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Does change in old-age living arrangements associate with the psychological health and subjective well-being among older adults in India? Evidence from a cross-section study

Bandita Boro, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Shobhit Srivastava, Project Concern International India

Background: As the Indian family structure is changing over time, India's older population needs detailed investigation for its well-being due to living arrangements. This study investigates the association between the change in living arrangements after reaching age 60 years with subjective well-being and psychological health among older adults in India. Methods: We used the survey data “Building Knowledge Base on Population Ageing” in India. The effective sample size for the study was 9231 older adults. Ordered logistic regression analysis was performed to understand the association between the living arrangements of the elderly and their psychological health. Results: The results showed that older adults with a change in living arrangement after turning 60 years had a higher prevalence of poor psychological health (27.5%) and low subjective well-being (36%). It was found that older adults with change in living arrangement after turning old had 84% and 54% higher likelihood to report worst psychological health [OR: 1.84; CI: 1.48-2.27] and worst subjective well-being [OR: 1.54; CI: 1.22-1.93] versus the combined best and good categories in reference to older adults who did not change their living arrangement after turning old. Conclusion: Older adults with a change in living arrangement need special policy attention.

Keywords: Population ageing, Health and morbidity, Older adults

See extended abstract.

  Presented in Session P6.