Chapter 18 Discussion- Adult's Psychological Wellbeing

Older adults' psychological wellbeing is an important facet of well-being because of the

prevalence of chronic illnesses with advancing age. Psychological wellness is an interplay of life

evaluation, hedonic, and eudemonic wellbeing. Life evaluation is an individual’s perspective

about the quality of their life, while hedonic wellbeing is an individual's feelings or moods.

Eudemonic wellbeing is one's judgment on the purpose and meaning of life. Negative responses

to the three are a sign of poor psychological wellbeing. It is enormously a result of an older

adult's increasing dependency, poor physical health, lack of social support, and negative

physiological changes.

Psychological wellbeing reduces the risk of debilitating physical illnesses and promotes

longevity. Findings by Steptoe et al., (2015) suggest that psychological health in older people is a

consequence of many factors than health. It is a result of social and family interactions, social

roles and activities, and material conditions. Measures towards improving these situations could

improve on mental health, dependency, and longevity.

 References

Steptoe, A., Deaton, A., & Stone, A. A. (2015). Psychological wellbeing, health and ageing.
Lancet, 385(9968), 640. Doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61489-0