[Researching happiness and life satisfaction of the older adults: Results from bibliometric network analysis.]

Abstract

The senior age group has become a focal point in interdisciplinary studies, with increasing attention on healthy and active aging, including happiness and life satisfaction in later life. This study presents the results of a bibliometric network analysis of scientific literature exploring the happiness of older adults. Relying on R.Veenhoven's concept of overall happiness, the study distinguishes between two strands of literature: happiness and life satisfaction. While these concepts are similar in their theoretical definitions, they yet differ in practical research approaches and empirical implications. This study aims at mapping the knowledge structure for these fields, analyzing keywords and constructing co-occurrence networks, as well as examining the most influential articles and popular publication sources. The results confirm the difference in research topics on happiness and life satisfaction among older people. Studies on happiness related to the senior age group are predominantly associated with the field of psychology, whereas life satisfaction research is more closely linked to aspects of quality of life.