Contributions of Psychological Well-Being and Social Support to an Integrative Model of Subjective Health in Later Adulthood

This study examined the contributions of psychological well-being and social support to an integrative model of subjective health among older adults. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed model of subjective health which included age, education, physical health problems, functional status, psychological well-being and social support. Partial support for the model was found. Psychological well-being had both a direct effect on subjective health and an indirect effect mediated by physical health problems. Social support had an indirect association with subjective health via its effect on psychological well-being. Functional status had only a weak effect on subjective health. Longitudinal data at a six-year interval revealed the same direct and/or indirect effects of these variables on subjective health. This study sheds light on how psychological and social resources are linked with subjective health in later adulthood.