Perspectives on the Happiness of Community-Dwelling Elderly in Korea

OBJECTIVE: A community survey was performed to investigate the factors and perspectives associated with happiness among the elderly in Korea (> or =60 years). METHODS: Eight hundred volunteers selected from participants in the Ansan Geriatric study (AGE study) were enrolled, and 706 completed the survey. The Happiness Questionnaire (HQ), which asks four questions about happiness, was administered. To explore the relationship between happiness and depression, the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) also were administered. RESULTS: The participants' average level of happiness, determined using a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS) of the HQ, was 64.7+/-26.0. The happiest situations for most people were "getting together with family" (23.8%) and "living in peace with family members (well-being)" (13.2%). Frequent reasons for not being happy were "worsened health condition" (28.7% of the not-happy group), "economic problems of their own" (16.5%), and "economic problems of their children" (14.8%). The participants' choices regarding the essential conditions for happiness were "good health" (65.3%) and "being with family" (20.5%). The BDI and GDS scores were negatively related to the happiness score. A preliminary scale [Happy (Haeng-Bok, ) aging scale] based on the HQ for measuring the happiness level of the Korean elderly was suggested for follow-up studies. CONCLUSION: The most important factors determining the happiness of the community-dwelling elderly in Korea were good family relationships, economic stability, and good health. A higher depression score negatively impacted happiness among Korean elders. Further studies on the factors in their happiness are required.

A Preliminary Study for the Standardization of the Korean Version of the GBS Scale

OBJECTIVES: The Gottfries-Brane-Steen (GBS) Scale was developed to assess cognition, emotion, activities of daily living (ADL), and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) among patient with dementia. The aim of the present study was to provide preliminary evidences for the standardization of the Korean Version of the GBS Scale. METHODS: The GBS scale was administered among caregivers of 31 patients with dementia. Reliability and validity analysis were performed, and factor structure was explored. RESULTS: The internal reliabilities using Cronbach's alpha of the four subscales of the GBS were relatively high (intellectual impairment : 0.954, emotional impairment : 0.860, impairment of ADL performance : 0.877, some symptoms common in dementia : 0.847). The cognitive and ADL subscales of the GBS significantly correlated with the Korean mini-mental state examination and Barthel ADL Index (r=-0.648, r=-0.739, p<.01, respectively), whereas the emotion and BPSD subscales did not correlated with the Korean form of geriatric depression scale and Korean version of the Neuropsychiatric inventory, respectively. Factor analysis showed that the GBS scale was comprised of three factors unlike original article which had reported four factors of the scale. CONCLUSION: Although internal reliabilities and concurrent validities were relatively high, a factor analysis raised questions concerning the construct validity of the GBS scale.