Factors Associated with Happiness in Rural Older Adults: An Exploratory Study

Aging is a phenomenon that has increased worldwide as a result of a higher life expectancy, evidencing situations typical of this stage, which can impact the happiness of individuals, who deserve attention and approach from mental health and public health.

to explore the association between sociodemographic characteristics, medical history and symptoms, emotional state, social support, cognitive performance, and functional dependence, in relation to happiness in older adults in a rural area of Túquerres, Nariño.

cross-sectional study of association. Results: There were 252 records in total, corresponding to the data of rural older adults. A multivariate linear regression was performed, finding an association with happiness in the variables of age (βa = .41; CI95% .09 - .73), socioeconomic level (βa = -.22; CI95% -.58 - .13), education level (βa = .41; CI95% .68 - 1.49), occupation (βa = .59; CI95% -.48 - 1.67), having chronic disease (βa = .42; CI95% .12 - .73), breathing difficulties (βa = -.25; CI95% -.51 - .02), joint pain (βa = .55; CI95% .26 - .83), depression symptoms (βa = -.21; CI95% -.48 - .06]) or anxiety (βa = .40; CI95% .72 - .07), and social support (βa = -.27; CI95% -.52 - -.02).

this population has unfavorable socioeconomic and health conditions that impact their perception of happiness. Conclusion: happiness is a multicausal phenomenon that in older adults is part of the result of the interaction of variables and historical decisions at a political, economic, and social level.