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Do Social Resources Explain the Relationship Between Optimism and Life Satisfaction in Community-Dwelling Older People? Testing a Multiple Mediation Model

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  • Cristina Dumitrache
  • Gill Windle
  • Ramona Rubio Herrera

Abstract

Psychosocial resources such as optimism and social resources are associated with adaptation, age-related changes and life satisfaction (LS) maintenance. The relationship between optimism, social resources and LS is unclear as this issue has not been addressed by many studies. The present study analyzes the direct and indirect effect of optimism on LS in older people among older people with and without restrictions due to illness. The indirect effect was tested using a multiple mediation model of network size, emotional, instrumental and affectionate support, subjective evaluation of social relations and satisfaction with family life for each group while controlling for variables that have been found to have an impact on LS (age, self-rated health and the number of illnesses). The sample comprised 406 community-dwelling older adults (M = 74.88, SD = 6.75) from urban areas in Granada, southern Spain. Health status was modestly related to LS while optimism and social relations variables were positively and strongly associated with LS. Among the proposed mediators network size, tangible support and satisfaction with family life mediated the relationship between optimism and LS in the group of people without restrictions due to illness, while for the participants who reported restrictions due to illness only network size and satisfaction with family life mediated the relation between optimism and LS. Optimism and social resources are important factors that are linked to well-being in old age. Network size, tangible support and satisfaction with family life partially explain the relationship between optimism and LS. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Cristina Dumitrache & Gill Windle & Ramona Rubio Herrera, 2015. "Do Social Resources Explain the Relationship Between Optimism and Life Satisfaction in Community-Dwelling Older People? Testing a Multiple Mediation Model," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 633-654, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jhappi:v:16:y:2015:i:3:p:633-654
    DOI: 10.1007/s10902-014-9526-3
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    2. Qian Nie & Zhaojun Teng & George G. Bear & Cheng Guo & Yanling Liu & Dajun Zhang, 2019. "Hope as Mediator Between Teacher–Student Relationships and Life Satisfaction Among Chinese Adolescents: A Between- and Within-Person Effects Analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(7), pages 2367-2383, October.
    3. Lorena Patricia Gallardo-Peralta & Esteban Sanchez-Moreno & Soledad Herrera, 2022. "Aging and Family Relationships among Aymara, Mapuche and Non-Indigenous People: Exploring How Social Support, Family Functioning, and Self-Perceived Health Are Related to Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Myeong-Ah Seo & Young-Jin Lim, 2019. "Optimism and life satisfaction in persons with schizophrenia living in the community," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 65(7-8), pages 615-620, November.
    5. Luca Zanin, 2017. "Education and Life Satisfaction in Relation to the Probability of Social Trust: a Conceptual Framework and Empirical Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 925-947, June.
    6. Chunkai Zhao & Jianhao Guo, 2022. "Are Veterans Happy? Long-term Military Service and the Life Satisfaction of Elderly Individuals in China," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 477-508, February.

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