Educational Quality of the University of the Third Age and Subjective Well-being: Based on a Perspective of Self-determination

Zhen Zhang (), Yilin Zhao, Huanlian Du, Maierwana Adelijiang and Jianxin Zhang
Additional contact information
Zhen Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yilin Zhao: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Huanlian Du: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Maierwana Adelijiang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jianxin Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2024, vol. 19, issue 4, No 27, 2103-2123

Abstract: Abstract Objective Developing education for older adults is considered a major initiative to actively cope with issues of aging issue and improve the quality of later life. The quality of education in later life can affect subjective well-being (SWB) of participants. The current study attempts to examine the association between the quality of education for middle-aged and older adults and SWB and relevant mechanisms in China. Methods Using a nationally representative sample of the University of the Third Age (U3A), this study explored the association between the perceived educational quality of the U3A and SWB, represented by life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect, and depressive symptoms, and examined the mediating roles of satisfaction with basic psychological needs, including autonomy, competence, and relatedness, based on the self-determination perspective. Finally, 21,482 members aged 50 years and older from 30 U3As in 25 provincial-level regions completed validly the survey. Results The perceived quality of education in the U3A predicted members’ SWB; satisfaction with autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs mediated the above associations, simultaneously; compared to competence and relatedness, autonomy showed a stronger mediating effect. Discussion These findings provide a novel perspective for exploring the mechanisms through which lifelong education affects mental health and provide insights for policymakers and governments to actively cope with issues of aging.

Keywords: Lifelong Education; Mental Health; Basic Psychological Needs; Active Aging (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11482-024-10323-y Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:ariqol:v:19:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s11482-024-10323-y

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/11482

DOI: 10.1007/s11482-024-10323-y

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Research in Quality of Life is currently edited by Daniel Shek

More articles in Applied Research in Quality of Life from Springer, International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().