Life satisfaction: influences of family and friends upon the elderly

Abstract

The relative importance of contact with family and friends for an.elderly person's life satisfaction was investigated. A random sample of 167 noninstitutionalized elderly residents (65 and over) of Philadelphia completed an extensive in-depth interview packet. Each subject was then rated by a trained interviewer on their life satisfaction. The results indicated that increased activity with friends was directly related to the elderly person's life satisfaction, while increased family contact had a negligible effect. With the use of regression analysis, perceived health status was found to be the most salient predictor for life satisfaction, followed by friend contact intensity and objective health. In addition, the use of various specification variables, previously posited to relate with life satisfaction, did not change the initial findings of the sample. The implications of these findings for the Activity Theory of Aging were discussed.