[Social support exchange and quality of life among the Korean elderly in a rural area]

This study focuses on the influence of social support exchange through informal networks on Quality of Life (QOL) of the elderly. A total of 740 community residents aged 60 and over living in a rural area in Korea were interviewed from July 12 to July 15, 1993. Subjects were asked about the frequency of providing and receiving support to and from their spouse, children, and friends (24 items). The interview also included two QOL items (morale and life satisfaction) as well as instrumental ADL (five items), sex, age, education, and living arrangement. ANOVA showed that providing support to their children was strongly related to high morale score in female subjects. The elderly providing support to their friends were more likely to score high in morale. Analysis showed that the female elderly with greater support from their husbands had higher life satisfaction score. On the other hand, the male elderly group who provided support to their spouses but did not receive equal support in return from their spouses had low life satisfaction score. Providing support to their children was found to relate to high life satisfaction in both males and females, while receiving support from their children improved life satisfaction only in the females. Overall, the elderly group who exchanged support frequently with their spouses, children and friends showed the highest QOL score than any other group. These findings highlight the importance of supportive behavior by the elderly in order to improve their QOL.