Impact of social support on life satisfaction in older adults: Considering socioeconomic status as moderator

Abstract

This study examined the associations between changes in different types of social support and change in life satisfaction in retired older adults, and the moderating role of socioeconomic status (education and income). Data were extracted from a nationally representative sample of 2837 older adults taken from the survey of the 7th (2018) and 8th (2020) waves of the Korean Retirement and Income Study. The study employed regression analysis to explore the relationships between changes in three types of social support (emotional, informational, instrumental) and changes in life satisfaction. The results of the study indicate that the associations between changes in social support and life satisfaction differed by type of social support and participants' changes in income. Specifically, an increase in emotional social support positively related to an increase in life satisfaction, with a stronger association observed among older adults with decreased income compared to those with increased income. Meanwhile, changes in informational social support were positively related to changes in life satisfaction regardless of education or income level. Finally, changes in instrumental social support were not found to be significantly associated with changes in life satisfaction. This study highlights the importance of considering the types of social support that older adults have and need, as well as changes in their economic status, when seeking to understand their life satisfaction.