LIFE SATISFACTION AMONG OLDER KOREAN ADULTS WITH DISABILITIES: AN APPLICATION OF THE PACID MODEL
This study aimed to examine whether the Psychosocial Adaptation to Chronic Illness and Disability (PACID) model is a well-established framework for older Korean adults with disabilities and to investigate the associated factors of life satisfaction (LS) among them. A sample of 384 older Korean adults with disabilities obtained from the Korea Welfare Panel Study data (2014), a representative national survey funded and approved by Korean government, was used in this study. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the dynamics among the antecedents (i.e., causes of disability, age and income at disability onset, gender), process factors (i.e., depression, self-esteem, disability severity, functional ability, course of disability condition, discrimination experiences, use of services, social support, education, income) and outcome (i.e., LS) based on the PACID model. The research model had good model fit, indicating that the PACID model was well applied to older Korean adults with disabilities. The findings showed that various factors had direct and indirect influences on LS. Depression, self-esteem, functional ability, discrimination experiences and income directly affected LS. Age at disability onset influenced LS through functional ability and discrimination experiences; income at disability onset affected LS through depression, self-esteem and income; causes of disability affected LS through income. Findings suggest that programs and services are required to improve the levels of depression, self-esteem and functional ability of older Korean adults with disabilities in order to enhance their positive feelings toward life. Findings also suggest policy makers should pay attention to ways to reduce their discrimination experiences and increase their income level for better LS among older Korean adults with disabilities.
