The impact of coresidence with the children on the relationship between perceived closeness and psychological well-being of the elderly

Abstract

Introduction: The influence of coresidence with children is reported to be both beneficial and detrimental on the psychological well-being of the elderly. We investigated whether perceived closeness with their children could be correlated with psychological well-being among the elderly. Subjects and Methods: A correlational analysis was performed involving two variables. Relationship Closeness Inventory (RCI) was used to measure perceived closeness of the elderly with their children. Ryff s Scales of Psychological Well-Being (RSPWB) was used to measure psychological well-being in elderly participants. RCI and RSPWB were collated from 102 elderly participants (60–89 years old) who lived with their children. Results: We observed that the relationship between perceived closeness and psychological well-being of the elderly had a negative correlation. Despite that fact, we also observed that the type of living arrangement variably influenced the perceived closeness and psychological well-being. Specifically, the elderly who lived in a household with grandchildren s had a higher psychological well-being. Conclusion: This study did not observe any positive correlation between perceived closeness and psychological well-being of the elderly. Hence, close relationship with their children alone is unlikely to influence psychological well-being among the elderly.