The importance of national levels of eudaimonic well-being to life satisfaction in old age: a global study

Qual Life Res. 2018 Dec;27(12):3303-3311. doi: 10.1007/s11136-018-1977-2. Epub 2018 Aug 28.

Abstract

Purpose: The present study sought to test the hypotheses that the relationship between age and life satisfaction is moderated by five societal factors: (1) eudaimonic well-being (i.e., psycho-social functioning), (2) economic quality, (3) healthcare system efficiency, (4) globalization, and (5) national age.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional analysis based on data from the Gallup World Poll. The sample consisted of 264,123 individuals across 133 countries. Multi-level modeling was used to analyze the data.

Results: The results showed that out of the five moderators, only national levels of eudaimonic well-being robustly moderated the relationship between age and life satisfaction. The relationship between age and life satisfaction was negative in countries with low and moderate levels of eudaimonic well-being, and non-significant in countries with high levels of eudaimonic well-being.

Conclusion: It seems that a non-financial way to maintain higher levels of life satisfaction in aging populations is to enhance eudaimonic well-being. This can be achieved through interventions and policies targeted at individuals, groups, and organizations.

Keywords: Age; Eudaimonic well-being; Globalization; Healthcare; Life satisfaction.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aging / physiology*
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Personal Satisfaction*
  • Quality of Life / psychology*
  • Young Adult