Resilience, life satisfaction and perceived stress among elderly people living separately from their adult children-: a cross–sectional comparative study

Aim of the study: The study was conducted to assess and compare the level of resilience, life satisfaction and perceived stress between elderly living separately from their adult children and elderly living with their adult children or family members. And to find out the correlation between resilience, life satisfaction and perceived stress in later life. Methods and Materials: A community based cross-sectional comparative study was carried out in some selected areas in Varanasi district, in Uttar Pradesh. A total of 150 elderly people (75 living with their adult children or other family members as group-1 and 75 living separately from their adult children as group-2) aged 60 years and above were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire including socio-demographic questionnaire, Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Result: The mean age of the respondents was 66.95±6.08 years; most of them were aged between 60-69 years in both study groups. Elderly people living with their adult children or other family members were found with a higher degree of resilience and life satisfaction and lower degree of perceived stress compared to elderly people living separately from their children. There was a significant positive correlation between resilience and life satisfaction, but on the other hand perceived stress was negatively correlated with resilience and life satisfaction. Conclusion: The living arrangement of elderly people plays an important role in their wellbeing and support from family members (especially their adult children) is also its essential part. Increase in resilience through social support, can increase life satisfaction and decrease the level of perceived stress among elderly people.