Population Institute

ABSTRACT

By 2030, it is projected that senior citizens will make up 11% of the Philippine population, making it imperative to ensure their life satisfaction. Despite facing challenges in health and economic well-being, the majority of older Filipinos express satisfaction with their lives, which may be attributed to their strong social connections. To investigate this, the 2018 Longitudinal Study of Aging and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP) was utilized to categorize older Filipinos into distinct social network typologies through Latent Class Analysis (LCA). Additionally, binary logistic regression was employed to examine how social networks moderate the relationship between self-rated health and life satisfaction, while controlling for selected demographic variables: sex, age group, residence type, education level, and wealth.

Three social network typologies were found: the family-focused group, characterized by strong ties to immediate family only; the family and friend-focused group, with strong ties to both family and friends; and the diverse group, which encompasses ties to immediate family, non-co-residing relatives, friends, and community. Furthermore, educational attainment and wealth index emerged as the most consistent predictors of life satisfaction, with age group’s significance diminishing when solely demographic covariates were considered. Interestingly, while self-rated health and social network classes independently influenced life satisfaction, these main effects are removed when the interaction term is considered. Moreover, this interaction was significant, indicating a moderating effect of social networks on the relationship between health perception and life satisfaction.

These findings provide support to the stress-buffering hypothesis and underscore the importance of social connections in buffering the impact of health perceptions on life satisfaction among older Filipinos. It also emphasizes the need to prioritize interventions that foster strong social networks to promote life satisfaction among older Filipinos.

Keywords: life satisfaction, self-rated health, social networks, older Filipinos, latent class analysis, moderation analysis