Culture, Aging, Self-Continuity, and Life Satisfaction

Li-Jun Ji (), Faizan Imtiaz, Yanjie Su, Zhiyong Zhang, Alexa C. Bowie and Baorui Chang
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Li-Jun Ji: Queen’s University
Faizan Imtiaz: Towson University
Yanjie Su: Peking University
Zhiyong Zhang: Peking University
Alexa C. Bowie: Queen’s University
Baorui Chang: Guangxi Normal University

Journal of Happiness Studies, 2022, vol. 23, issue 8, No 6, 3843-3864

Abstract: Abstract The present work examines how culture and age interact to influence self-continuity and life satisfaction. Specifically, we compared Canadian and Chinese young (17–26 years old) and older adults (60–88 years old) in their sense of self-continuity and life satisfaction (N = 424). Consistent with past research, older adults reported greater self-continuity compared to their young counterparts, while cross-cultural comparisons showed that young Chinese reported greater self-continuity than young Canadians. In terms of life satisfaction, older adults again scored higher than younger adults, while cross-cultural comparisons indicated that, this time, young Canadians reported higher life satisfaction than young Chinese. Although the data were cross-sectional, indirect effects analyses showed that self-continuity mediated the effect of age on life satisfaction in both cultural groups, with the indirect effect stronger among Canadians than among Chinese. These findings highlight the importance of considering culture and age when examining psychological outcomes, and the potential of self-continuity as a mechanism to enhance overall life satisfaction.

Keywords: Culture; Aging; Self-Continuity; Life Satisfaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1007/s10902-022-00568-5

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