Relationships of Family Support and Friend Support to Life Satisfaction of Older Adults in Rural Areas
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2010-10-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University
Abstract
Abstract:Keywords:Perceived giving support, Perceived family support, Perceived friend support, Life satisfaction, Older adults The aim of this descriptive correlational study was to explore the relationship of perceived giving support of family, perceived family support, and perceived friend support of older adults to life satisfaction of older adults. The concept of social support was used to guide this study. The research participants consisted of 60 dyads of family members and older adults who lived in Chacheongsao Province. The participants were recruited by simple random sampling using a random table. The eight instruments used in the study were the Set Test, the Demographic Questionnaire, the Modified Barthel ADL Index, the Chula ADL Index, the Family APGAR Questionnaire, the Friend APGAR Questionnaire, the Giving Support Questionnaire, and the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s product moment correlation. The results revealed that the mean scores of perceived giving support of family and perceived family support of older adults were categorized as high; perceived friend support of older adults was categorized as moderate. The mean score of life satisfaction of older adults was moderate. Perceived family support was moderately and positively correlated with life satisfaction. Perceived friend support was weakly and positively correlated with life satisfaction. However, perceived giving support of family was not correlated with life satisfaction of older adults. Surprisingly, giving support perceived by family was not significantly correlated with family support perceived by older adults. It could be concluded that family support and friend support perceived by older adults contribute to their life satisfaction. Nevertheless, high giving support perceived by the family may not necessarily contribute to older adults’ life satisfaction if the older adults do not perceive it as such. This study suggests that nurses and other health professionals should maintain and promote social support of older adults from various sources, especially from families and friends, to increase life satisfaction of older adults.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Ramathibodi Nursing Journal; Vol. 15 No.3 September - December 2009