Objectives This study investigated the direct effects of the social relationships of the elderly on life satisfaction, and clarified the mediating effects of depression and the moderating effects of aging in place on these relationships. Methods Data collection was conducted using the 2023 Elderly Survey data, and 9,955 subjects (4,384 men and 5,571 women) were selected. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS 29.0 and PROCESS Macro 4.3 programs to perform frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, hierarchical regression analysis, mediation effect analysis, and moderating effect analysis. Results The main research results are as follows: First, the social relationships of the elderly had a significant negative effect on depression. Second, depression significantly decreased the life satisfaction of the elderly in a negative way. Third, the social relationships of the elderly significantly improved the life satisfaction in a positive way. Fourth, depression had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between social relationships and life satisfaction. Fifth, aging in place verified a significant moderating effect on the relationship between social relationships and life satisfaction. Conclusions This study emphasized the importance of strengthening social relationships, reducing depression, and creating an environment for aging in place to improve the life satisfaction of the elderly. Based on this, specific discussions and policy implications were proposed.
Mun et al. (Thu,) studied this question.