Relationship Between Loneliness and Self-Reported Health and Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults
2024
Loneliness and Health in Older Adults
Sample size: 14252
publication
Evidence: moderate
Author Information
Author(s): Deshmukh Madhyami, Martin Peter
Primary Institution: Iowa State University
Hypothesis
Does having children indicate support in quality of life for older adults?
Conclusion
Loneliness negatively affects self-reported health and life satisfaction among older adults, and the number of children does not moderate this relationship.
Supporting Evidence
- Loneliness at wave 10 negatively correlated with self-reported health at all three waves.
- Loneliness at wave 10 negatively correlated with life satisfaction at all three waves.
- Loneliness at wave 12 was positively correlated with age.
- Life satisfaction at waves 10 and 12 was positively associated with age.
- Loneliness predicted self-reported health with a beta of -25.
- Loneliness and number of children predicted life satisfaction with betas of -0.37 and 0.33, respectively.
Takeaway
Feeling lonely can make older people feel less healthy and less happy, and having kids doesn't help with that.
Methodology
The study used three waves of the Health and Retirement Study and analyzed data through bivariate correlations and multiple regressions.
Participant Demographics
Mean age of participants was 73 years.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.001
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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