Applied Research in Quality of Life最新文献

Social survey data on those aged 80 years or older is sparse. Based on a representative sample, this paper validates a multidimensional model proposed for understanding of quality of life (QoL) in very old age. Towards this goal, this paper estimated levels and heterogeneity of personal and environmental resources, well-being, autonomy, and perceived appreciation by society in the population of the very old in Germany. Next, the contribution of personal and environmental resources to QoL outcomes and overlap between these outcomes was estimated using a multivariate approach. Results were based on a representative survey on QoL of the very old in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state. The survey included comprehensive information on socio-demographics, health, social and personal QoL resources including objective testing of cognitive function. The sample comprised 1,863 individuals (mean age 86.5 years, range 80–102 years), including 211 individuals residing in non-private dwellings. Interviews with proxy informants were conducted for 176 individuals that were willing to participate but could not conduct the interview themselves due to limited ability to communicate (PLC). Pronounced differences were found for PLC with respect to environmental and personal resources and QoL outcomes. Pronounced differences were also found both with respect to lower observed levels of QoL outcomes (e.g., autonomy) and predictors of QoL outcomes (e.g., effect of negative “external” appreciation on subjective well-being). Contrary to the deficit-oriented model of old age, a high degree of autonomy was observed. However, substantial and consequential negative “external” appreciation of very old age was also apparent.

Throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic, physical lockdown restrictions caused a rise in mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and stress. During the pandemic, Chinese universities implemented “dormitory isolation” for students amid outbreaks, requiring them to stay in their university dormitories for several weeks or even months. This study focused on the mental health of these students and investigated how trait gratitude of them was associated with their mental health. Participants were 1,200 college students from a university in China, who experienced a two-week isolation in university dormitories. We used moderated mediation models to analyze their sex, trait gratitude, resilience, mental health, and helping behavior. Higher trait gratitude was associated with higher resilience, which in turn predicted better mental health. The relationship between trait gratitude and resilience was stronger for females who engaged in helping behaviors, while this relationship was weaker for males who engaged in helping behaviors. The findings suggest that trait gratitude of college students can benefit their mental health through their resilience when they encounter stressful contexts such as dormitory lockdown. Meanwhile, this study indicates the important contextual value of engaging in helping behaviors for females during the lockdown.

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced increases in mental distress, correlated with fear about the future, economic outlook, labor market situation, restriction of individual freedom and behavioral changes. While some of these are associated with the perceived risk of infection, others are linked to the restrictive measures imposed to limit infections. Whatever the reason behind it, the main question to be asked is whether transitory or habitual anxiety levels are affected and, eventually, whether changes in daily life habits could play a role. To answer this question, a survey was administered to thousands of students from three Italian universities. The survey included a psychological test, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, through which it is possible to observe whether the effects of changes in daily life habits impact on transitory (State) and/or habitual (Trait) levels of anxiety. First, the results show that individuals who are habitually characterized by higher levels of anxiety tend to suffer higher increases in transitory anxiety during the pandemic, and that being a woman is associated with increases in both habitual and current anxiety. Furthermore, physical activity, book reading and self-care practices seem to mitigate the increase in anxiety led by the pandemic. While the first and the last have an impact on habitual and current anxiety levels, book reading is only associated with reductions in current anxiety. Finally, increased use of social networks is associated with greater state anxiety levels, while intensive exposure to videogames and movies amplifies trait anxiety.

