title: Sociodemographic predictors of elderly's psychological well-being in Malaysia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Psychological well-being as one of the most important indicators of successful aging has received substantial attention in the gerontological literature. Prior studies show that sociodemographic factors influencing elderly's psychological well-being are multiple and differ across cultures. The aim of this study was to identify significant sociodemographic predictors of psychological well-being among Malay elders.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 1415 older Malays (60-100 years, 722 women), randomly selected through a multistage stratified random method from Peninsular Malaysia. WHO-Five well-being index was used to measure psychological well-being. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 13.0.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using multiple regression analysis a significant model emerged (F(7, 1407) = 20.14, p ≤ 0.001), where age, sex, marital status, and household income were significant predictor variables of psychological well-being among Malay elders. However, level of education, employment status, and place of residence failed to predict psychological well-being.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that the oldest old, elderly women, unmarried, and the poor elderly people are at risk for experiencing low psychological well-being. Therefore, they need special attention from family, policy makers, and those who work with elderly people.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gerontology, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia. yabolfathi@gmail.com
authors.forename: Yadollah A
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Momtaz
authors.forename: Rahimah
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.forename: Tengku A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Hamid
authors.forename: Nurizan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yahaya
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires