Factors Predicting Psychological Well-being of Community-residing Older Adults

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate the psychological well-being and its predictors of older adults, i.e., perceived health status, Instrumental Activities of Daily Livings (IADLs), practice of religious activities, perceived stress, perceived self-efficacy, and social support. Methods: A total of 400 community-dwelling older adults residing in Sansuk Municipality, Chonburi Province participated in this study. The multi–stage sampling was used to recruit the sample. Participants were males and females aged 60 years or older who met the inclusion criteria. They were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to gather data for 1) participants’ general information, 2) perceived health status, 3) IADLs, 4) practice of religious activities, 5) perceived self-efficacy, 6) perceived stress, 7) social support, and 8) psychological well-being. Descriptive statistics and stepwise multiple regression were employed to analyze the data. Results: The overall psychological well-being among these older adults was at a moderate level (M = 4.28 ± 0.29). The mean scores for sub-scales of psychological well- being in the order of highest to lowest were: positive relations with others (M = 4.63 ± 0.36), self-acceptance (M = 4.39 ± 0.37), purpose in life (M = 4.30  ± 0.52), environmental mastery (M = 4.21 ± 0.46), personal growth (M = 4.16  ± 0.42), and autonomy (M = 3.84 ± 0.47). The stepwise multiple regression analysis demonstrated that factors that significantly predicted psychological well-being in the order of strongest to lowest were the practice of religious activities (β = 0.338, P < 0.001), perceived self-efficacy (β = 0.250, P < 0.001), social support (β = 0.165, P < 0.001) and perceived stress (β = 0.126, P < 0.05), respectively. These factors could explain 28.50% of variance for psychological well-being (R2 = 0.285, F = 39.02, P < 0.001). Conclusion: This study provided the better understanding of psychological well-being and its predictors among community-dwelling older adults. Healthcare personnel should be aware of the importance for developing proper activities or programs aimed at reducing stress and enhancing the practice of religion activities, perceived self-efficacy, and social support. This would help promote psychological well-being among the older adults. Keywords: Psychological well-being, older adults, predictive factors