Family relations, sense of coherence, happiness and perceived health in retired Taiwanese: Analysis of a conceptual model

Abstract

Aim: A growing awareness of the rapidly increasing aged population in the world has led to growing attention to mental health in late life. Happiness has been emphasized as an important indicator of physical health and is predicted by a sense of coherence. However, the mechanism of influence of family relations on sense of coherence, happiness and perceived health is unknown. The present study aimed to analyze a conceptual model of the relationships among family relations, sense of coherence, happiness and perceived health in retired persons.Methods: A total of 142 retired participants were recruited from social service centers in Taipei, Taiwan. A structured questionnaire measuring the relationships among family relations, sense of coherence, happiness and perceived health was filled in by each respondent. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results:The results showed that family relations is positively correlated with happiness, sense of coherence and perceived health. The results also showed that good family relations and a sense of coherence predict greater happiness. The results from structure equation modeling showed that the relationship between family relations and perceived health is completely mediated by happiness and a sense of coherence, but only the indirect effect of happiness is significant. The results also showed that family relations is partially mediated by the sense of coherence to happiness.

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“…In our study, happiness score was found to be low in elderly who want to spend their lives in nursing homes and who feel themselves alone (Table 3). When the literature was examined family relations were found to have a positive effect on happiness 19,20 . In our study, the reason why happiness score was found to be low in elderly who want to spend their lives in nursing homes and who feel themselves alone is thought that the elderly are happy when they spend time with their children and grandchildren while they feel unhappy when they feel lonely and they are alone.…”

Association of Family Type with Happiness Attributes Among Older Adults

“…Chaiang and Lee [3] found that family relations were positively correlated with happiness, sense of coherence, and perceived health in older adults. Bai, Yang, and Knapp [6] reported that sense of loneliness mediated the effects of support from family, friends, and others on life satisfaction.…”

“…It has also been emphasized as an important indicator of health and is predicted by the individual's sense of coherence [3]. In the past, growth-oriented societies considered income and happiness proportional to each other.…”

“…Social support is an important component of older adults' happiness and health [6,7,8,9]. Among the sources of social support, the family is considered as the most important factor that influences older adults' happiness [3,6,7,8,9,10]. The previous studies report the important influence of contextual factors on associations between living arrangements and the happiness [3,8], between living arrangements and health status [3,10] of older individuals.…”

“…Among the sources of social support, the family is considered as the most important factor that influences older adults' happiness [3,6,7,8,9,10]. The previous studies report the important influence of contextual factors on associations between living arrangements and the happiness [3,8], between living arrangements and health status [3,10] of older individuals. Bai, Yang, and Knapp [6] found that the formal support system for solitary older adults without family support did not contribute to their life satisfaction.…”