Does greater richness of life bring greater happiness in older adults?

Abstract

Aims: The happiness during old age years is closely linked to psychosocial factors such as richness of experience. Richness of experience refers to the level of meaning and fulfillment in individuals' lives through various activities and experiences. This research focused on exploring how the richness of experience is related to the happiness in older adults. In addition, the role of various demographic and psychosocial variables in shaping this relationship were examined. Methods: The study sample consisted of 179 older adults. 64.2% of the participants were female and 35.8% were male. The participants were administered the psychologically rich life questionnaire, and the psychological well-being in the elderly scale as well as a sociodemographic form. Simple Linear Regression was used to analyze the predictive power of richness of experiences, and pearson correlation analysis was conducted to assess the strength of the relationships between richness of experiences and psychological well-being. Independent Groups t-test and ANOVA were applied to explore if there is a difference on the score based on the sociodemographic differences. Results: The results of this study indicated a significant positive correlation between a psychologically rich life and psychological well-being in older adults. According to regression analysis, psychologically rich life was found to be a strong predictor of psychological well-being and explained 57% of the variance. Education level and income level were found to significantly affect psychologically rich life and psychological well-being levels such that university graduates and high-income group received the highest scores. Participants without a chronic disease were found to have significantly higher scores on psychological well-being and psychological rich life. No significant differences were found in terms of other sociodemographic variables such as gender, marital status and having children. Conclusion: These findings suggest that richness of experiences can be an important factor that improves the quality of life of older adults and the value of diversity of experiences for psychological well-being.

Keywords

• Richness of experience
• psychological well-being
• older adults
• psychology of old age

References

1. Shah SA, Safian N, Ahmad S, et al. Factors associated with happiness among Malaysian elderly. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(7): 3831. doi:10.3390/ijerph18073831
2. Papi S, Cheraghi M. Multiple factors associated with life satisfaction in older adults. Menopause Rev/Przegląd Menopauzalny. 2021;20(2):65-71. doi:10.5114/pm.2021.107025
3. Pinto JM, Neri AL. Factors associated with low life satisfaction in community-dwelling elderly: FIBRA study. Cad Saude Publica. 2013; 29(12):2447-2458.
4. Ryff CD. Psychological well-being revisited: advances in the science and practice of eudaimonia. Psychother Psychosom. 2013;83(1):10-28. doi:10. 1159/000353263
5. Cattan M, White M, Bond J, Learmouth A. Preventing social isolation and loneliness among older people: a systematic review of health promotion interventions. Ageing Soc. 2005;25(1):41-67. doi:10.1017/S0144686X04002594
6. Windle G. What is resilience? A review and concept analysis. Rev Clin Gerontol. 2011;21(2):152-169. doi:10.1017/S0959259810000420
7. Levy BR. Stereotype embodiment: a psychosocial approach to aging. Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2009;18(6):332-336. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009. 01662.x
8. Bowling A. Ageing well: quality of life in old age. McGraw-Hill Education (UK); 2005.

