A person's ability to accept facts that cannot be changed increases his or her happiness and satisfaction in older life.
As we age we lose our independence and sometimes have to move into residential care. With time, people learn to adapt to the fact that they are dependent on others in order to stay happy. A new study conducted by researchers from Deakin University in Australia finds that when it comes to satisfaction in later life the ability to accept what cannot be changed is as important as the feeling of being able to exert control.
Maintaining the level of satisfaction as a person ages has a lot to do with maintaining a sense of control into the later years. There are two types of control. Primary control is a person's capacity to make changes to his surroundings to suit his needs and secondary control is a person's capacity to make cognitive changes within himself to adapt to the changing surroundings.
Researchers Jaclyn Broadbent, Shikkiah de Quadros-Wander and Jane McGillivray conducted this study to determine the difference in level of satisfaction and control in older people living in residential care and older people living in the community. Hundred and one individuals from both groups were looked into and the eight factors that influence satisfaction in life were analyzed. They included standard of living, health, achievement, personal relationships, safety, community connectedness, future security and spirituality and religion.
Authors of the study found that the relationship between primary control and satisfaction was always larger for the elderly living in the community than those in residential care. Also, secondary control capabilities that contributed to satisfaction were stronger among elders who lived in residential care.
"In order to protect the well-being of older individuals, adaptation involves both a sense of control and the active acceptance of what cannot be changed. Primary and secondary perceived control may predict satisfaction with comparable strength depending on the older person's situation. Acceptance takes more of a prime position in low control situations," authors of the study concluded.
Findings of the study were published online in Springer's Journal of Happiness Studies.
