Quality of Life in Community-Dwelling Elderly Individuals: Associations with Sense of Coherence and Perceived Social Support

Healthy ageing involves understanding the psychosocial resources associated with well-being in later adulthood. The present study examined the relationships among perceived social support, sense of coherence, and quality of life among community-dwelling elderly individuals. A quantitative cross-sectional research design was employed on a sample of 145 elderly individuals residing in Vadodara, Gujarat. Data were collected using the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-13), Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS), and WHOQOL-OLD. Descriptive statistics, Spearman’s rank-order correlation, and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted using SPSS version 23.0. The findings revealed significant positive associations among perceived social support, sense of coherence, and quality of life. Sense of coherence significantly predicted quality of life, whereas perceived social support did not emerge as a significant independent predictor after controlling for sense of coherence. The findings highlight the importance of psychosocial resources, particularly adaptive coping orientation, in understanding quality of life among community-dwelling elderly individuals.