9. Li C, Jiang S, Li N, Zhang Q. Influence of social participation on life satisfaction and depression among Chinese elderly: social support as a mediator. J Community Psychol. 2018;46(3):345-355. doi:10.1002/jcop. 21944
10. Taylor MG, Carr D. Psychological resilience and health among older adults: a comparison of personal resources. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2021;76(6):1241-1250. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbaa116
11. Besselink D, Herber GCM, van der Lucht F, et al. Evaluating changes in the well-being of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal cohort study. Eur J Public Health. 2024;34(5):914-920. doi: 10.1093/eurpub/ckae130
12. Ryff CD, Boylan JM, Kirsch JA. Eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. Measuring Well-Being. 2021:92-135. doi:10.1093/oso/9780197512531. 001.0001
13. Ooi PB, Ong DLT, Peh SC, et al. Active aging, psychological well-being and quality of life of elderly and pre-elderly Malaysians during movement control periods. Educ Gerontol. 2021;47(8):353-368. doi:10.1080/03601277.2021.1983295
14. Oishi S, Westgate EC. A psychologically rich life: beyond happiness and meaning. Psychol Rev. 2022;129(4):790.
15. Besser LL, Oishi S. The psychologically rich life. Philos Psychol. 2020; 33(8):1053-1071. doi:10.1080/09515089.2020.1778662
16. Smith GJ. Are dimensions of semantic richness uniformly rich across sensory modality? Behavioral and computational dual-feature verification and imagery vividness. State Univ NY Buffalo. 2022.
17. Pollak C, Verghese J, Blumen H. Loneliness and functional decline in aging: a systematic review. Res Gerontol Nurs. 2023;16(4):202-212. doi: 10.3928/19404921-20230503-02
18. World Health Organization. Mental health of older adults. Published 2023. Accessed at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-of-older-adults
19. Lee MR. The relationship between interpersonal relationships and subjective experience of happiness among active elderly in Korea. Asia Pac J Converg Res Interchange. 2020;6(11):131-147. doi:10.47116/apjcri. 2020.11.12
20. Lee GR, Ishii-Kuntz M. Social interaction, loneliness, and emotional well-being among the elderly. Res Aging. 1987;9(4):459-482. doi:10. 1177/01640275870940
21. Tomioka K, Kurumatani N, Hosoi H. Positive and negative influences of social participation on physical and mental health among community-dwelling elderly aged 65-70 years: a cross-sectional study in Japan. BMC Geriatr. 2017;17(1):1-13. doi:10.1186/s12877-017-0502-8
22. Ryff CD, Singer BH. Know thyself and become what you are: A eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being. J Happiness Stud. 2008;9(1):13-39. doi:10.1007/s10902-006-9019-0
23. Delle Fave A, Brdar I, Freire T, Vella-Brodrick D, Wissing MP. The eudaimonic and hedonic components of happiness: qualitative and quantitative findings. Soc Indic Res. 2011;100(2):185-207. doi:10.1007/s11205-010-9632-5
24. Yang M, Chen L, Guo W. Social participation and subjective well-being among older adults in China: the mediation effect of media use. Curr Psychol. 2024; 43(22):1-15. doi:10.1007/s12144-024-05796-x
25. Oishi S, Choi H, Koo M, et al. Happiness, meaning, and psychological richness. Affect Sci. 2020;1(2):107-115. doi:10.1007/s42761-020-00011-z
26. Oishi S, Choi H, Cha Y, Heintzelman S, Buttrick NR, Westgate EC. Differing worldviews: The politics of happiness, meaning, and psychological richness. J Pers. 2024. doi:10.1111/jopy.12959
27. Diener E, Ryan K. Subjective well-being: a general overview. S Afr J Psychol. 2009;39(4):391-406. doi:10.1177/008124630903900402
28. Manav Aİ, Bozkurt A, Coşkun E. Evaluation of personal meaning profile and psychological well-being of the elderly. Ordu Univ J Nurs Stud. 2021;4(1):48-55. doi:10.38108/ouhcd.816449
29. Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. 2nd ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1988.
30. Oishi S, Choi H, Buttrick N, et al. The psychologically rich life questionnaire. J Res Pers. 2019;81:257-270. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2019.06.010
31. Avşar T. Adaptation of the psychologically rich life questionnaire into Turkish and examination of its psychometric properties [Turkish adaptation study]. J Psychol. 2021;36(2):55-72.
32. Gümüş Demir Z. Development of the psychological well-being scale in the elderly. Senex J Aging Stud. 2023;6(1):16-32. doi:10.31086/senex. 2023.1
33. George D, Mallery P. SPSS for Windows step by step: a simple guide and reference. 10th ed. Pearson; 2010.
34. Hair JF, Black WC, Babin BJ, Anderson RE. Multivariate data analysis. 7th ed. Pearson; 2013.
35. Shigehiro O, Choi H, Koo M, Galinha I. Happiness, meaning, and psychological richness. Affect Sci. 2020;1(2):107-115. doi:10.1007/s42761-020-00011-z
36. Lindqvist E, Östling R, Cesarini D. Long-run effects of lottery wealth on psychological well-being. Rev Econ Stud. 2020;87(6):2703-2726. doi:10. 1093/restud/rdaa006
37. Nakamura JS, Delaney SW, Diener E, VanderWeele TJ, Kim ES. Are all domains of life satisfaction equal? Differential associations with health and well-being in older adults. Qual Life Res. 2022;31(4):1043-1056. doi: 10.1007/s11136-021-02977-0
38. Diener E, Oishi S, Tay L. Advances in subjective well-being research. Nat Hum Behav. 2018;2(4):253-260. doi:10.1038/s41562-018-0307-6
39. Navarro-Carrillo G, Alonso-Ferres M, Moya M, Valor-Segura I. Socioeconomic status and psychological well-being: revisiting the role of subjective socioeconomic status. Front Psychol. 2020;11:1303. doi:10. 3389/fpsyg.2020.01303
40. Wilson Fadiji A, Lomas T. Understanding the association between education and wellbeing: an exploration of the Gallup World Poll. Appl Res Qual Life. 2024;19(5):2467-2501. doi:10.1007/s11482-024-10335-8
41. Kim ES, Delaney SW, Tay L, Chen Y, Diener ED, Vanderweele TJ. Life satisfaction and subsequent physical, behavioral, and psychosocial health in older adults. Milbank Q. 2021;99(1):209-239. doi:10.1111/1468-0009.12497
42. Saadeh M, Welmer AK, Dekhtyar S, Fratiglioni L, Calderón-Larrañaga A. The role of psychological and social well-being on physical function trajectories in older adults. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2020;75(8):1579-1585. doi:10.1093/gerona/glaa114
43. Kaya B, Akoğlu B. Yetişkinlerde travma sonrası büyüme ile yaşamda anlam arayışı arasındaki ilişkide umudun aracı rolü. Humanistic Perspective. 2024;6(1): 33-58. doi: 10.47793/hp.1391830
44. Gümüş Demir Z, Keskin R, Güler K. The effect of the positive psychology interaction group program on anger and hope in elderly individuals. Turk J Geriatr. 2021;24(1):95-103 doi:10.31086/tjgeri.2021.204
45. Gümüş Demir Z, Demir V. Investigation of the effects of art therapy on self-compassion, mood and cognitive functioning levels in the elderly. Int J Soc Sci. 2022;6(25)96-120. doi:10.52096/usbd.6