Open Journal Systems

Socio-demographic Correlates of Psychological Well-being among Older Adults in Bhutan

Nidup Dorji, Michael Dunne, Mahesh Gurung

Article ID: 782
Vol 4, Issue 2, 2019, Article identifier:

VIEWS - 722 (Abstract) 438 (PDF)

Abstract

Well-being is a complex combination of physical, psychological, emotional, and social health factors of a person. The feeling of well-being is essential for the overall health of a person and enables them to be successful and achieve what they want in life. There is a paucity of study on the well-being of older adults in Bhutan. This study attempted to assess how older adults in Bhutan perceive their well-being and determine their socio-demographic correlates. The World Health Organization five well-being indexes were applied to measure well-being. Findings indicated above average well-being score with the nature of the relationship with children, education level, and employment status as independent correlates. Efforts to enhance the relationship between family members could be more relevant for the well-being of older adults. Further research on well-being is required to incorporate determinants other than socio-demographic variables.


Keywords

Wellbeing; Older adults; Bhutan

Full Text:

PDF



References

1. National Statistical Bureau. 2017 Population and Housing Census of Bhutan. National Statistical Bureau; 2018.

2. Thinley S, Tshering P, Wangmo K, et al. The Kingdom of Bhutan Health System Review. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2017.

3. Zhou Y, Zhou L, Fu C, et al. Socio-economic Factors Related with the Subjective Well-being of the Rural Elderly People Living Independently in China. International Journal for Equity in Health 2015;14(1):5.

4. Cramm JM, van Dijk HM, Nieboer AP. The Importance of Neighborhood Social Cohesion and Social Capital for the Well Being of Older Adults in the Community. The Gerontologist 2013;53(1):142-52.

5. Steptoe A, Deaton A, Stone AA. Psychological Wellbeing, Health and Ageing. Lancet 2015;385(9968):640-8.

6. Momtaz YA, Ibrahim R, Hamid TA, et al. Sociodemographic Predictors of Elderly’s Psychological Well-being in Malaysia. Aging and Mental Health 2011;15(4):437-45.

7. Chauhan P, Kokiwar PR, Shridevi K, et al. A Study on Prevalence and Correlates of Depression among Elderly Population of Rural South India. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health 2017;3(1):236-9.

8. Udayar SE, DV Prasad. Epidemiological Study of Socio Demographic Factors in Relation to Depression among the Elderly People in a Rural Area of Chittoor District of Andhra Pradesh, India. International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health 2017;3(1):161-5.

9. Lukaschek K, Vanajan A, Johar H, et al. In the Mood for Ageing: Determinants of Subjective Well-being in Older Men and Women of the Population-based KORA-age Study. BMC Geriatrics 2017;17(1):126.

10. Pinquart M, S Sörensen. Gender Differences in Self-concept and Psychological Well-being in Old Age: A Meta-analysis. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 2001;56(4):195-213.

11. Tda SA, Cordeiro RC, Ramos LR. Factors Associated to Quality of Life in Active Elderly. Revista de Saúde Pública 2009;43:613-21.

12. Liu Y, Dijst M, Geertman S. The Subjective Well-being of Older Adults in Shanghai: The Role of Residential Environment and Individual Resources. Urban Studies 2017;54(7):1692-714.

13. Nguyen AW, Chatters LM, Taylor RJ, et al. Social Support from Family and Friends and Subjective Well-being of Older African Americans. Journal of Happiness Studies 2016;17(3):959-79.

14. Lee JE, B Kahana. Successful Aging from the Viewpoint of Older Adults: Development of a Brief Successful Aging Inventory (SAI). Gerontology 2017;63(4):359-71.

15. Topp CW, Østergaard SD, Søndergaard S, et al. The WHO-5 Well-being Index: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2015;84(3):167-76.

16. Dorji N, Dunne MP, Seib C, et al. Quality of Life among Senior Citizens in Bhutan: Associations with Adverse Life Experiences, Chronic Diseases, Spirituality, and Social Connectedness. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health 2017;29(1):35-46.

17. Steptoe A, Shankar A, Demakakos P, et al. Social Isolation, Loneliness, and All-cause Mortality in Older Men and Women. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2013;110(15):5797-801.

18. Zepke N. Lifelong Education for Subjective Well-being: How do Engagement and Active Citizenship Contribute? International Journal of Lifelong Education 2012;32(5):639-51.

19. Lau A, Chi I, McKenna K. Self-perceived Quality of Life of Chinese Elderly People in Hong Kong. Occupational Therapy International 1998;5(2):118-39.

20. Sampaio PY, Ito E, Sampaio RA. The Association of Activity and Participation with Quality of Life between Japanese Older Adults Living in Rural and Urban Areas. Journal of Clinical Gerontology and Geriatrics 2013;4(2):51-6.

21. Miller JM. Language use, Identity, and Social Interaction: Migrant Students in Australia. Research on Language and Social Interaction 2000;33(1):69-100.

22. Kave G, Eyal N, Shorek A, et al. Multilingualism and Cognitive State in the Oldest Old. Psychology and Aging 2008;23(1):70-8.


DOI: https://doi.org/10.18063/esp.v3.i2.782
(722 Abstract Views, 438 PDF Downloads)

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2019 Nidup Dorji, Michael Dunne, Mahesh Gurung

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.