Relationship between Social Support and Life Satisfaction among Elderly in South west of Khuzestan

The need for social support, especially in the elderly who has less physical and mental health, has a special place, given that he has lost much of his ability to manage his life and experience some degree of frustration. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to factors such as social support and its impact on the satisfaction of this vulnerable stratum.
 In this study, we decided to examine the relationship between social support and life satisfaction in southwestern Khuzestan.

In this descriptive-analytical study, all elderly people living in Abadan and Khorramshahr who had inclusion criteria were selected through available sampling. Measurement instruments were Vaux social support questionnaire (SS-A) and Diener life satis faction questionnaire. Data were analyzed using spss-21 software.

In this research, 392 elderly respondents answered the questionnaire. The mean life satisfaction of these people was 4/56 ± 1.07 and the mean social support was 3/04 ± 0/32. Life satisfaction has a significant correlation with social support and with a single subscale of social support (P <0/005). The correlation between life satisfaction and social support is strongly estimated to be 0/324.

Considering all of the above, social support as a factor affecting mental health and morale of the elderly can be considered as a cheap resource and as a social capital in line with the dynamics and improvement of quality of life and the spirits of the elderly.