Experiences of Purpose in Life When Becoming and Being a Very Old Woman

The aim of the study was to illuminate how very old women describe their experiences of purpose in life (PIL) in narratives about becoming and being very old. The participants comprised 30 women selected from 120 women who had answered the PIL test and had been interviewed about their experiences of being very old. The interviews were analyzed with qualitative content analysis, which revealed four themes: having a positive view of life, living in relation to God, having meaningful activities, and simply existing. Our findings show that very old women experience purpose in life both in their daily activities and in their contact with a spiritual world. It seems to be facilitated by a positive view of life. Although the results were dominated by a positive view of life, some of the participants saw their lives in terms of simply existing, and did not experience purpose in life.     

Bayesian structural equation modeling for the health index

There are many factors which could influence the level of health of an individual. These factors are interactive and their overall effects on health are usually measured by an index which is called as health index. The health index could also be used as an indicator to describe the health level of a community. Since the health index is important, many research have been done to study its determinant. The main purpose of this study is to model the health index of an individual based on classical structural equation modeling (SEM) and Bayesian SEM. For estimation of the parameters in the measurement and structural equation models, the classical SEM applies the robust-weighted least-square approach, while the Bayesian SEM implements the Gibbs sampler algorithm. The Bayesian SEM approach allows the user to use the prior information for updating the current information on the parameter. Both methods are applied to the data gathered from a survey conducted in Hulu Langat, a district in Malaysia. Based on the classical and the Bayesian SEM, it is found that demographic status and lifestyle are significantly related to the health index. However, mental health has no significant relation to the health index.     

Examining the relationship between religiosity and happiness in Medan,Indonesia: The mediating role of self-control,self-regulation,and life satisfaction

Social harmony and community wellbeing can be addressed by promoting life satisfaction and happiness within society. As part of the attempts to understand and promote life satisfaction and happiness within society, this study examined how religiosity can contribute to these two outcome variables. More specifically, this study examined the mediating effect of self-control, self-regulation, and life satisfaction on the relationship between religiosity and happiness. Six hundred and twenty-eight middle (628) adults from Medan, Indonesia were recruited through stratified sampling. They completed five self-report scales on Subjective Happiness Scale; Satisfaction with Life Scale; Centrality of Religiosity Scale; brief Self-control Scale and Self-regulation Scale. Data were analyzed by applying Structural Equation Model (using the LISREL software 8.80), which provides simultaneous examination of variance between endogenous and exogenous variables. Results revealed that people who reported higher level of religiosity also scored high on self-control and self-regulation scales, life satisfaction, which, in turn, are related to more happiness. The finding provides evidence for more specific mechanism in which religiosity contributes to life satisfaction and happiness of the individuals and consequently society wellbeing. Theoretical and practical implications related to the findings are discussed.