HARDINESS AND OTHER PREDICTORS OF LIFE SATISFACTION IN NONINSTITUTIONALIZED RURAL OLDER ADULTS.
Contributors: University of Texas at Austin.
Published: 1990
Number of pages: 261
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: The purpose of this investigation was to answer the broad question: To what extent do the personal factors of hardiness, perceived health status, recent/current life concerns, and socioeconomic status predict life satisfaction in non-institutionalized rural older adults? A cross-sectional, correlational design was employed to answer this research question and two sub-questions. Complete data sets were collected from a randomly selected sample of 129 non-institutionalized rural older adults using a pilot-tested interview schedule consisting of five established instruments: the 20-item Hardiness Measure (HM), the Modified Cantril Health Status Ladder, the 37-item Concerns Inventory (CI), the Two Factor Index of Social Position, and the 13-item Life Satisfaction Index Z (LSI-Z).

Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics ($p$ =.05). The HM, CI, and LSI-Z demonstrated acceptable internal consistency in use with this sample. The sample was cognitively intact and reported high hardiness and life satisfaction, average health and concerns, and low SES. Independent $t$-tests indicated no gender or ethnicity differences in perceived health and level of concerns. There were significant gender differences in SES and life satisfaction and there were significant ethnicity differences in hardiness, SES, life satisfaction, and cognition.

A stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted and supplemented with an analysis of partial correlations to answer the study's research questions. Hardiness, perceived health, and concerns were all significant predictors of life satisfaction; SES was not. Hardiness was the most important predictor of life satisfaction and maintained this role even when its collinearity with the two other significant predictors of life satisfaction was controlled. The relationship between concerns and life satisfaction was mediated by concerns' relationship with hardiness.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-01, Section: B, page: 0165.

Thesis (PH.D.)--THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN, 1990.

School code: 0227.