Male & Female Retirees and Quality of Life

1. Male & Female Retirees and Quality of Life Amber Kelly & Dr. Jan Stewart

2. Overview • In Australia, growing number of people retiring • Number of retirees experience adjustment problems (Swanson & Tripp–Reimer, 1999) • Important that research examines retirement and interrelationship with wellbeing. Ref:www.count.com.au/Images/orphan_pages/retirees.gif

3. Retirement • Role theorists: Employment fundamental role, central to an individual’s identity (Kim & Moen, 2001). • Retirement - Identity crises (Miller, 1965) more likely for male retirees • Women more flexible due to need for role modifications (Brown, 1994)

4. Quality of Life • Interest in factors that predict quality of life in retirement (Gall & Evans, 2000) • Quality of life has objective and subjective axes (Cummins, 1995) • SWB indicator of quality of life – a multidimensional evaluation of people’s lives (Eid & Diener, 2004)

5. Subjective Well Being (SWB) • Major life transition can affect SWB (Heady & Wearing, 1992) • Set point for SWB, within the positive range of 50 –100, to which people generally return (Mellor, Cummins, & Loquet, 1999) • 70%SM to 80%SM homeostatic range of SWB (Cummins, 1995)

6. Demographics and SWB • Females have been found to score higher than males on SWB (Cummins et al., 2001) • People from different locations appear to respond differently on measures of SWB (Cummins et al., 2001) • Thus the relationships between SWB and urban/rural populations, and gender were examined

7. Maintaining SWB • Individuals’ internal resources can impact SWB • Influence the way people approach life circumstances (e.g., retirement) • Internal resources measured: Levels of Sense of Coherence (SOC) and Optimism, and having a sense of meaning and purpose in life

8. Sense of Coherence (SOC) • SOC plays a role in health and SWB (Antonovsky, 1979, 1987) • Generalised, enduring way of seeing the world. • Three elements: • Comprehensibility • Manageability • Meaningfulness

9. Optimism • Implicated in the maintenance of SWB • Linked to positive mood and good morale (Peterson, 2000) • Global expectation good things will be plentiful and bad things scarce (Scheier & Carver, 1992) • A more optimistic outlook reduces the impact of negative events on SWB by the prospect that the difficulties being experienced will not last (Cummins & Gullone, 2002)

10. Purpose in Life (PIL) • Defined as: having sense of directedness, meaning to present and past life, aims and objectives for living(Ryff, 1989) • Age-associated events deprive person of important sources of PIL (Baumeister, 1991) • Employment may have been an important source of purpose - loss of this role may cause a decline in PIL • Older adults have experienced much that life can offer, & achieved most of their life goals (Ebersole & DePaola, 1989)

11. Conclusions from Previous Research • Different factors promote or predict successful adjustment • Holistic understanding of retirement required • Psychological mechanisms were examined for impact on individuals’ SWB, and sense of purpose and meaning in life

12. Hypotheses It was predicted that: • There would be a positive association between Sense of Coherence (SOC) and Subjective Well-Being (SWB) • PIL would relate to retirees’ global life satisfaction • Greater Purpose in Life (PIL), SOC, and Optimism would predict greater SWB • Male retirees would have less PIL than female retirees • Females would have higher ratings of SWB than males • Urban and rural differences, and occupation prior to retirement would relate to SWB and PIL

13. Method • Participants • 100 male (n=40) and female (n=60) retirees, 66 –75 years. • Self funded or government funded retirees • Urban (Melbourne, n=32) and rural (Warrnambool and surrounding areas, n=68)

14. Demographics • Age • Gender • Location • Marital status • Health Status • Occupation prior to retirement • Income prior to retirement • Length of time and years employed • Reason for retirement • Years retirement • Preparation • Retirement related relocation (Qualitative question) • Living arrangement • Children in home (Qualitative question) • Grand parenting role (Qualitative question) • Community Involvement (Qualitative question)

15. Independent Variables • Sense of Coherence Sense of Coherence scale (SOC; Antonovsky, 1987). • Optimism Life Orientation Test (LOT; Scheier & Carver, 1986) • Purpose in Life Purpose in Life test (PIL; Crumbaugh, 1968)

16. Dependent Variables • Subjective Well Being • Personal Well-Being Index (PWI; Cummins, 1995) • Satisfaction with standard of living, health, life achievements, personal relationships, safety, security, and community • Global Life Satisfaction: • Single item scale

17. Major Variables in the Study

18. Hypothesis 1A positive association would exist between Sense of Coherence (SOC) and Well-being (QoL) Bivariate Pearson product- moment correlation • Positive relationship existed between SOC and SWB(r = .50, p < .01) • Higher SOC scores were associated with higher SWB scores

19. Hypothesis 2Purpose in Life (PIL) would relate to retirees’ global life satisfaction Bivariate Pearson product-moment correlation • Positive relationship existed between PIL and global life satisfaction(r = .31, p < .01) • Higher PIL scores were associated with higher life satisfaction

20. Hypothesis 3 Purpose in Life (PIL), Sense of Coherence (SOC), and Optimism would predict increases in SWB • Standard multiple regression (MRA) • Together Optimism, SOC, and PIL predicted 43% of the variance for SWB (R² = .43, R² adjusted = .41) • Individually, the IVs were all significant predictors of SWB, contributing: Sr2 (unique variance): PIL .32, SOC .25, LOT .21

21. Hypothesis 4Male retirees would have less purpose in life (PIL) than female retirees • Women had slightly greater purpose in life (M =90.27) than males (M = 87.56) • However, results of an Independent samples t-test revealed a non-significant difference in PIL scores for males and females

22. Hypothesis 5Females will have higher ratings of SWB than males Independent samples t-test • Non-significant difference in SWB for males and females • Males (M = 56.72, SD = 10.80) & females (M = 56.39, SD = 11.95), were comparable on their ratings of SWB. • Males 78.93%SM; Females: 78.39%SM

23. Hypothesis 6Urban and rural differences and occupation prior to retirement would relate to SWB and PIL Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) • Significant difference between rural/urban located retirees for SWB • Significant interaction between prior occupation and location for SWB • There were no significant findings for PIL • Thus, retirees’ SWB was significantly influenced by their location (urban or rural), and the particular occupation they were involved in prior to retirement (white collar or blue collar)

24. Qualitative Results • Grand-parenting involvement: 50 % in sample involved in grand-parenting role • Community involvement: 89% of the respondents were involved in community activities • Relocation in retirement: 21 % relocated for retirement

25. Limitations of Present Study Methodological limitations: • Cannot to generalise to retirees who are not linked to community activities • Over-representation of rural participants • Low response rate (N=97) • Causal interpretations cannot be made

26. Summary and Implications of Present Study Summary • Differences in SWB between urban/rural retirees • Interaction between location and occupation prior to retirement • No gender differences in SWB • Internal resources impacted on SWB, but not PIL, for retirees Implications: • Retirement transition is a complicated time • Need ongoing research to understand the experience in its entirety

27. References