Multimorbidity significantly impacts health, well-being, and the economy; therefore, exploring notable factors associated with multimorbidity across all age groups is critical. For this investigation, we focused on the relationship between four lifestyle factors and multimorbidity risk. We recruited 11,031 Chinese citizens aged ≥ 12 years from 31 provinces between July 2021 and September 2021 using a quota sampling strategy to ensure that the socioeconomic characteristics (sex, age, rural–urban distribution) of those participating in this research were representative of national demographics. In the first stage, multivariable logistic regression models were utilized as a means of investigating the relationship between lifestyle factors and multimorbidity. Then, a multinomial logistic regression model was used with the aim of examining the Healthy Lifestyle Profile (HLP) related to the number of chronic diseases. Multivariable logistic regression models assessed the interaction effects and joint association among the four lifestyle factors. Overall, 18% of the participants had at least one disease, and 5.9% had multimorbidity. Approximately two-thirds of the participants were physically inactive, 40% had consumed alcohol, 39% were underweight or overweight, and 20% were or had been smokers. Participants who maintained one HLP showed a 34% lower multimorbidity risk (adjusted OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.92), while participants who maintained 4 HLP showed a 73% lower multimorbidity risk (adjusted OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.17 to 0.43), as compared to those who had 0 HLP. The joint association analysis revealed that participants with all four healthy lifestyle factors had 0.92 times lower odds of multimorbidity (95% CI: 0.90, 0.94) in comparison with the all-unhealthy reference cluster. Notably, individuals with a combination of healthy smoking status and healthy body weight had the highest minimized odds of multimorbidity (OR: [0.92], 95% CI: 0.91, 0.94). Common lifestyle habits, alone or in combination, are associated with multimorbidity risk. This study provides insights for public health programs to promote a healthy lifestyle at a younger age and to alleviate multimorbidity risk in older people.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, the care services interruption/delay resulted in increased amount of care for informal caregivers of older people with long-term care needs. This study aimed at understanding how the Pandemic affected physical health, mental well-being and quality of life of older people’ informal caregivers of different ages and to what extent starting caregiving affected such life realms among new caregivers. An online survey was carried out in Winter 2020–2021 targeted to informal caregivers living in 16 European countries. A sub-sample of 848 adult (aged 18–64) was compared to another of 542 older (over 65) informal caregivers. People who started caring during the Pandemic were also identified and the impact of the Pandemic on the three life realms of this group were analysed separately by gender and age. The differences between the two groups of adult and older caregivers were estimated using logistic regression, adjusted for potential confounders. Analyses were repeated after propensity score matching. During the second Pandemic wave hitting Europe in Winter 2020-21, regardless of age, being female entailed a worsening in physical health, mental well-being and quality of life, in line with previous research Also new caregivers were mostly females and their physical health and quality of life were worsened by caregiving. Gender-specific work-life balance policies and measures are needed to support female working caregivers. More attention should be paid to older female caregivers through scheduled physical and mental health screenings and home visits. Future studies on the topic in a gender and intergenerational perspective are encouraged.

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are believed to be the best source of finance for lifting the poor from poverty. However, the vast majority of MFIs’ customers in the world appear to be over-indebted. This study investigates the effect of the four attitudes towards money (FAM), namely security, love, freedom, and power, on over-indebtedness among MFIs customers in Tanzania. This relationship has not been investigated in previous studies. The study used an analytical cross-sectional design involving a survey of 428 MFI customers using a semi-structured questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis. The findings show that power (β = 0.432, p = 0.000), love (β = 0.114, p = 0.004), and freedom (β = 0.101, p = 0.02) significantly and positively affect over-indebtedness, while security (β = -0.243, p = 0.003) negatively and significantly affects over-indebtedness. This study provides an alternative way for MFIs to reduce over-indebtedness by focusing on borrowers’ attitudes towards money. This will, in turn, enhance loan repayment rates, sustainability of MFIs, poverty reduction and quality of life among MFI customers.

