Life satisfaction in the black elderly: an exploratory study

The major purpose of the study was to determine whether the Life Satisfaction Index-A was unidimensional or multidimensional and to examine the different dimensions of the scale to either validate or reject the factors on elderly blacks. The data for the study were collected from a sample of 240 black elderly in Jackson, Mississippi in Spring 1978. The LSIA developed by Neugarten et al., was tested for revalidation and reliability by the use of item analysis, biserial correlation, discrimination values, and factor analysis. The study failed to support the existence of five dimensions that were supposed to form the life satisfaction scale as high intercorrelations were found among "mood tone," "zest," "self-concept," "resolution," and "congruence." The cluster of items derived from factor analysis was not similar to clusters obtained by other writers. The data, however, revealed that the scale was highly reliable in measuring life satisfaction among black elderly.