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Exploring predictors of life satisfaction and happiness among Siberian older adults living in Tomsk Region

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Abstract

Despite the growing interest in studying factors affecting subjective well-being of older adults, little research has been conducted on vast territory of Siberia (Russia) with large population. To address this lack of evidence, we explored the relationship between subjective well-being and social aspects (social and emotional support, social network, and social activities), living conditions (standards of living and residence area), self-reported health, and demographic characteristics in older adults living in Tomsk Region, Siberia. Subjective well-being was measured by life satisfaction and happiness (each measured with one 11-point question). Sample included 489 community-dwelling respondents, aged 65 or older. We found that mean life satisfaction and happiness reported by our respondents were lower than those of European countries. Higher quality of social interaction, better standards of living, and being satisfied with own health were associated with higher life satisfaction and happiness. This study provides original data on a region barely investigated and suggests that Siberian older adults receive strong benefits from social support and from social network and that similar factors are related to subjective well-being both in Siberian and Eastern European older adults. Future studies should further explore the relationship between different kinds of social support (e.g., psychological vs. material support) and subjective well-being in different Siberian ethnic groups or regions.

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Acknowledgements

Data collection was supported by the project “Evaluation and enhancement of social, economic and emotional wellbeing of older adults,” under the agreement no. 14.Z50.31.0029, Tomsk Polytechnic University. Data analysis was supported by the Tomsk Polytechnic University within the framework of Tomsk Polytechnic University Competitiveness Enhancement Program. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for the valuable comments and suggestions on a previous version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, Russia

    Daniele Didino, Ekaterina A. Taran, Svetlana Nikitina, Ilya Gumennikov, Olga Korovina & Fabio Casati

  2. Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Rudower Chaussee 18, 12489, Berlin, Germany

    Daniele Didino

  3. Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science, University of Trento, Trento, Italy

    Kristina Gorodetski, Svetlana Nikitina, Olga Korovina & Fabio Casati

  4. Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

    Zarui A. Melikyan

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  1. Daniele Didino
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  2. Ekaterina A. Taran
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Correspondence to Daniele Didino.

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Didino, D., Taran, E.A., Gorodetski, K. et al. Exploring predictors of life satisfaction and happiness among Siberian older adults living in Tomsk Region. Eur J Ageing 15, 175–187 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-017-0447-y

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