People who are socioeconomically better off tend to report higher levels of well-being, with inconsistent roles ascribed to objective socioeconomic status (SES), subjective SES (SSES), and personal relative deprivation (PRD)—depending on the predictors, facets of well-being, and countries under study. We tested a comprehensive model of social status indicators as determinants of subjective well-being by a) including PRD, SSES, income, and education as predictors, b) assessing subjective well-being as well as interdependent happiness (happiness in relation to significant others), c) testing the model in Japan, Germany, and the US—countries with comparable societal structure (e.g., educated, industrialized, rich, democratic) but diverging cultural dimensions, and d) testing an explanatory variable: feeling excluded from society. Cross-culturally (N = 2,155), PRD and SSES independently and strongly predicted well-being, while income and education exhibited negligible direct effects. SSES emerged as the predominant predictor in Japan compared to the US and Germany, whereas PRD was the predominant predictor in the US compared to Germany and, to a lesser extent, Japan. This was largely accounted for by culture-specific links of social status with perceived social exclusion—the extent to which people feel unable to keep up with society as a whole. Perceived social exclusion was more strongly linked to SSES in Japan compared to Germany and the US, and more strongly linked to PRD in the US than in Germany. The role of perceived social exclusion as an explanatory variable in the relationship between social status and subjective well-being merits further investigation within and between countries.

Social participation (SP) is often argued to have a favorable impact on health outcomes. This study examines whether and to what extent social participation can reduce and postpone the need for long-term care (LTC) among middle-aged and older adults in Japan. We used longitudinal data of 17,454 individuals born from 1946 to 1955, obtained from a 17-wave nationwide panel survey conducted from 2005 to 2021 in Japan. We examined (1) whether SP at baseline (2005) was associated with a lower risk of having LTC needs in the last wave (2021) using logistic regression models and (2) whether SP at baseline postponed the onset of these needs using Cox proportional hazards models, both controlling for baseline covariates. The results of different SP activities were compared. Participating in one or more SP activities in 2005 was associated with lower needs for LTC in 2021, with an odds ratio of 0.69 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49–0.96), and postponed their onset, with a hazard ratio of 0.71 (95% CI, 0.65–0.78). However, these favorable features of SP were observed only for leisure activities, and no satisfaction with SP activities had a limited association with LTC needs. The results suggest that SP can be associated with a lower risk of LTC needs and postpone their onset; however, these favorable features are limited to leisure activities, and satisfaction with SP activities is needed to enhance them.

Hong Kong is characterized by extremely low fertility, with a total fertility rate of 0.701 in 2022. This paper reports significant declines in the intention to have children among non-parents and in the desire to have more children among parents, based on data from the Family Surveys conducted in Hong Kong in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, which imply more dramatic demographic changes in the future. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this paper explored individuals’ attitudes toward marriage and having children, family functioning variables indicating subjective norms regarding fertility, and housing status and parenting stress relating to individuals’ control over fertility behavior. The results show that among non-parent respondents, being older and possessing a secondary education were associated with a lower level of fertility intention, whereas being a tenant, having positive attitudes toward marriage and having children, and having higher levels of family mutuality and harmony were associated with a higher level of fertility intention. Among parent respondents, parenting stress significantly inhibited the desire to have more children, regardless of financial matters and family environment. The findings suggest that fertility intentions can be remade over the life course. This paper, based on the TPB framework, can help guide the development and adoption of policies and supportive programs to improve fertility intentions in Hong Kong.

This research aimed to discover hidden patterns of intergenerational solidarity and digital communication among older parents and adult children during and after the pandemic, examine the transition patterns of solidarity classes between the two-time points, and investigate whether solidarity transition patterns are associated with older parents’ cognitive decline after the pandemic. Using the Korean longitudinal parent–child dyadic data in 2022 (during the pandemic) and 2023 (after the pandemic) studies, 326 older parent-adult child pairs were used in latent class and latent transition analyses. Results of latent class analyses showed that three solidarity classes were identified among older parents and adult child pairs in 2022 and 2023 studies: Tight-knit traditional, living apart-but-digitally connected, and detached. Results of latent transition analysis showed that the majority of parent–child pairs maintained the same latent classes between 2022 and 2023 studies. Furthermore, this study found that older parents who stayed in the tight-knit traditional latent class during and after the pandemic reported lower cognitive decline compared to those who stayed detached latent class between the two-time points. These findings suggest that structural and functional solidarity are likely to be an important factor in alleviating older parents’ cognitive decline. Intergenerational solidarity can be a basis for preventing the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in old age.