is more obvious in widowed than in married persons, in a representative sample of Chinese individuals aged 60 or older in Hong Kong (N=1,616). We tested the moderating effect of gender and widowhood by means of a multigroup analysis in structural equation modeling that incorporated other major predictors of life satisfaction. Consistent with predictions, relatedness was much more important for women than for men. Furthermore, relatedness was the most important determinant of life satisfaction in women, regardless of marital status, but it was only a moderate predictor in married men, and even an irrelevant factor in widowers. We discuss the results in terms of how gender roles shape relationship goals, and thus how men and women evaluate life satisfaction differently in the context of relationship with others.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1991

The role of time orientation in life satisfaction across the life span.

Relating contentment to different points in life can provide the construct of life satisfaction with an essential time orientation. The Self-Anchoring Scale was used to rate life in the present, the past (five years before), and the future (five years ahead). Subjects were the respondents of five national surveys in Israel. The findings showed an age-related configuration where progressive age was associated with declining ratings for the future, a milder decline for the present, and a relative increase for the past. In addition to rating levels, a structural modeling approach was used to explore the relative salience of these time referents, considered as indicators of the construct of life satisfaction. LISREL estimates of the indicator loadings in two related models showed the present as most salient and the past as least salient in most age groups. The salience of the past increased in later life, when that of the future did as well. The time-related construct of life satisfaction (which fit the data in all age groups) highlights the yet undetermined role of the future in the subjective well-being of the elderly.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Life satisfaction in elderly Nigerians: reliability and factor composition of the life satisfaction Index Z.

Life satisfaction Index Z was administered to 945 persons aged 60 years and over in a community survey in rural and urban locations in South-Western Nigeria. Life Satisfaction Index scores correlated significantly with items on self-assessed health, loneliness, sex (women having a higher mean score) and location. Items that measure social contact, such as marital status, proximity of nearest child, and frequency of seeing close friends, did not correlate at a significant level. Factor analysis produced two factors on varimax rotation and an internal consistency value of 0.72 was obtained. These values are similar to some of those reported in other studies outside Africa.

Aged↗
PubMed2003

Study of life satisfaction and quality of life of patients receiving home oxygen therapy.

An investigation was conducted by mail using a questionnaire regarding the life satisfaction and quality of life (QOL) of patients receiving home oxygen therapy (HOT) to evaluate their support. QOL was evaluated according to 4 scales: (1) activities, (2) state of health and quality of living, (3) physical symptoms, and (4) economic state. The answers of 90 patients (recovery rate: 60%) who responded to the investigation were analyzed, and the following points were clarified. 1. Most of the subjects visited the hospital regularly, and about half the subjects (50.6%) had been treated by hospitalization during the 3 years prior to the investigation. 2. A large majority of the subjects (77.4%) answered they were satisfied with life. 3. Life satisfaction was closely related to the patients' roles and hobbies, and their activities in their communities and families. 4. The quality of living and the state of health were closely related to mental activity. 5. The economic state was closely related to all items of life satisfaction, quality of living, and state of health. From these results, expansion of the range of activities of patients receiving HOT and providing an economic basis for their living as well as preventing exacerbation of the disease are considered to be important for improving their life satisfaction.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2001

Unidimensionality of life satisfaction and its relation to social desirability: a confirmatory study of a short form of the Life Satisfaction Scale.

This study investigated construct validity of a short version of the Life Satisfaction in the Elderly Scale developed from an exploratory factor analysis in 1990 of the original version of Salamon and Conte's Life Satisfaction scale. First, a confirmatory factor analysis (maximum likelihood method) was conducted on 149 adult and elderly Italians to assess whether the latent variable of the Life Satisfaction Short Form scale was adequately represented by one factor. Analysis showed a good fit for the proposed unidimensional model, the items achieved good internal consistency on the scale, and no age differences arose in the score for the Life Satisfaction factor. Second, the correlations between the items measuring Life Satisfaction and the Eysenck 1985 Lie scale indicated that the items on the Life Satisfaction Short Form are largely independent of social desirability for younger and older adults.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Perceived stress and coping resource availability as predictors of life satisfaction in young, middle-aged, and older adults.

