Importance of Variety to the Lives and Wellbeing of Elders

ABSTRACT Although essential to life, variety is incompletely conceptualized and limited research exists on its perceived significance to community-dwelling elders. Study purposes were to ascertain the importance of variety and examine relationships between perceptions of variety and facets of wellbeing. A content analysis of interviews from 34 community-dwelling elders revealed six variety importance categories: Contributes to mental health; makes life enjoyable/interesting; sustains health/wellness; supports motivation/activity; promotes mental sharpness/alertness; and creates concern for others/decreases self-absorption. Variety perceptions correlated significantly with quality of life (r = .54), outlook on life (r = .56), and depression (r = −.53). Variety appears important to wellbeing.