Page 29 - 5th APA Conference Program Book Final

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Sabu Padmadas
University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom

Categories

13. Others (Education, Wellbeing and Happiness etc.)

Abstract

A demographic reality of the twenty-first century is the period of potential extended active life among older people.
The pertinent question that arises in this context is – what proportion of the remaining post-retirement life or after
age 60 is lived in a happy state without any disability? This paper presents a logical framework that disentangles
the multidimensional perspectives associated with happiness and wellbeing in older people. The key argument is
that aspired quality of life is driven by a combination of influences extending beyond the traditional demographic
and economic factors to encompass a culture of social networks and support systems facilitated by digital
connectivity and technological advances in healthcare systems. There is a clear progressive shift in the use of digital
connectivity among older people from an affordable luxury good to necessity good. The paper reviews relevant
interdisciplinary conceptual models and proposes specific domains and a set of indicators under each domain, and
concludes with a set of recommendations for survey approaches to measuring happiness in older people.

1526 Healthy and happiness among older adults in Thailand

Rossarin Gray

Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand

Categories

13. Others (Education, Wellbeing and Happiness etc.)

Abstract

Healthy ageing is a major national strategy of Thailand, a middle-income country, due to its rapid population ageing and increase
in longevity. Based on different data sets and methods, our research on happiness, measured by a global question, and health
among older adults in Thailand show that there was a strong association between happiness and self-perceived health or
functional health after controlling for economic, social and demographic factors. Objective economic status (i.e. debt burden)
and subjective economic status (i.e. a feeling of relative poverty to their neighbours) were also strongly associated with
happiness. The underline interpretation of these findings is related to Thai culture, which is pervaded by Buddhism. Limitations
and future research in Thailand and other countries are also discussed.

1418 Potential indicators of happiness used in the surveys of older adults in Japan,
the Philippines and Viet Nam

2
1
Osuke Komazawa , Yasuhiko Saito
2
1 Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, Jakarta, Indonesia. College of Economics, Nihon
University, Tokyo, Japan