Are older adult German Women satisfied with their lives? : on the role of life domains, partnership status, and self-construal

Abstract

Along with increased life-expectancy, successful ageing and possibilities to increase well-being in older age have become important research topics in the last years. The aim of the present study is to examine the relation between satisfaction in several life-domains (with respect to family, friendships and health) and general life satisfaction of older women in Germany, and to determine which factors may moderate the importance of satisfaction in these different life-domains for the evaluation of general life satisfaction. More precisely, the role of partnership status and self-construal is examined. The sample consisted of N=99 older women between 58 and 83 years (M = 69.6; SD = 5.9) in Germany who were interviewed in the framework of the interdisciplinary and cross-cultural "Value-of-Children Study . Results showed that while for women living with a partner, satisfaction with family was most important for their general life satisfaction, for women without a partner satisfaction with friendships as well as socio-economic status had a prominent role. Apart from that, self-construal was a moderator for the relation between satisfaction with family and general life satisfaction as well as for the relation of satisfaction with health and general life satisfaction. More precisely, family satisfaction was less important for general life satisfaction of women who were highly independently oriented; for women who had a strongly pronounced self-construal (either independent or interdependent) satisfaction with health was less important for general life satisfaction.