A salutogenic view on subjective well-being in active elderly persons.
In this paper, subjective well-being as an indicator for successful aging is investigated from a salutogenic perspective that states that the sense of coherence plays a key role for psychological adaptation. It should be demonstrated that the sense of coherence mediates the relationship between generalized resistance resources and subjective well-being. One-hundred-and-seventy psychophysically active elderly persons (37 men) filled out a questionnaire assessing the sense of coherence, subjective well-being and resistance resources (such as age, education, physical health, activity level, social support and personality variables). It was found that resources co-varied with the sense of coherence and subjective well-being, accounting for 52 and 48% of the variance, respectively. The most important predictors were self-efficacy, self-esteem and education. After controlling for resources, the sense of coherence accounted for an additional 6% of the variance in well-being. The sense of coherence clearly mediated the relationship between resources and well-being. The findings corroborate the salutogenic idea that the sense of coherence creates, or maintains, a form of psychological integrity as represented by subjective well-being. The promotion of a strong sense of coherence should be a major aim of gerontological interventions.
Wiesmann
Ulrich
U
Institute for Medical Psychology, University of Greifswald, Germany. wiesmann@uni-greifswald.de
Hannich
Hans-Joachim
HJ
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010809:Physical Fitness; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires