The relationship between daily hassles and losses perception, coping resources and sense of loneliness and sense of happiness in old age

The proportion of old-aged people, in relation to the general population, has steadily increased over recent years. A number of reasons inform this growth, including an increase in life expectancy, together with a falling birthrate. The significance of researching this discrete population is informed by their increasing numerical and proportional presence.

Old age is a chronological period characterized by a range of physical, cognitive and emotional changes and losses. (Kirkevold, Moyle, Wilkinson, Meyer, & Hauge, 2012). In light of these changes, which often manifest in the perception of personal suffering, the concept of happiness and its importance has taken on new significance. “Happiness” is an abstract concept with multiple definitions deriving from different fields including religion, philosophy and psychology. This research adopts a broad definition, anchored by “a sense of joy, satisfaction or positive well-being, accompanied by a feeling that life is good, significant, and worth living” (Bar-Tor, 2011).

The present study investigates the sense of happiness amongst old-aged people, against the contextual background of the losses and hassles experienced in everyday life, through an analysis of optimism, sense of loneliness, and social support, based on the Stress, Appraisal, and Coping model of Lazarus & Folkman (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).

The research population consisted of 114 men and women defined as old-aged (women over 62 years old, and men over 67 years old), not experiencing any cognitive decline and living in the community. A set of five structured questionnaires were used in the research to determine their sense of happiness, perceptions of daily hassles and losses, optimism, the sense of loneliness, and social support. The research hypothesis were: 1. A significant negative association will be found between the perception of loss and daily hassles in old age and the sense of happiness. 2. Optimism will be found to operate as an intermediate variable between the perception of loss and everyday hassles in old age, and the sense of happiness. 3. The sense of loneliness will be found to operate as an intermediate variable between the perception of loss and everyday hassles in old age, and the sense of happiness. 4. The strength of the relationship between the perception of loss and daily hassles and the sense of happiness will be weaker with higher levels of social support than with lower levels of social support.

According to the research findings, the participants reported a relatively high level of happiness and a high positive association between the optimism and social support and sense of happiness variables; and a strong negative association between the sense of loneliness and the sense of happiness. The model research findings showed that the low sense of loneliness and high optimism variables indicate a strong association between these two variables and the sense of happiness in old age.

The current research has both theoretical and practical implications. From a theoretical perspective, the research results enrich the existing body of literature, partially validating the Stress, Appraisal, and Coping model of  Lazarus & Folkman (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987). From a practical perspective, the research findings suggest that intervention programs directed toward improving the sense of happiness in old age people will benefit from engaging with internal resources and variables like optimism and loneliness.