J Korean Gerontol Nurs.  2021 Feb;23(1):96-105. 10.17079/jkgn.2021.23.1.96.

A Structural Model of Life Satisfaction for Middle Aged or Older People Living Alone

• Kim KS
• Kim M

• KMID: 2540550
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.17079/jkgn.2021.23.1.96

Abstract

Purpose
This study aimed to construct and test a hypothetical model of the life satisfaction of middle-aged and older people living alone.

Methods
Data were collected from 214 participants in one city of South Korea from the 20th to 31st of March 2019. The assessment tools included laughter, dependency, loneliness, depression, and life satisfaction. Data were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 26.0 programs.

Results
The modified model was a good fit for the data. The model fit indices were x2=44.51 (p<.05), the Comparative Fit Index (CFI)=.97, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI)=.96, and Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA)=.06. Depression was directly influenced by dependency (β=.14, p=.005), laugh (β=-.28, p=.002), and loneliness (β=.48, p<.001). Loneliness mediated the relations among laugh, dependency, and depression. Loneliness (β=-.34, p<.001), and depression (β=-.39, p<.001) had direct effects on life satisfaction.

Conclusion
These results suggest that the level of laughter and dependency is highly associated with negative emotions such as loneliness and depression in middle-aged and older people living alone. Depression and loneliness decreased life satisfaction. Nursing interventions are needed to alleviative negative emotions and increase life satisfaction by building a meticulous monitoring and supportive system that considers individual subjects.

Keyword

Aged; Life; Models, Structural