No abstract

The tendency to live alone is a relatively recent phenomenon in Ecuador, but it is expanding rapidly. This study aims to identify factors associated with financial distress/well-being according to living situation (living alone vs. living with a partner) in Ecuadorian health workers. This study examined the construct of financial distress/well-being in a sample of 800 Ecuadorian health workers using cross-sectional data. Living situation was compared using generalized linear model analyses including income, age, children living at home, self-perception of health, depression, anxiety and stress, perceived social support, positive mental health, and hedonistic and austere profiles. Regarding financial well-being, workers living alone ranked lower and workers living with a partner ranked higher. In workers living alone the main sources of financial distress/well-being were income, children living at home, perceived social support, positive mental health, and hedonistic attitude towards indebtedness. In workers living with a partner the main sources of financial distress/well-being were income, age, self-perception of health, depression, anxiety and stress, perceived social support, positive mental health, and austere attitude towards indebtedness. Based on our results, we discuss potential public policy interventions that can be used to improve workers’ financial well-being.

Ondividuals not only have a set of personal resources to carry out their activities, they also have a perception with respect to the availability of these resources. As people age, personal food-related perceived resources (FPR) become increasingly important, and these influence their quality of life (QDL). Since men and women differ in aspects like education, consumption and pensions, this study seeks to identify the gender role in the relationship between FPR and QDL among Ecuadorian elderly. The sample included elderly people of both sexes in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, with the application of stratified random sampling. The instrument included: FPR scale, satisfaction with food-related life scale (SWFLS) and the satisfaction with life scale (SWLS). The results indicated that those men and women who have a better perceived satisfaction with their economic situation are in physically and mentally good health, assign greater importance to family, are more satisfied with their food-related life, and have a higher number of FPR and therefore a better QDL. A relevant conclusion is that SWFLS and FPR are predictors of QDL among Ecuadorian elderly and that gender helps to explain the sign and magnitude of the relationship between these variables.

In recent years, measurement of quality of life has received increased attention. We use the satisfaction with life and subjective happiness scales in older adults living in urban areas in the Maule Region, Chile; generalized linear models are used (n = 396). We find that (1) gender is linked to satisfaction with life, (2) satisfaction with one’s own economic situation have significant effects on satisfaction with life and happiness, and (3) health, family and satisfaction with food are the most important predictors of both satisfaction with life and happiness.