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OBJECTIVES: The objective of this article is to determine direct and indirect contributions of objective and subjective quality of life (QOL) to positive and negative indicators of mental health. Specifically, the dual-channel hypothesis predicted that objective and subjective social engagement would enhance positive affect (PA) but be unrelated to depression. METHODS: Older people from senior centers and several housing environments volunteered to complete a questionnaire or interview about a number of aspects of their everyday lives (N = 602). Objective and subjective were related to one another. RESULTS: Objective activity participation and subjective time use and friend quality were associated with PA. Only time use was related to depression. DISCUSSION: The importance of assessing both amount of behavior (objective) and its quality (subjective) when measuring QOL was demonstrated. Although external engagement bears a closer relationship to PA than to negative, the dual-channel model relating locus of stimulation differentially to PA and depression requires modification.
Lawton et al. (Sat,) studied this question.