Home is where the heart is: Living arrangements as a moderator to the relationship between social connectedness and life satisfaction in Manila-dwelling elderly

Throughout the life span of an individual, there are numerous changes that occur that have an effect on the perceived quality of one\u27s aging (Mlinac & feng, 2016). In order to optimize the process of aging, the factors of life satisfaction and social connectedness are known to be determinants for the quality of one\u27s aging process. Futrher, there have been numerous theories created to help explain the differences and the effects that occur during aging such as the activity theory explaining that being engaged in activities especially with other individuals provides a positive impact on the process of aging (Schoots, 1996). The researchers aimed to investigate living arrangements as a mediator to factors of aging namely life satisfaction and social connectedness in the Philippine context due to the variations of aging considerations with cultural differences to contribute to a universal understanding of the topics at hand. The study aims to provide data for interventions and plans to optimize the factors behind aging process for those in the field. The researchers found that there is an overall significant and positive relationship between life satisfaction and social connectedness for the elderly. More specifically, there is a significant relationship between the two variables for the elderly living at home. On the other hand, the two variables are positive but not significant for elderly living in assisted living facility. Also, based on the results, living arrangements may not moderate the two previously mentioned variables. Life satisfaction and social connectedness are significant on a correlational level. Living arrangements as a moderator is not significant