Journal of Environmental Health Sciences (한국환경보건학회지)

Korean Society of Environmental Health (한국환경보건학회)
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Effect of Anxiety about Climate Change on Life Satisfaction and Mediating Effect of Subjective Health Status

노인의 기후변화 불안감이 생활만족도에 미치는 영향과 주관적 건강의 매개효과

  • Lee, Sungeun (Department of Social Welfare, Pusan National University)
  • Received : 2019.06.10
  • Accepted : 2019.06.18
  • Published : 2019.06.30
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Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine effect of anxiety about climate change on life satisfaction and mediating effect of subjective health status between anxiety about climate change and life satisfaction among older persons. Methods: This study used data from Statistics Korea 2018 Social Survey and a total of 7,870 older persons aged 65 and over were selected for the analyses. Descriptive statistics was used to identify characteristics of study participants and correlation analysis was used to examine the associations among anxiety about climate change, subjective health status, and life satisfaction. Also, multiple regression analyses were performed to examine effect of anxiety about climate change on life satisfaction and mediating effect of subjective health status between anxiety about climate change and life satisfaction. Results: Study findings show that anxiety about climate change had significant effect on life satisfaction. A higher level of anxiety decreased the level of life satisfaction of the elderly. A higher level of anxiety about climate change also decreased the level of subjective health status. In addition, the effect of anxiety about climate change on life satisfaction was partially mediated by subjective health status. Conclusions: Findings of the study suggest that the needs of older population should be considered in designing policy and interventions on climate change.

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