IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i7p3831-d531001.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors Associated with Happiness among Malaysian Elderly

Author

Listed:
  • Shamsul Azhar Shah

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia)

  • Nazarudin Safian

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia)

  • Saharuddin Ahmad

    (Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia)

  • Wan Abdul Hannan Wan Ibadullah

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia)

  • Zulkefley bin Mohammad

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia)

  • Siti Rohani Nurumal

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia)

  • Juliana Mansor

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia)

  • Mohd Fairuz Addnan

    (Department of Community Health, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia)

  • Yugo Shobugawa

    (Division of International Health (Public Health), Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata 950-2181, Japan
    Department of Active Ageing, Niigata University Graduate, School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata 951-8510, Japan)

Abstract

Happiness is an essential component to experience healthy ageing. Hence, understanding the factors that contribute to happiness is important. This study aimed to determine the factors associated with happiness among the elderly population in Malaysia. In this study, 1204 respondents were recruited from urban and rural areas in Selangor. A face-to-face interview was conducted using the Bahasa Malaysia version of the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study questionnaire. The inclusion criteria include Malaysians who are 60-years old and above and can converse in the Malaysian language. Those who encounter less than seven scores for the Abbreviated Mental Test were excluded from the study. Among the 1204 respondents, 953 (79.2%) were happy. Sociodemographic characteristics showed that being a men, age of 60 to 74 years, and living in urban areas were significantly associated with happiness. A logistic regression model showed that locality (aOR 1.61), income category (Bottom 40% aOR 0.49; Middle-class group 40% aOR 1.40), social engagement (active aOR 1.77; less active aOR 1.25), receiving emotional support (aOR 2.11) and handgrip strength (aOR 1.02) were significantly associated with happiness. Thus, ensuring the elderly population in receiving emotional support and active social engagement among them can enhance their happiness level.

