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With Health and Good Food, Great Life! Gender Differences and Happiness in Chilean Rural Older Adults

Author

Listed:
  • Germán Lobos

    (Universidad de Talca)

  • Klaus G. Grunert

    (Aarhus University)

  • Miguel Bustamante

    (Universidad de Talca)

  • Berta Schnettler

    (Universidad de La Frontera)

Abstract

The interest to study the well-being in older adults notices the process of population aging that exists in different parts of the world, especially in developed and emerging countries such as Chile. In this research we explore the differences between gender in determinants of affective component of well-being, i.e. happiness in older adults, both women and men, living in rural areas in the Maule Region, Chile. A subjective happiness scale was applied across female (N = 241) and male (N = 144) older adults (age range 60–90). Statistical analysis included comparison of means for independent samples and multiple comparison tests. Ordered logit models were computed to examine the determinants of happiness. We find that satisfaction related to food, perception of health and functionality are significantly linked to individual happiness within both gender groups. An influential predictor of female’s happiness is the frequency of having dinner with companion. An increased quantity of goods at home implied more happiness. A positive coefficient for age and a negative coefficient for age-squared seem to support the idea of an inverted U-shaped relationship between age and happiness in the female group with an inflection point at the age of 77.5 years. This research suggests that the design and formulation of public policies on rural older adults should consider subjective welfare factors they perceive as predictors of happiness and not only objective factors related to well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Germán Lobos & Klaus G. Grunert & Miguel Bustamante & Berta Schnettler, 2016. "With Health and Good Food, Great Life! Gender Differences and Happiness in Chilean Rural Older Adults," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 127(2), pages 865-885, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:127:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s11205-015-0971-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-015-0971-0
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    Cited by:

    1. Lobos Andrade, German & Schnettler, Berta & Grunert, Klaus G. & Lapo, Carmen & Saens, Rodrigo & Adasme, Cristian, 2021. "Estimating Subjective Quality of Life in Urban Seniorsin Chile," Revista Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, CIE, issue No. 95, pages 199-230, July.
    2. Na Li & Mang He, 2023. "Intergenerational Support and Subjective Wellbeing of the Elderly in Mainland China: The Role of Perceived Health," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440231, March.
    3. Biermann, Philipp & Bitzer, Jürgen & Gören, Erkan, 2022. "The relationship between age and subjective well-being: Estimating within and between effects simultaneously," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 21(C).
    4. Berta Schnettler & Edgardo Miranda-Zapata & Klaus G. Grunert & Germán Lobos & María Lapo & Clementina Hueche, 2021. "Testing the Spillover-Crossover Model between Work-Life Balance and Satisfaction in Different Domains of Life in Dual-Earner Households," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 16(4), pages 1475-1501, August.

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