Association between Perceived Social Support and Happiness among Community-dwelling Elderly Adult

Background Happiness is usually accompanied with increases in life satisfaction, physical and mental health, quality of life and successful aging.  Objective The present study was aimed to determine the relationship between social support and happiness among older people in Qazvin, Iran. Methods In this descriptive-cross sectional, 312 older people residing in Qazvin city who selected by cluster sampling method were entered in the study. Oxford happiness and Zimet’s Perceived Social Support questionnaire were used for data collection. Pearson, Spearman, t-test, and ANOVA were used for analyzing the data. Findings The results of the current study showed that the younger elders (P=0.019, r=-0.132), higher economic status (P=0.014, r=0.139), having the personal home (P=0.047, r=0.112), fewer number of physical disorders (P=0.001, r=-0.180) and increased social support (P=0.010, r=0.160) were associated with higher happiness. However, it was not observed a statistically significant difference on happiness between women and men older adults (P=0.398). Conclusion According to the results of this study, happiness among older people can be significantly increased by increasing economic status, promoting physical health and strengthening of social support.