Suggested Citation

  • Shamsul Azhar Shah & Nazarudin Safian & Saharuddin Ahmad & Wan Abdul Hannan Wan Ibadullah & Zulkefley bin Mohammad & Siti Rohani Nurumal & Juliana Mansor & Mohd Fairuz Addnan & Yugo Shobugawa, 2021. "Factors Associated with Happiness among Malaysian Elderly," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-11, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:7:p:3831-:d:531001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3831/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3831/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Krueger, Alan B. & Schkade, David A., 2008. "The reliability of subjective well-being measures," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(8-9), pages 1833-1845, August.
    2. Christina Musalek & Sylvia Kirchengast, 2017. "Grip Strength as an Indicator of Health-Related Quality of Life in Old Age—A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1, November.
    3. Ed Diener & Derrick Wirtz & William Tov & Chu Kim-Prieto & Dong-won Choi & Shigehiro Oishi & Robert Biswas-Diener, 2010. "New Well-being Measures: Short Scales to Assess Flourishing and Positive and Negative Feelings," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 97(2), pages 143-156, June.
    4. Nazarudin Safian & Shamsul Azhar Shah & Juliana Mansor & Zulkefley Mohammad & Siti Rohani Nurumal & Wan Abdul Hannan Wan Ibadullah & Saharuddin Ahmad & Yugo Shobugawa, 2021. "Factors Associated with the Need for Assistance among the Elderly in Malaysia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lanlan Zhao & Xin Zheng & Kai Ji & Zhengsheng Wang & Lingzhi Sang & Xuefei Chen & Ling Tang & Ying Zhu & Zhongliang Bai & Ren Chen, 2022. "The Relationship between Social Support and Anxiety among Rural Older People in Elderly Caring Social Organizations: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-12, September.
    2. Maki Nakajima & Aiko Kikkawa & Norma Mansor & Halimah Awang, 2024. "Subjective well-being of older persons in Malaysia," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 75(4), pages 927-950, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kai Ludwigs & Richard Lucas & Martijn Burger & Ruut Veenhoven & Lidia Arends, 2018. "How Does More Attention to Subjective Well-Being Affect Subjective Well-Being?," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 13(4), pages 1055-1080, December.
    2. Milakis, Dimitris & Cervero, Robert & van Wee, Bert & Maat, Kees, 2015. "Do people consider an acceptable travel time? Evidence from Berkeley, CA," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 76-86.
    3. Ichiro Sasaki & Katsunori Kondo & Naoki Kondo & Jun Aida & Hiroshi Ichikawa & Takashi Kusumi & Naoya Sueishi & Yuichi Imanaka, 2018. "Are pension types associated with happiness in Japanese older people?: JAGES cross-sectional study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, May.
    4. Allison Ross & Craig A. Talmage & Mark Searle, 2019. "Toward a Flourishing Neighborhood: the Association of Happiness and Sense of Community," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 14(5), pages 1333-1352, November.
    5. Yuri Sasaki & Yugo Shobugawa & Ikuma Nozaki & Daisuke Takagi & Yuiko Nagamine & Masafumi Funato & Yuki Chihara & Yuki Shirakura & Kay Thi Lwin & Poe Ei Zin & Thae Zarchi Bo & Tomofumi Sone & Hla Hla W, 2022. "Association between Happiness and Economic Status among Older Adults in Two Myanmar Regions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-13, March.
    6. Veljko Jovanović & Milica Lazić, 2020. "Is Longer Always Better? A Comparison of the Validity of Single-item Versus Multiple-item Measures of Life Satisfaction," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 15(3), pages 675-692, July.
    7. Ifcher, John & Zarghamee, Homa & Goff, Sandra H., 2021. "Happiness in the Lab: What Can Be Learned about Subjective Well-Being from Experiments?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 943, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    8. Maw–Der Foo & Marilyn A. Uy & Charles Murnieks, 2015. "Beyond Affective Valence: Untangling Valence and Activation Influences on Opportunity Identification," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(2), pages 407-431, March.
    9. Foliano, Francesca & Tonei, Valentina & Sevilla, Almudena, 2024. "Social restrictions, leisure and well-being," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    10. Fabian T C Schmidt & Clemens M Lechner & Daniel Danner, 2020. "New wine in an old bottle? A facet-level perspective on the added value of Grit over BFI–2 Conscientiousness," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-25, February.
    11. Yi-Ching Hsieh & Hung-Chang Chiu & Yun-Chia Tang & Wei-Yun Lin, 2018. "Does Raising Value Co-creation Increase All Customers’ Happiness?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 152(4), pages 1053-1067, November.
    12. van Hoorn, André, 2018. "Is the happiness approach to measuring preferences valid?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 53-65.
    13. Carter, Steven & McBride, Michael, 2013. "Experienced utility versus decision utility: Putting the ‘S’ in satisfaction," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 13-23.
    14. Li, Tingting Elle & Chan, Eric Tak Hin, 2017. "Diaspora tourism and well-being: A eudaimonic view," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 205-206.
    15. M. Sirgy, 2011. "Theoretical Perspectives Guiding QOL Indicator Projects," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 103(1), pages 1-22, August.
    16. Martin Binder, 2016. "Revisiting Cheerful Jane and Miserable John: the impact of income, good health, social contacts and education declines with increasing subjective well-being," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(8), pages 544-553, May.
    17. Merrick Powell & Kirk N. Olsen & William Forde Thompson, 2023. "Music, Pleasure, and Meaning: The Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motivations for Music (HEMM) Scale," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(6), pages 1-19, March.
    18. Zuoxian Gan & Tao Feng & Min Yang, 2018. "Exploring the Effects of Car Ownership and Commuting on Subjective Well-Being: A Nationwide Questionnaire Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-20, December.
    19. Nelli Ferenczi & Tara C Marshall, 2013. "Exploring Attachment to the “Homeland” and Its Association with Heritage Culture Identification," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(1), pages 1-17, January.
    20. Heywood, John S. & Siebert, W. Stanley & Wei, Xiangdong, 2009. "Job Satisfaction and the Labor Market Institutions in Urban China," IZA Discussion Papers 4254, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:7:p:3831-:d:531001. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.