Social relationships and health as predictors of life satisfaction in advanced old age: results from a Swedish longitudinal study.
This longitudinal study examines the relationship between family and friend social support, health, and life satisfaction for a single cohort of eighty-year-old persons living in Lund, Sweden. Results indicate that participants who remained in the study are healthier and score higher on life satisfaction when compared with those who either drop-out or die prior to age eighty-three. Even though well-integrated with family and friends, the number of friends decreases significantly from eighty to eighty-three years; those who reported no close friends nearly doubled from eighty to eighty-three years. However, for those with close friends, contact with friends increases with age. In contrast to previous research, a correlational analysis indicates that neither child nor friend support is related to life satisfaction at either eighty or eighty-three years. However, health measures and satisfaction with sibling contact are related to total life satisfaction at age eighty-three only. These findings indicate the multidimensionality of both social support and life satisfaction for the old-old.
McCamish-Svensson
C
C
Gerontology Research Center, Lund, Sweden. gero.center@geron.se
Samuelsson
G
G
Hagberg
B
B
Svensson
T
T
Dehlin
O
O
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D013548:Sweden