Life satisfaction of older adult immigrants: an application of socioenvironmental framework for aging

Objectives: The present study of older adult immigrants in the United States examined their life satisfaction's relationships with individual resources (physical health, mental health, financial solvency, education, social support, and marital status) and social resources (social activities, employment, health insurance status, receipt of public assistance, and acculturation).

Method: A sample of 1,176 adult immigrants aged 65 years or older was extracted from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey for secondary data analysis.

Results: Logistic regression results indicated that these older adult immigrants' likelihood of life satisfaction was positively associated with physical health, social support, and being Hispanic; such likelihood also had negative associations with depression, mobility difficulty, U.S. citizenship, and English-language proficiency.

Conclusion: Implications included funding for community centers serving older adult immigrants, forming alliances and coalitions involving multiple racial/ethnic groups, social work education and training emphasizing cultural competence with diverse ethnicities, intervention with bilingual social workers, building a supportive social network, and mental health care incorporating native cultural beliefs.