Background The study aimed to identify the associations of happiness and factors related to physical and mental health, leisure, and sports activities amongst older adults in Abu Dhabi. The sample comprised 1,004 participants in the third Abu Dhabi Quality of Life survey administered in 2019-2020. Methods The analysis used path analysis to develop a model incorporating the specified variables. The path model highlighted all direct and indirect associations between the variables. We also used variance analysis to test the differences in gender, marital status, and education attainment with happiness. Results Results show that sleep quality is most associated with happiness and subjective health. In addition, sleeping hours did not show any association with subjective health; but were associated with happiness. The result also confirms that mental health is negatively associated with happiness and subjective health. How often an elderly gets involved in sport and activities for at least 30 minutes significantly affects subjective health and happiness. Conclusions Happiness of older adults is best understood when we look at both direct and indirect effects using a path model. Their happiness is significantly associated with their subjective health, mental health, participation in sport and activities and sleep quality, Implications of the study were highlighted, along with future research directions.

This study focused on older adults (60+ years old) of both genders in Abu Dhabi during the COVID-19 pandemic before vaccines were made available (age ranged from 60 years to 75 years). They faced more strict rules of movement restriction and isolation that might have resulted in certain psychological feelings and social reactions. The main objective was to understand Abu Dhabi older adults’ psychological feelings during the pandemic and to identify their main concerns and challenges considering the various COVID-19-related policies and restrictions. The psychological feelings focused on fear, loneliness, sadness, irritability, emotional exhaustion, depressive symptoms, sleeping disorders, overeating, and excessive screen use. The objectives also included the changes in the psychological feelings concerning time. Other objectives covered better understanding the differences in (some activities) compared to the other age categories. Data were gathered through an online survey of community members from February to July 2020 as part of government initiatives (Department of Community Development). Responses were collected from 574 older adults in Abu Dhabi (60.1% male and 39.9% female). The analysis mainly used descriptive analysis, t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and simple trend analysis. For all tests, a p-value less than 0.05 was used for significance. The results pointed to the significant rise in feelings related to excessive screen use, fear, loneliness, and stress. The most significant concerns were related to more restrictions being imposed and not being able to see the grandchildren.The impact of new technologies on their quality of life was significantly reflected by respondents. The influence of the pandemic on older adults’ health and weight was also investigated. Analysis of variance, t-tests, and regression analysis with relevant tests were employed. The relevant results showed that some negative psychological feelings were common among older adults during the pandemic. However, the psychological feelings did not portray significant changes with time, except for sleeping disorders and overeating. Overall, older adults scored significantly different from other age groups on many challenges, concerns, and views regarding new technologies during the pandemic. No significant differences were observed regarding gender and marital status for the challenges and concerns. The research summarizes some policy guidance while noting some limitations of this study and future research directions.

This study attempts to understand various aspects of the quality of life (QoL) of the divorced and the separated in Abu Dhabi. A descriptive analysis approach was adopted to explore the differences in some selected QoL indicators, including health perceptions, depressive feelings, social connection, happiness, and life satisfaction between and among various demographical categories of the divorced and the separated. This research drew data from the second cycle of the Quality-of-Life survey in Abu Dhabi conducted in 2019-2020, in which a total of 3,192 divorced or separated individuals participated. The analysis followed mainly a descriptive approach, presenting the means of each well-being variable by various respondent categories. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was also used to examine the degree of differences. The results show that the divorced/separated generally exhibit a significantly low level of QoL attributes. Moreover, the divorced/separated show significant differences in those selected QoL indicators when gender, age, nationality, income, residence, and education are factored in. Most of the lowest QoL scores were reported by females, lower-income groups, younger age groups, residents of the Al Ain region, low education groups, and non-Emiratis. Policy implications and future research directions are recommended.