Gender as a moderator of the relation among social support functions and life satisfaction in older Malaysians.

The aim of this study was to examine the moderating role of gender on relations among social support functions and life satisfaction in older Malaysians. The study sample was 1,800 older residents in a community; all were at least 60 years old. This study was a cross-sectional and corelational survey, and the data were collected by multistage stratified sampling. This study revealed that fewer social support functions, and therefore less life satisfaction, were available for females than for males. The results of moderated regression analyses demonstrated that gender interacted only on the relationship between positive social interaction support and tangible support with life satisfaction. Specifically, at a high tangible support level, females had lower life satisfaction when compared to a low tangible support level. There may be a need for new programs and services to provide other aspects of social support to older female adults to improve and maintain life satisfaction in later life.

Moderating effect of Islamic religiosity on the relationship between chronic medical conditions and psychological well-being among elderly Malays.

BACKGROUND: Research has found that physical health decline in later life is associated with poor psychological well-being. This study aimed to examine the possible moderating effect of Islamic religiosity on the relationship between chronic medical conditions and psychological well-being. METHODS: The sample for this study consisted of 1415 elderly Malay Muslims. It was obtained from a cross-sectional survey entitled 'Patterns of Social Relationship and Psychological Well-Being among Older Persons in Peninsular Malaysia', which conducted from 2007 to 2009, using a multistage stratified sampling procedure. Data collection was performed through face-to-face interviews. A four-step moderated hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS software for Windows and the 'ModGraph-2' software program was used to test the hypothesis. RESULTS: Results of bivariate analysis showed, at certain levels of chronic medical conditions, older persons with a high level of religiosity reported significantly higher levels of psychological well-being compared to their counterparts with a low level of religiosity. Four-step moderated hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the negative effect of chronic medical conditions on psychological well-being is reduced by both personal and social religiosity (ß = 0.07, P ≤ 0.01), after controlling for selected sociodemographic factors. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these findings indicate that the depressogenic effect of physical illness is decreased by religiosity in chronically ill elderly people. The implications and limitations of the current study are discussed and recommendations for future research are proposed.

Sociodemographic predictors of elderly's psychological well-being in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Psychological well-being as one of the most important indicators of successful aging has received substantial attention in the gerontological literature. Prior studies show that sociodemographic factors influencing elderly's psychological well-being are multiple and differ across cultures. The aim of this study was to identify significant sociodemographic predictors of psychological well-being among Malay elders. METHODOLOGY: The study included 1415 older Malays (60-100 years, 722 women), randomly selected through a multistage stratified random method from Peninsular Malaysia. WHO-Five well-being index was used to measure psychological well-being. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 13.0. RESULTS: Using multiple regression analysis a significant model emerged (F(7, 1407) = 20.14, p ≤ 0.001), where age, sex, marital status, and household income were significant predictor variables of psychological well-being among Malay elders. However, level of education, employment status, and place of residence failed to predict psychological well-being. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the oldest old, elderly women, unmarried, and the poor elderly people are at risk for experiencing low psychological well-being. Therefore, they need special attention from family, policy makers, and those who work with elderly people.

Living arrangement and life satisfaction in older Malaysians: the mediating role of social support function.

BACKGROUND: This cross-sectional and correlational survey examines the association between different types of living arrangements and life satisfaction in older Malaysians, while taking into account the mediating effects of social support function. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: A total of 1880 of older adults were selected by multistage stratified sampling. Life satisfaction and social support were measured with the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale and Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey. The result shows living with children as the commonest type of living arrangement for older adults in peninsular Malaysia. Compared to living alone, living only with a spouse especially and then co-residency with children were both associated with better life satisfaction (p<.01) and social support function (p<.01). The mediating effect of social support function enhanced the relation between living arrangements and life satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that types of living arrangement directly, and indirectly through social support function, play an important role in predicting life satisfaction for older adults in Malaysia. This study makes remarkable contributions to the Convoy model in older Malaysians.

Loneliness as a risk factor for hypertension in later life.

OBJECTIVE: The present study aims to determine the impact of loneliness on hypertension in later life. METHOD: Data for this study are derived from a sample of 1,880 older Malaysians via a cross-sectional survey entitled "Patterns of Social Relationships and Psychological Well-Being Among Older Persons in Peninsular Malaysia." Loneliness is assessed by the PGCMS item, "How much do you feel lonely?" Data analysis is carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0. RESULTS: Nearly one third of respondents report high level of loneliness. The overall prevalence of hypertension is 39% (95% CI=36.9-41.3). Logistic regression, controlling for sociodemographic factors and several chronic medical conditions, shows that loneliness significantly increases likelihood of hypertension in later life (OR=1.31, p≤.05, 95% CI=1.04-1.66). DISCUSSION: The results show loneliness as a major risk factor for hypertension and call for health care professionals to be aware of the negative physiological effects of loneliness in old age.

Assessment of factors influencing morale in the elderly.

BACKGROUND: We examined the relationship between morale measured by the Philadelphia Geriatric Morale Scale (PGC) and disability, social support, religiosity, and personality traits. Instruments predicting morale were then tested against PGC domains. METHODS: The study utilized a cross-sectional survey with a multistage cluster sampling design. Instruments used were disability (disease burden; WHO Disability Score-II, WHODAS-II), social support (Duke Social Support Scale, DUSOCS; Lubben Social Network Scale, LSNS-6; Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey, MOS-SSS), religiosity (Revised Intrinsic-Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale, I/E-R), and personality (Ten-Item Personality Inventory, TIPI). These were plotted as bar charts against PGC, resolved with one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests, then corrected for multiple comparisons. This process was repeated with PGC domains. Contribution of factors was modeled using population attributable risk (PAR) and odds ratios. Effect of confounders such as gender, age, and ethnicity were checked using binary logistic regression. RESULTS: All instruments showed clear relationships with PGC, with WHODAS-II and DUSOCS performing well (ANOVA p<0.001). For PGC domains, attitude toward aging and lonely dissatisfaction trended together, while agitation did not. PAR, odds ratios, and Exp(ß) were disability (WHODAS-II: 28.5%, 3.8, 2.8), social support (DUSOCS: 28.0%, 3.4, 2.2), religiosity (I/E-R: 21.6%, 3.2, 2.1), and personality (TIPI: 27.9%, 3.6, 2.4). Combined PAR was 70.9%. CONCLUSIONS: Disability, social support, religiosity, and personality strongly influence morale in the elderly. WHODAS-II and DUSOCS perform best in measuring disability and social support respectively.

Mediating effects of social and personal religiosity on the psychological well being of widowed elderly people.

Spousal death is one the most stressful life events that seriously affects the psychological well being of widowed. This study examined the mediating effects of social and personal religiosity on the psychological well being of widowed elderly people. The sample for this study was comprised of 1367 widowed and married elderly Muslims from Malaysia. Psychological well being, religiosity, and physical health were measured using WHO-5 Well being Index, Intrinsic Extrinsic religiosity scale, and a checklist of 16 physical health problems, respectively. Data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version-13). As expected, bivariate correlation analysis revealed that widowhood is statistically and negatively associated with psychological well being. Results of multiple hierarchical regression analyses and Sobel test showed that only the indirect effect of widowhood through personal religiosity was statistically significant (Sobel = -2.79, p < .01). Sobel test for social religiosity was not significant (Sobel = -1.54, p > .05). The results of this study confirmed earlier studies, which found that widowhood negatively affects psychological well being of elderly people. Overall, the findings show that the potential solace provided by religiosity can decrease the negative effects of widowhood on the psychological well being of widowed elderly people.