Life satisfaction and self concept of an elderly population living in congregate and non-congregate housing in Knox County, Tennessee

The purpose of this research was to determine life satisfaction, self concept, and perceived health status of congregate and non-congregate elderly dwellers. The sample consisted of 271 residents of Knox County, Tennessee, with an age range of 65 to 95 years old.

To collect the data, the Tennessee Self Concept Scale and the Life Satisfaction Z Index were employed. Statistical analyses of the data involved the-use of the Mann-Whitney U for comparisons and the Kendall Tau for correlations.

A comparison of life satisfaction and self concept in congregate and non-congregate dwellers exhibited a high similarity in these two groups except for the Identity scale of the self concept. This difference revealed congregate dwellers seemed to have no concrete internalized idea of themselves (Identity) with the opposite being true for non-congregate dwellers. When observing the data of male and female differences in life satisfaction and self concept, the following results were obtained. Elderly males appeared to have a lower level of defensiveness (Self-Criticism) and a more positive concept of their physical appearance [Physical Self) and personal worth [Personal Self). Elderly females had a more positive sense of moral worth [Moral-Ethical Self) and greater feelings of worth as a family member [Family Self).

When correlating the elderly individual's life satisfaction (happiness) to the 10 self concept scales, all but the Self Criticism (level of defensiveness) revealed a highly significant positive correlation. A final correlation was analyzed between an aged person's perceived health status to life satisfaction and self concept. Results indicated positive correlations were evident between the perceived health status and overall level of self-esteem (Total Positive), perception of one's behavior (Behavior), moral worth (Moral-Ethical Self), worth as a family member (Family Self), and the sense of worth in the social milieu (Social Self). However, a positive correlation did not emerge between an. aged person's perceived health status and their happiness (Life Satisfaction), defensiveness (Self-Criticism), how one feels about their perceived self (Self Satisfaction), views of the physical appearance (Physical Self), and sense of personal worth (Personal Self).