Subjective well-being among the old-old: The role of health, personality and social support

The purpose of this study was to devise and test a path model that explains how background variables, physical capacity, and psychosocial resources (l ocus of control and social network supportiveness) affect three well-being outcome measures-self-rated health, mental health, and life satisfaction-am ong the old-old in Israel. A sample of European-born persons aged seventy-f ive and over, drawn randomly from the population registry in the greater Te l Aviv area, was administered a structured questionnaire in personal interv iews (N = 194). The findings confirm that the relationship between backgrou nd variables, physical capacity and well-being is differentially mediated b y the psychosocial resources, with different variable combinations predicti ng each of the respective facets of well-being. Moreover, the relative stre ngth of the relationships between locus of control and social network suppo rtiveness and well-being indicate that among the old-old, personality facto rs may be more consequential than social resources for one's well-being.