Effects of Pre-Retirement Personality, Health and Job Lock on Post-Retirement Subjective Well-being

On Time, Leisure, and Health in Retirement: Implications for Public Health Services

Various life challenges, such as widowhood, poor health, or significant caregiving responsibilities, can make the possibility of how to spend one's time in retirement seem daunting. Planning can help people feel more confident and prepared. In this paper, we review research that has examined: (1) life factors impacting fears about and adjustment to retirement, (2) access to resources and utilization of strategies that impact adaptation processes, and (3) the ways leisure and leisure education may be resources to support not only individual adaptation but practices of public health service providers in assisting people who may be struggling with this transition. The review ends with recommendations for public health practice including: (1) the inclusion of leisure and leisure education as a focus of service provision; (2) the development of partnerships or collaborations between public health and recreation-related organizations; and (3) the development and delivery of group- and individual-based leisure education programs.

Age, ethnicity, life events and wellbeing among New Zealand women

By the year 2030, 19–21 per cent of the population of New Zealand (NZ) is projected to be aged 65 and over. Like many countries, life expectancy in NZ differs by gender but also ethnicity: in 2019, life expectancy for Māori (indigenous) women was 77.1 years compared with 84.4 years for non-Māori women. If Māori and NZ European women are to flourish in later life, examining the factors associated with their wellbeing is paramount. The current study draws on the Life Course Perspective to explore how wellbeing is associated with age-related life events among mid- to later-life NZ women. The women in this study (N = 19,624) are participants in the 2018 wave of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, a national probabilistic 20-year longitudinal study (mean age = 55.62; Māori = 10.8%, NZ European = 89.2%). We found that stressful life events were negatively associated with life satisfaction but positively associated with meaning in life. Māori women exhibited lower levels of life satisfaction but there were no ethnic differences for meaning in life; however, Māori and NZ European women showed different patterns of significant correlates associated with meaning in life. Findings highlight the necessity of an intersectional approach to the study of mid- to later-life wellbeing and the utility of measuring wellbeing in more than one way within NZ's unique cultural-historical context.

Older Canadians' Identity and Well-Being in Retirement

Retirement can be a time of identity disruption for many older adults. Identity process theory (Whitbourne et al., 2002) states that age-related changes, such as retirement, can prompt an individual to incorporate new information about themselves into their personal identity using one of three identity process: assimilation, accommodation, and balance. Additionally, individual identity and the manner in which individuals retire-voluntary or involuntary-are associated with post-retirement well-being (Newton et al., 2018). The current study examined the relationship between identity processes, planned/unplanned retirement, and hedonic (life satisfaction) and eudaimonic (meaning in life) well-being in a sample of retired Canadians. Results indicated that identity accommodation and balance were associated with both types of post-retirement well-being, whereas unplanned retirement was consistently only related to life satisfaction. This study emphasizes the importance of including individual difference factors when examining older adults' well-being and the utility of measuring well-being in multiple ways.

The role of personality in retirement adjustment: Longitudinal evidence for the effects on life satisfaction

OBJECTIVE

Research on retirement suggests that personality can influence the adjustment process, but the mechanisms involved remain still largely unknown. In the present study, we investigate direct and indirect associations between the Big Five personality traits and life satisfaction over the retirement transition. Indirect effects were evaluated through the role of personality for levels and changes in self-esteem, autonomy, social support, self-rated physical health, self-rated cognitive ability, and financial satisfaction.

METHOD

Our sample consisted of 796 older adults (age 60-66) and four annual measurement waves from the longitudinal population-based HEalth, Ageing, and Retirement Transitions in Sweden (HEARTS) study, including individuals retiring during the study period.

RESULTS

Results from multivariate latent growth curve analysis revealed multiple indirect associations between personality and life satisfaction. Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness were positively related to life satisfaction through higher levels of self-esteem, autonomy, and social support. Neuroticism was negatively associated with life satisfaction through lower levels of self-esteem and lower levels and negative changes in autonomy and social support.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that retirees with higher levels of Neuroticism are more vulnerable in the transition process and they are also more likely to experience adjustment problems resulting from negative changes in key resources.

Level of choice in older women's decisions to retire or continue working and associated well-being

Retirement is a complex life transition. Women's retirement, like their work lives, may be further complicated, for example, by family or financial obligations; they may feel forced to retire or to continue working or feel they have the choice to do so. This study examines the role of voluntary versus involuntary retirement or continued work participation among retirement-age women; specifically, the relationships between choice, work status, and well-being. Compared to women forced to retire, women who chose retirement or continuing to work had higher levels of life satisfaction. Findings highlight the importance of examining retirement within the life course context.

Gratitude across the life span: Age differences and links to subjective well-being

Gratitude has been described as an adaptive evolutionary mechanism that is relevant to healthy psychological and interpersonal outcomes. Questions remain as to whether the presence and benefits of gratitude are consistent from young adulthood to old age; prior research has yielded mixed evidence. We examined the magnitude and direction of age differences in gratitude in three samples (combined N = 31,206). We also examined whether gratitude was associated with greater/lesser well-being at different periods in the life course. We found that the experience of gratitude was greatest in older adults and least in middle aged and younger adults. Further, we found that the associations between gratitude and subjective well-being remained relatively constant across the lifespan. Findings are discussed from a developmental perspective.