Fundamental Linkages Between Activity Time Use and Subjective Well-Being for the Elderly Population: Joint Exploratory Analysis Framework for In-Home and Out-of-Home Activities

Abstract

For elderly people (those 65 years of age or older), transportation mobility is critical to meeting activity engagement needs and maintaining life satisfaction and well-being. This paper explores the underlying correlation structure between activity time-use patterns and the degree of episode well-being (or happiness) of the elderly population. The research presented here was based on data from the 2009 Disability and Use of Time survey, which included senior couples with an average age of 68 years. The survey also recorded reported levels of episode well-being indicators related to calmness, happiness, frustration, worrying, tiredness, sadness, pleasantness, and pain. The latent class cluster analysis framework was used with the scores on these indicators to construct a composite degree of activity satisfaction experienced by an individual. These well-being measures estimated a set of regression models that jointly analyzed episode duration and satisfaction separately for in-home and out-of-home activities with a broad array of covariates of sociodemographics, activity and travel characteristics, and global well-being indicators. Model estimation results revealed a strong negative correlation between episode duration and well-being, with a pronounced impact on in-home activities. The results indicated the presence of satiation effects related to the activity time use and episode well-being of the elderly. The results also suggested that companionship and altruism have a strong and positive effect on episode well-being and time-use patterns. The model findings show that elderly individuals who are happy with their life tend to engage in happy activities for longer periods.