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Social relationships and health as predictors of life satisfaction in advanced old age: results from a Swedish longitudinal study

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Author

  • C McCamish-Svensson
  • Gillis Samuelsson
  • Bo Hagberg
  • Torbjörn Svensson
  • Ove Dehlin

Summary, in English

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.

Publishing year

1999

Language

English

Pages

301-324

Publication/Series

International Journal of Aging and Human Development

Volume

48

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Baywood Publishing Company, Inc.

Topic

  • Gerontology, specializing in Medical and Health Sciences
  • Occupational Therapy

Keywords

  • Follow up study
  • Satisfaction
  • Attitude
  • Daily living
  • Social support
  • Familial relation
  • Interpersonal relation
  • Social interaction
  • Social development
  • Elderly
  • Human

Status

Published

Research group

  • Sustainable occupations and health in a life course perspective
  • Geriatric Medicine

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0091-4150