Associations between meanings of old age and subjective well-being indicated by satisfaction among the elderly

Abstract Objectives: To investigate the meanings attributed by the elderly to healthy aging and to being happy in old age, and the associations between these meanings and the evaluations of the elderly individuals of their overall and domain-referenced satisfaction. Method: A cross-sectional and multicenter study was performed. The verbal utterances of representative samples of community-dwelling elderly persons (N=1,242, aged 65 years and older) registered in the databases of two Brazilian cities, were submitted to content analysis and compared with satisfaction indicators, considering gender, age and family income. Results: Four themes and 14 categories explained the two concepts: physical health and functioning (42.1% of utterances), psychological well-being (25.4%), interpersonal relationships (23.5%) and material resources and access to health services (9.0%). No significant differences were observed for the prevalence ratios between the categories of meaning and great satisfaction with life, with the exception of satisfaction and pleasure. Conclusion: The two concepts raised common meanings associated with positive aspects of old age and had an impact on satisfaction ratings, showing that healthy and happy aging is more than just being healthy, but also involves psychological well-being and interpersonal relationships.摘要 研究目标：本研究旨在探究老年人对健康老龄化（healthy aging）与老年幸福的认知内涵，以及此类认知内涵与老年人整体生活满意度及领域特异性满意度评价之间的关联。 研究方法：本研究采用多中心横断面研究设计。研究对象为巴西两座城市数据库中登记的社区居住老年人（community-dwelling elderly persons，N=1242，年龄≥65岁）的代表性样本，对其言语表述开展内容分析（content analysis），并结合性别、年龄与家庭收入因素，将分析结果与满意度指标进行对比分析。 研究结果：四大主题与14个类别可阐释上述两个概念：身体健康与机能状态（占总言语表述的42.1%）、心理福祉（25.4%）、人际关系（23.5%）以及物质资源与医疗服务可及性（9.0%）。除满意度与愉悦感维度外，各类认知内涵的患病率比与高生活满意度之间均未呈现显著差异。 研究结论：本研究提出的两个概念均包含与老年期积极特质相关的共同认知内涵，且对满意度评价产生显著影响，表明健康且幸福的老龄化绝非仅局限于身体健康层面，同时还涵盖心理福祉与人际关系两大维度。