Family and social networks, subjective well-being and loneliness among older adults in Poland
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Abstract
The main aim of the paper was the investigation of the relationship between family situation and subjective wellbeing and loneliness among people aged 65 years and more in Poland. For purposes of our analysis we used the 6th wave of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) carried out in 2015. We employed linear regression and ordered probit models. Our results showed that unpartnered older adults, especially men, were less satisfied with life and more lonely than partnered individuals. Also, the quality of relationship between partners, expressed here by the presence of a spouse in SN seems to be important as well. Older adults who listed a spouse in SN felt less lonely than the others, and those married who did not have a partner in SN were less satisfied with life. Aged individuals having children had higher subjective wellbeing than the childless, although this result was insignificant. The presence of children in SN contributed to a lower life satisfaction and an increased loneliness level (especially for women). Furthermore, the association between having siblings and wellbeing and loneliness is not clear-cut.
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