Subjective well-being among the old-old: the role of health, personality and social support.
The purpose of this study was to devise and test a path model that explains how background variables, physical capacity, and psychosocial resources (locus of control and social network supportiveness) affect three well-being outcome measures--self-rated health, mental health, and life satisfaction--among the old-old in Israel. A sample of European-born persons aged seventy-five and over, drawn randomly from the population registry in the greater Tel Aviv area, was administered a structured questionnaire in personal interviews (N=194). The findings confirm that the relationship between background variables, physical capacity and well-being is differentially mediated by the psychosocial resources, with different variable combinations predicting each of the respective facets of well-being. Moreover, the relative strength of the relationships between locus of control and social network supportiveness and well-being indicate that among the old-old, personality factors may be more consequential than social resources for one's well-being.
Landau
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R
Paul Baerwald School of Social Work, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel. mslanda@mscc.huji.ac.il
Litwin
H
H
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000523:psychology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005060:Europe / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010551:Personality; D011897:Random Allocation; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires