The importance of national levels of eudaimonic well-being to life satisfaction in old age: a global study

PurposeThe present study sought to test the hypotheses that the relationship between age and life satisfaction is moderated by five societal factors: (1) eudaimonic well-being (i.e., psycho-social functioning), (2) economic quality, (3) healthcare system efficiency, (4) globalization, and (5) national age.MethodsThis study was a cross-sectional analysis based on data from the Gallup World Poll. The sample consisted of 264,123 individuals across 133 countries. Multi-level modeling was used to analyze the data.ResultsThe results showed that out of the five moderators, only national levels of eudaimonic well-being robustly moderated the relationship between age and life satisfaction. The relationship between age and life satisfaction was negative in countries with low and moderate levels of eudaimonic well-being, and non-significant in countries with high levels of eudaimonic well-being.ConclusionIt seems that anon-financial way to maintain higher levels of life satisfaction in aging populations is to enhance eudaimonic well-being. This can be achieved through interventions and policies targeted at individuals, groups, and organizations.