The Effect of Subjective Health Status on Life Satisfaction of Middle and Old Aged Women: The Mediating Effect of Depression

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the effect of subjective health in middle and old aged women on their life satisfaction and to verify the mediating effect of depression. For this purpose, this study conducted frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and structural equation model mediating effect analysis, using the data of 3,570 elderly women in the 7th wave of the 'Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging' data. The results are summarized as follows: First, it was found that the higher the subjective health in middle and old aged women, the higher their life satisfaction. Second, the effect of subjective health in middle and old aged women on their life satisfaction was found to be partially mediated by depression. Based on these findings, policy implications for improving the life satisfaction of middle and old aged women were suggested.