Journal of Korean Geriatric Psychiatry

노인정신의학

pISSN 1226-6329 / eISSN 2733-4600


노인정신의학

대한노인정신의학회 (19권1호 17-23)

The Effects of Stressors on Subjective Well-Being in the Elderly

노인의 주관적 행복감에 영향을 미치는 스트레스 요인

김성주;노재성;노현웅;장기중;정영기;이윤환;임기영;한창수;김진주;박미애;홍창형;손상준

Abstract

Objective:This study aims to identify self-reported stressors in the Korean community-dwelling elderly and examine their effects on subjective well-being. Methods:The subjects of this research were 1,010 elderly people who lived in Suwon, Korea. Each subject was administered the questionnaires regarding the socio-demographic characteristics, self-reported stressors, Concise Measure of Subjective Well-Being (COMOSWB) consisting of life satisfaction, positive emotion and negative emotion, Mini-Mental State Examination for dementia screening and Short Form Geriatric Depression Scale-Korean version. Statistical analyses including the Pearson’s correlation test and multiple linear regressions were performed in this study. Results:In our adjusted model for confounding variables, stress from physical problems (S-PP) (ß=-0.133, p<0.001), stress from loneliness or solitude (S-LS) (ß=-0.077, p=0.007), stress from family members (S-FM) (ß=-0.083, p=0.001) were negatively associated with the total score of COMOSWB. In subscale analyses of COMOSWB, we also found that S-PP (ß=-0.184, p<0.001), S-LS (ß=-0.077, p=0.014), stress from economic problems (ß=-0.072, p=0.021) were negatively associated with life satisfaction score. While S-PP (ß=-0.140, p<0.001) and S-FM (ß=-0.079, p=0.003) were negatively associated with positive emotion score, S-FM (ß=0.105, p=0.001) and stress from friends and neighbors (ß=0.072, p=0.016) were positively associated with negative emotion score. Conclusion:Stresses from physical problems, loneliness, and family members might be associated with subjective well-being in the elderly. While life satisfaction appears to be affected by one’s perceived physical health status, loneliness, and economic conditions, positive and negative emotions appear to be affected by relationships with family members, friends, or neighbors.

Keywords

ElderlyㆍStressorsㆍSubjective well-beingㆍLife satisfactionㆍPositive emotionㆍNegative emotion.