Socioeconomic comparisons and life satisfaction of elderly adults

The hypothesis that overall satisfaction with life is influenced by one's financial situation vis-a-vis significant others was tested. Respondents compared themselves financially to the relative, friend, and neighbor to whom they felt closest. Data from a 1980 community survey of persons 60 years of age and older showed that the better off financially respondents perceived themselves to be compared with the relative to whom they felt closest, the greater the life satisfaction. This effect was independent of functional health, age, sex, race, marital status, education, income, household size, and social participation. These findings suggest that life satisfaction reflects not only one's location in the broader stratification system but also one's location in a rather limited network of significant others.