Demographic and psychosocial correlates of quality of life in the elderly from a cross-cultural perspective

TY - JOUR

T1 - Demographic and psychosocial correlates of quality of life in the elderly from a cross-cultural perspective

AU - Dragomirecká, Eva

AU - Bartonová, Jitka

AU - Eisemann, Martin

AU - Kalfoss, Mary

AU - Kilian, Reinhold

AU - Martiny, Klaus

AU - von Steinbüchel, Nicole

AU - Schmidt, Silke

N1 - Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

PY - 2008/12/31

Y1 - 2008/12/31

N2 - We compared the quality of life (QOL) of older adults in a post-communist country (the Czech Republic) with those living in traditional western democracies. The sample comprised 1981 respondents aged 60+ (from 60 to 99). The subjective QOL was measured using the WHOQOL-BREF and the add-on module for older adults, the WHOQOL-OLD. The findings showed higher score of depressive symptoms measured by the GDS scale and lower QOL in Czech sample as compared to other centres. Analyses of factors related to QOL of older adults showed similar patterns for the Czech sample and other centres with depression emerging as the strongest determinant of reduced QOL Findings also underline that subjective quality of life measurement reflects cross-country differences in accordance with objective indicators of national prosperity.

AB - We compared the quality of life (QOL) of older adults in a post-communist country (the Czech Republic) with those living in traditional western democracies. The sample comprised 1981 respondents aged 60+ (from 60 to 99). The subjective QOL was measured using the WHOQOL-BREF and the add-on module for older adults, the WHOQOL-OLD. The findings showed higher score of depressive symptoms measured by the GDS scale and lower QOL in Czech sample as compared to other centres. Analyses of factors related to QOL of older adults showed similar patterns for the Czech sample and other centres with depression emerging as the strongest determinant of reduced QOL Findings also underline that subjective quality of life measurement reflects cross-country differences in accordance with objective indicators of national prosperity.

KW - Aged

KW - Aged, 80 and over

KW - Aging

KW - Cross-Cultural Comparison

KW - Cross-Sectional Studies

KW - Czech Republic

KW - Depressive Disorder

KW - Europe

KW - Female

KW - Health Status Indicators

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Middle Aged

KW - Psychometrics

KW - Quality of Life

KW - Reproducibility of Results

KW - Social Change

KW - Social Environment

KW - Socioeconomic Factors

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

KW - Comparative Study

KW - Journal Article

KW - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

U2 - 10.1002/cpp.571

DO - 10.1002/cpp.571

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 19115440

SN - 1063-3995

VL - 15

SP - 193

EP - 204

JO - Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy

JF - Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy

IS - 3

ER -