Abstract
Along with the remarkable rise of life expectancy, happiness has become a major issue for people who live a longer life. The aging process encompasses some declines that challenge the well-being of people. The chapter begins with the discussion of happiness across the life span, its relation with health and social relationships, and ends with a study aiming to analyze the proportion of happy people living in the community and to determine the predictors of happiness. For this purpose, a sample of 1,322 people (55 + years old) were interviewed using an extensive protocol that includes sociodemographic variables, and information on cognitive functioning, social network, amount of health problems, and its probable interference with activities of daily living and self-perception of health. Data show that being man, married, more educated and wealthy, with a larger social network and being cognitively intact, with a better self-perceived health, less number of diagnosed diseases, and without health problems interfering with daily life are the factors which raise happiness. When controlling for all the variables in the model, only age, education, and health perception remain significant predictors of happiness. We suggest interventions to promote a more positive perception of health and life as a whole, to reformulate goals and to engage in achieving them through volition activities in order to increase happiness in old age.
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Paúl, C., Teixeira, L., Ribeiro, O. (2013). What About Happiness in Later Life?. In: Phellas, C. (eds) Aging in European Societies. International Perspectives on Aging, vol 6. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8345-9_6
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