Factors Influencing the Happiness of the Elderly in Khumngoen Subdistrict, Mueang District, Yasothon Province

Abstract

This research aimed to: (1) examine the level of life happiness among homebound older adults; (2) investigate the predictive power of gender, age, income, self-care ability, social support, and family developmental tasks in late adulthood on life happiness; and (3) explore the relationships among these variables and life happiness of homebound older adults in Khum Ngoen Sub-district, Mueang District, Yasothon Province. The sample consisted of 172 homebound older adults selected by Taro Yamane’s formula. A questionnaire was employed for data collection. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis. The results revealed that life happiness of the elderly was generally at a high level. Self-care ability was at a high level, social support at a moderate level, and family developmental tasks in late adulthood at a high level. Age was negatively correlated with life happiness, while income, self-care ability, social support, and family developmental tasks in late adulthood were positively correlated. Furthermore, self-care ability, social support, and family developmental tasks in late adulthood together predicted 57.60% of the variance in life happiness, with statistical significance at the .01 level. The most appropriate predictive equation in raw scores was: Life Happiness = 0.811 + 0.314(Family Developmental Tasks in Late Adulthood) + 0.300(Self-Care Ability) + 0.148(Social Support).