The Differential Importance of Personal and Environmental Resources to Older Canadians (Essay‪)‬

AGING IS A COMPLEX PROCESS OF adaptation to physical, psychological, and social changes (Steverink, Lindenberg, and Ormel 1998). With the higher probability of changing life circumstances in older age, stressors and the need to adapt increase rather than decrease (Borglin et al. 2006). How well people adapt to the stresses of living depends heavily upon the personal and environmental resources available to them, and is reflected, in part, in how people feel about themselves and their life conditions (Lazarus and Folkman 1984). Social production function theory asserts that resources both internal and external to the individual function as instruments or means to achieving well-being (Steverink et al. 2005). While individuals are assumed to be resourceful and strive to maximize their well-being, restrictions in resources available in older age constrain optimal well-being (Steverink et al. 1998). Declining reserve capacities in older age are of concern as they lead to greater vulnerability or frailty, and risk for decline in well-being (Steverink et al. 2005). The changing balance between gains and losses in resources in later life can lead to a reliance on idiosyncratic ways of achieving well-being (Steverink et al. 1998) with older people taking courses of action likely to enhance their well-being by putting resources to use in ways they believe best meet their perceived needs (Steverink et al. 2005). Cummins' (1996) observations that people who were satisfied with their lives as a whole also experience dissatisfaction in particular areas of their lives, suggest resources impact peoples' lives in different ways. This begs the question of whether some resources in older age overlap or differ in their purposes to optimize life satisfaction. To further explore this question within a Canadian context, a secondary analysis of General Social Survey data on Social Engagement Cycle 17 (Statistics Canada 2004) was undertaken to examine whether personal and environmental resources are differentially important in predicting satisfaction across four domains of older Canadians' lives (health, time use, finances, and main activity).