Daily Functioning, Health Status, and Happiness in Older Adults

Erik Angner, Jennifer Ghandhi, Kristen Williams Purvis, Daniel Amante and Jeroan Allison

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2013, vol. 14, issue 5, 1563-1574

Abstract: The hypothesis that the degree to which disease disrupts daily functioning is inversely associated with happiness is widely accepted, yet existing literature offers little direct evidence in its support. This paper explores the hypothesized association in a community-based sample of 383 older adults. To assess the degree to which disease disrupts daily functioning we developed a measure—called the freedom-from-debility score—based on four Short Form-12 (SF-12) Health Survey questions explicitly designed to represent “limitations in physical activities because of health problems” and “limitations in usual role activities because of physical health problems.” The results were consistent with the hypothesis. When participants were divided into categories based on their freedom-from-debility score, median happiness scores were monotonically increasing across categories. Controlling for demographic and socio-economic factors as well as health status (measured both subjectively and objectively), a one-point increase in freedom-from-debility score (on a scale from 0 to 100) was associated with a three-percent reduction in the odds of lower-quartile happiness. The results support the contention that health status is one of the most influential predictors of happiness, that the association between health status and happiness depends greatly on the manner in which health status is measured, and that the degree to which disease disrupts daily functioning is inversely associated with happiness. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Keywords: Health status; Daily functioning; Debility; Happiness; Subjective well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-012-9395-6

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