A cross-cultural study of the subjective well-being of married elderly persons in the United States and India.
Systematically comparable data on married elders from the United States (n = 567; ages 60+) and Madras, India (n = 207; ages 55+) and simultaneous factor analyses (LISREL) were used to test the cross-cultural metric and structural invariance of a model of the influence of emotional social support from role relationships (adult children, spouse, and friends and relatives) on subjective well-being, based on social support and interactional role theories. Except for cross-cultural differences in measurement error variances, the model showed a high degree of invariance across the two samples. Americans and Indians were unexpectedly similar in terms of the influence of emotional social support from role relationships on their subjective well-being. The discussion explores why cross-culturally similar relationships exist between emotional support and subjective well-being for married elders in two such apparently different societies.
Venkatraman
M M
MM
Department of Health Services, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, USA.
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States