THE RELATIONSHIP OF INTERPERSONAL TIME, LIFE POSITION, AND STROKING TO LIFE SATISFACTION OF OLDER INDIVIDUALS.
Contributors: New York University.
Published: 1985
Number of pages: 184
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Gerontology.
Description: This descriptive study focused on interpersonal time, life position, and stroking, and their relationship to life satisfaction of older individuals. Conceptual frameworks included Berne's (1966) theory of transactional behavior, and activity theories of aging (Havighurst, Neugarten, & Tobin, 1961).

Positive relationships were hypothesized between life satisfaction and each of the independent variables (interpersonal time, life position, and stroking). Also, four hypotheses were formulated which predicted interactions among interpersonal time, life position, and stroking with regard to life satisfaction. Research questions explored differences between I'm OK and You're OK, and between verbal and physical stroking as each relates to life satisfaction. Additional analyses were aimed at those relationships whose predicted directions remained unclear in the literature. The relationships of age, sex, and marital status to life satisfaction were examined.

The sample consisted of 185 volunteers, between the ages of 65 and 93, from six senior citizen centers in Nassau County. The sample was delimited to individuals 65 years of age or over, in fair health, who reported an income adequate to meet basic needs for food, shelter, and health care.

Data were generated through questionnaires completed at the centers. Each participant completed the Demographic Profile Sheet, the Time Structure Questionnaire, the Transactional Behavior Questionnaire, and the Life Satisfaction Index A. The data were analyzed using correlational and multiple regression techniques.

The findings for this sample of older individuals indicated significantly positive relationships between life satisfaction and each of the independent variables (interpersonal time, life position, and stroking). However, the interactions did not add to the prediction of life satisfaction. The four hypotheses that stated that the combination of interpersonal time, life position, and stroking have interaction effects on life satisfaction were not supported. The lack of support for the hypothesized interaction effects raised methodological issues in measuring interpersonal time and stroking.

Findings indicated no significant difference between I'm OK and You're OK as each relates to life satisfaction. There was a significant difference between verbal stroking and physical stroking, with verbal stroking relating positively to life satisfaction, and no meaningful relationship between physical stroking and life satisfaction.

Additional findings demonstrated a significant difference in life satisfaction between married and widowed individuals, with married subjects expressing a higher degree of satisfaction than widowed individuals. Neither age nor sex contributed significantly to the variance in life satisfaction.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-08, Section: B, page: 2625.

Thesis (PH.D.)--NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, 1985.

School code: 0146.