Global satisfaction with life across three age groups (18 to 40 years, 41 to 65 years, and 66 years and above) was investigated. Multiple regressions were computed to examine the separate and joint effects of perceived stress and coping resource availability upon life satisfaction across the three age groups (N = 189). Age differences in perceived stress, coping resource availability, and life satisfaction, were also investigated. Results of this cross-sectional investigation indicated that self-appraisal measures of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness served as moderate predictors of global life satisfaction, and that for the total sample the combined effects of perceived stress and coping resource effectiveness were better predictors of life satisfaction than either variable considered separately. Perceived stress was found to be a better predictor of life satisfaction for younger adults, and coping resource effectiveness was a better predictor of satisfaction with life for middle-aged and older adults. Significant age differences in life satisfaction, perceived stress, and coping resources were also found. The assessment of perceived stress and coping has important implications for life satisfaction among all age groups, and has particular significance to older adults. By identifying age differences in variables associated with satisfaction with life, more effective efforts can be made to promote physical and psychological well-being in late adulthood.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

Successful aging, life satisfaction, and generativity in later life.

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.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1987

Life satisfaction and quality of life among disabled elderly adults.

This paper investigates predictors of life satisfaction and quality of life among severely disabled elderly adults. Markides and Martin's (1979) path analysis model was adapted specifically to elderly persons with severe disabilities. The study group comprised 97 patients discharged from three medical rehabilitation facilities in metropolitan Boston during 1984. The adapted model explained about 40% of the variance in quality of life among both men and women, with functional capacity being the most important predictor.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Effects of age, sex, and university status on life-satisfaction.

Diener, et al.'s 1985 Satisfaction With Life Scale was administered to 1749 adult Australians to examine differences between men and women, university students and nonuniversity students, and among 17- to 22-, 23- to 29-, and 30- to 40-yr.-olds. No significant differences in life-satisfaction emerged in relation to sex or university status, but age showed a significant effect as higher life-satisfaction characterized older subjects. No interactions were found for any combination of the three variables. The results are interpreted in terms of egalitarian sex-role ideologies regarding sex, status-specific criteria in the assessment and conceptualisation of life-satisfaction for university status, and maturity trends in viewing life events concerning age.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Life satisfaction in 18- to 64-year-old Swedes: in relation to education, employment situation, health and physical activity.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to relate different sociodemographic, health and physical activity parameters to levels of satisfaction with life as a whole and with 10 specific domains of life. DESIGN: Data on socio-demographic items were sampled, using strictly structured interviews, while a checklist (LiSat-11) was used for self-reported levels of life satisfaction. SUBJECTS: A nationally representative Swedish sample of 1207 women and 1326 men aged 18-64 years. RESULTS: Univariately most of these socio-demographic variables were associated with several of the LiSat-11 items. Using logistic regression, perceived good health and not being a first generation immigrant were the most prominent positive predictors of satisfaction with life as a whole and of most of the domains. Also educational level impacted predictively on satisfaction with many LiSat-11 items. Furthermore, those who were vocationally active, perceived their financial situation as better than or similar to most people's and had a steady partner relationship were particularly likely to be satisfied with life as a whole and with two or more of the domains. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that a multitude of aspects must be taken into account when assessing life satisfaction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Comparison of undergraduates with older adults on love styles and life satisfaction.

In a previous study, sex differences were noted in the correlation of 215 undergraduates' ratings on Lee's love styles and their ratings on their satisfaction with life, work, and personal relationships. For example, game-playing love was positively related to life satisfaction for the 42 undergraduate men but was negatively related to life satisfaction for the 98 undergraduate women. In the current study, 215 adults over the age of 29 years were surveyed to examine whether the previous differences between the sexes held up in an older sample. Values for the older sample of 215 were similar to those for the 98 undergraduate women but not for the 42 undergraduate men. For example, game-playing love was negatively related to life satisfaction for both the 130 older women and the 85 older men.

Adult↗