Despite the growing interest in studying factors affecting subjective well-being of older adults, little research has been conducted on vast territory of Siberia (Russia) with large population. To address this lack of evidence, we explored the relationship between subjective well-being and social aspects (social and emotional support, social network, and social activities), living conditions (standards of living and residence area), self-reported health, and demographic characteristics in older adults living in Tomsk Region, Siberia. Subjective well-being was measured by life satisfaction and happiness (each measured with one 11-point question). Sample included 489 community-dwelling respondents, aged 65 or older. We found that mean life satisfaction and happiness reported by our respondents were lower than those of European countries. Higher quality of social interaction, better standards of living, and being satisfied with own health were associated with higher life satisfaction and happiness. This study provides original data on a region barely investigated and suggests that Siberian older adults receive strong benefits from social support and from social network and that similar factors are related to subjective well-being both in Siberian and Eastern European older adults. Future studies should further explore the relationship between different kinds of social support (e.g., psychological vs. material support) and subjective well-being in different Siberian ethnic groups or regions.

Life satisfaction is one of the constructs that constitute subjective well-being and thus represents an important measure in evaluating the quality of life in older adults. The goal of this study was to identify which predictors were more strongly associated with life satisfaction in a community of older adults living in Tomsk (Siberia, Russia). We analysed the preliminary data from the Monitoring Wellbeing in Older Adults Survey conducted in 2014. A subset of items corresponding to socio-demographic, physical and psychological health, social support, social interaction, and independence aspects were extracted and included in the analysis. Two hundred eighty-four respondents (212 female, age range: 52-91) participated in the study. In this sample, 68% of the respondents reported to be satisfied with their life. Logistic regression analysis showed that having a higher income level, a well-equipped house, and a lower level of anxiety and loneliness are associated with an increase in life satisfaction in older adults. These results suggest that both material aspects and psychological health could play an important role in determining the quality of life of older adults. This study provides helpful clues about which factors should be more deeply investigated in the future development of the survey.