Life-threatening experiences and quality of life in Chinese older women

Abstract

This longitudinal study explored the implications of traditional Chinese culture on Chinese older women’s coping and quality of life over time. 531 women were interviewed in 2008 and 226 of them were re-interviewed a year later. Measurements included Quality of Life Ladder (QoL), General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSS), List of Threatening Experiences (LTE), Somatic Complaint Scale, and Self-rated Health. Respondents’ mean age at baseline was 55.7 (SD=4.7, range: 50-78). Over a year’s time, respondents had a poorer perceived quality of life (p<.001) and self-rated health (p<.001), experiencing more life-threatening events (p<.05) and somatic complaints. Structural equation model suggested that life threatening experience at baseline, self-efficacy at follow-up, and quality of life at baseline contributed significantly to the quality of life at follow-up (Chi-square (df=3)=1.669, p=.644; CFI=1.000, RMSEA=.000), indicating that respondents’ self-efficacy at follow-up mediated the effect of self-efficacy at baseline to quality of life at follow-up. The self-efficacy at follow-up also has partial mediation effect on life threatening events to quality of life at follow-up. Findings show that our respondents successfully transformed adverse life experiences into positive psychological growth and resilience for stress management, which may be related to the Yin Yang model of threatening experience – a balanced approach for self-transience in challenging environments.