Perceptions of General Attitudes towards Older Adults in Society: Is There a Link between Perceived Life Satisfaction, Self-Compassion, and Health-Related Quality of Life?

Anna Sofia Bratt () and Cecilia Fagerström
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Anna Sofia Bratt: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Department of Psychology, Linnaeus University, 35195 Växjö, Sweden
Cecilia Fagerström: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Linnaeus University, 39182 Kalmar, Sweden

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-9

Abstract: Negative attitudes towards aging are common in society. However, few studies have investigated how older adults perceive this phenomenon. This study investigated (a) how older adults in Sweden perceive general attitudes towards the older population and whether negative perceptions are associated with low life satisfaction, self-compassion, and health-related quality of life (HRQL), and (b) whether perceived attitudes predict life satisfaction when controlling for HRQL, self-compassion, and age. The sample comprised 698 randomly selected participants, aged 66–102 years, from the Blekinge part of the Swedish National Study on Ageing and Care. The results showed that 25.7% of the participants held negative attitudes towards older adults and reported lower life satisfaction and HRQL. Self-compassion was related to higher life satisfaction, perceived positive attitudes, and better mental HRQL. Overall, perceived attitudes, HRQL, self-compassion, and age predicted 44% of the participants’ life satisfaction. Understanding the factors that influence older adults’ life satisfaction is crucial, as health-related losses might reduce the opportunity for a successful life. Our study makes an important contribution to the field, showing that perceived attitudes explained 1.2% of the variance of life satisfaction, whereas mental and physical HRQL accounted for 18% of life satisfaction.

Keywords: aging; aged; attitude; stereotyping; quality of life; psychological well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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