Understanding the Connection Among Ikigai, Well-Being, and Home Robot Acceptance in Japanese Older Adults: Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Background Ikigai (meaning or purpose in life) is a concept understood by most older adults in Japan. The term has also garnered international attention, with recent academic attempts to map it to concepts in the Western well-being literature. In addition, efforts to use social and home robots to increase well-being have grown; however, they have mostly focused on hedonic well-being (eg, increasing happiness and decreasing loneliness) rather than eudaimonic well-being (eg, fostering meaning or purpose in life). Objective First, we explored how Japanese older adults experience ikigai and relate these to concepts in the Western well-being literature. Second, we investigated how a home robot meant to promote ikigai is perceived by older adults. Methods We used a mixed methods research design—including 20 interviews with older adults, a survey of 50 older adults, and 10 interviews with family caregivers. For interviews, we asked questions about older adults’ sources of ikigai, happiness, and social support, along with their perception of the robot (QT). For surveys, a number of well-being scales were used, including 2 ikigai scales—ikigai-9 and K-1—and 6 Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System scales, measuring meaning and purpose, positive affect, satisfaction with participation in social roles, satisfaction with participation in discretionary social activities, companionship, and emotional support. Questions related to the perception and desired adoption of the robot and older adults’ health status were also included. Results Our results suggest that health is older adults’ most common source of ikigai. Additionally, although self-rated health correlated moderately with ikigai and other well-being measures, reported physical limitation did not. As opposed to social roles (work and family), we found that ikigai is more strongly related to satisfaction with discretionary social activities (leisure, hobbies, and friends) for older adults. Moreover, we found that older adults’ sources of ikigai included the eudaimonic aspects of vitality, positive relations with others, contribution, accomplishment, purpose, and personal growth, with the first 3 being most common, and the hedonic aspects of positive affect, life satisfaction, and lack of negative affect, with the first 2 being most common. However, the concept of ikigai was most related to eudaimonic well-being, specifically meaning in life, along the dimension of significance. Finally, we found that Japanese older adults have high expectations of a home robot for well-being, mentioning that it should support them in a multitude of ways before they would likely adopt it. However, we report that those with the highest levels of meaning, and satisfaction with their leisure life and friendships, may be most likely to adopt it. Conclusions We outline several ways to improve the robot to increase its acceptance, such as improving its voice, adding functional features, and designing it to support multiple aspects of well-being.

Translation and Validation of the German Version of the Ikigai-9

“…Moreover, this previous study showed that ikigai can mediate the link between social support and problematic smartphone use [9]. Another recent mixed methods study also demonstrated that health is the most common source of ikigai based on data from older adults in Japan [10]. Other research revealed that a lack of ikigai was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality based on data from a prospective cohort study of Japanese adults [11].…”

Exploring interests: A pathway to ikigai and eudaimonic well-being among people with serious mental illness.

“…Central to eudaimonic well-being is personal value, or one’s criteria with which they judge activities as worth pursuing or not, and individuals often experience growth, authenticity, meaning, and excellence during engagement in activities of value (Huta & Waterman, 2014). Because ikigai and eudaimonic well-being share many of the above central components, although not identical, researchers often use ikigai as a proxy for eudaimonic well-being (Kono et al, 2022; Randall et al, 2023). The insights from the present study can advance the knowledge base of eudaimonic well-being by adding non-Western perspectives.…”

Older Adults’ Engagement and Mood During Robot-Assisted Group Activities in Nursing Homes: Development and Observational Pilot Study

“…A study comparing animallike and humanlike social robots in group settings provided the first evidence that humanlike robots have greater effects on cognitive training than animallike robots [12], which brings humanlike social robots into the focus of research for group activities for older adults. This so-called third generation of social robots, including Nao, Pepper, QT, Sophia, Jack, LOVOT, or Tessa [12][13][14][15][16][17][18], continue to evolve, as new software is developed and released into the market [13]. Their humanlike forms [19] and integrated voice capability allow for interactions through facial expression, gestures, and voice.…”