Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of living arrangement and social support to life satisfaction among the elderly. Furthermore, the relative importance of social support to the life satisfaction was also examined.
Method: The source of data used in this study was based on the 2003 “Survey of the Health and Living Status of the Middle-Aged and the Elderly in Taiwan”, which was a face-to-face interview survey conducted by Bureau of Health Promotion, Department of Health. The samples who were 57 years old or more were selected, and totally 3,778 persons were included in the analysis, with response rate of 91.6%. Living arrangement as well as instrumental and emotional social support were the main independent variables associated to life satisfaction, by controlling demographics, health status, and moderating factors (living environment, financial status and leisure activity participation) in the multiple regression analysis.
Results: The elder who lived with family had higher life satisfaction than those lived alone. Emotional social support increased life satisfaction than instrumental social support. Those who were female, higher
educated, reported better self-rated health, showed normal function of instrumental activities of daily living, having less stress, without depressive symptoms, satisfied with living environment or economic status, and more attending leisure activities, had a better life satisfaction. The living alone elderly had a better life satisfaction when they provided more emotional support to others.
Conclusions: The elderly who live with their family or relatives could get more emotional support and higher life satisfaction compared with those living alone. Moderating factors and providing emotional support would increase the life satisfaction for the elderly who live alone. The policy should consider how to enlarge the social support network, improve the living environment, and encourage the participation in leisure activities are suggested to improve the subjective well-being for the living-alone elderly.
