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18
Life Satisfaction of the Older Thai:
Findings from the Pilot HART1
Dararatt Anantanasuwong and Udomsak Seenprachawong
T
hailand has become an aging society. In 2007, 11% or approximately
7 million people of the total population was aged 60 and older.
In 2030, one-fourth of the population (approximately 17.7 million
people) will be aged 60 and older. In preparing for the transition to an
aging society, the Thai government has developed public policy and strat-
egies to create national long-term plans for the elderly2 since 1986, and
included language on the issue in the 2007 Constitution.3 Internationally,
the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security has been autho-
rized to take responsibility for protecting and improving the quality of
life of the Thai elderly in compliance with the Madrid International Plan
of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) 2002–2010. The center of this public com -
mitment is the development of an aging society that advances health
and well-being into old age and ensures an enabling and supportive
environment.
In formulating plans and strategies under this commitment, the
government and the relevant agencies have relied mainly on a national
database on aging provided by the central survey agency, the National
Statistical Office (NSO), i.e., a bi-annual national cross-section survey
1 The authors acknowledge the kind support from the Research Development Committee
of the National Institute of Development Administration in writing this chapter.
2 The First National Long-term Plan for the Thai Elderly, 1986–2001, and the Second Long-
term Plan for the Thai Elderly, 2002–2021.
3 Sections 30, 40, 53, 80, and 84 in the Constitution of Thailand 2007 include statements to
protect and improve the quality of life of the Thai elderly.
438
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DARARATT ANANTANASUWONG and UDOMSAK SEENPRACHAWONG
on aging.4 The cross-section data from the household surveys have con -
tributed significantly in understanding the current status and situation
of the older population in Thailand, both by researchers and policy-
makers. However, to understand the aging process of the population
is a life-course study that involves specialists in multi- and interdisci -
plinary fields, such as demography, epidemiology, health, psychology,
economics, sociology, and survey methodology. An intensive database
from each round of the survey and from the same sample households
and individuals in each dimension will enhance knowledge about
the process of aging biologically, psychologically, sociologically, and
economically.
A national longitudinal study using panel data to formulate scientific
knowledge on aging and to inform public policy, such as the Health and
Retirement Study (HRS) conducted by the University of Michigan, has
not been carried out nor has it been an interest of Thai researchers. Such
a survey would be complicated, time-consuming, and costly to collect,
maintain, and disclose the data, which may be the main reason preventing
NSO or other research organizations in Thailand from conducting a large-
scale longitudinal panel survey on the older population. Yet, longitudinal
studies using panel data like the HRS have contributed significantly to
advances in knowledge about demography, economics, sociology, and
epidemiology of aging. Currently, HRS has become the pathbreaker for
longitudinal and panel studies on aging around the globe5 (Hauser and
Willis, 2004, 2011).
During 2006–2007, a group of researchers at the National Institute of
Development Administration saw the value of a large-scale longitudinal
study of aging like the HRS and attempted to establish a similar study
in Thailand. A proposal for a pilot project, titled the Panel Survey and
Study on Health, Aging, and Retirement in Thailand (HART), was devel-
oped in 2008 and received a one-year research grant from the National
4 The national cross-section survey on aging was conducted bi-annually with a sample size
of 79,500 households by interviewing each member aged 50 and older. The questionnaire is
composed of various dimensions: demography, living conditions, employment and income,
health and healthcare, social activities, information access, transfer and visit, knowledge in
elderly care, and household asset ownership.
5 HRS’ contribution to the scientific knowledge of aging has influenced the development
of large-scale longitudinal studies in many countries. These include the Mexican Health and
Ageing Study (MHAS), English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), Korean Longitudinal
Study of Ageing (KLoSA), Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR), China Aging
and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), and Longitudinal Aging Study for India
(LASI) (Hauser and Weir, 2011).
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440 AGING IN ASIA
Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) in 2009.6 The pilot baseline survey
of 1,500 household samples7 was conducted during August–October 2009
by interviewing, face-to-face, one member aged 45 and older from each
household.8 In 2011, a second pilot HART project received a one-year
research grant from the National Higher Education Commission (NHEC).
A national-scale panel survey and study on aging in Thailand is expected
to follow after the learning experiences from the pilot HART projects are
digested.9
This chapter is one of several research studies10 using the baseline
data collected from the pilot survey. It focuses on the life satisfaction
dimension of the older Thai.11 Life satisfaction has a long research his-
tory. A considerable amount of research has been devoted to explain life
satisfaction of the older population (Elwell and Maltbie-Crannell, 1981;
George, Okun, and Landerman, 1985; Liang et al., 1980; McClelland,
1982; Mutran and Reitzes, 1981). Among the socioeconomic character-
istics, several factors have been pointed out as explanatory variables of
life satisfaction: age, gender, income, educational level, physical status,
emotional health, social support, and locus of control. Many studies have
reported a negative relationship between happiness and age (Campbell,
1981; Ferring et al., 2004). However, a significant positive relationship
was reported by several other studies (Jason and Mueller, 1983; Witt et al.,
6 The pilot HART proposal was mentored by Dr. James P. Smith from RAND and received
personal support from Dr. Richard M. Suzman from the U.S. National Institute on Aging
(NIA). The pilot HART proposal was submitted for research funding from NIA and from
NRCT. With the funding approval from NRCT, the NIA funding application has been with -
drawn. However, Dr. Smith kindly agreed to mentor the pilot project as an international
advisor. The survey instrument was an adoption of that of KLoSA with some adjustments
to fit local conditions. Because of funding constraints, paper questionnaires, not computer-
assisted personal interviewing, were used for conducting face-to-face interviews.
7 The household samples were drawn from the NSO sampling frame from the “2004
Household Surveys in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathumthani, Samuthprakarn, and Khonkaen”
by using a two-stage stratified sampling method.
8The individual respondents were chosen by the following rule: first from the eligible head
of the household; if the head of the household is not eligible, then the most eligible volunteer
household members. The project acknowledges the possibility of sampling bias in the indi -
vidual sampling process in the pilot survey, which can raise concerns about the representa-
tiveness of the data. However, the learning experience from the pilot survey will lead to the
quality improvement of the future national-scale panel survey.
9 It is hopeful that NRCT will grant research funding for the national longitudinal study
on aging with the baseline survey in 2012.
10 The researchers from the pilot HART project are developing four papers for publication,
including this one, using the baseline data from the pilot survey. The other papers will con -
cern aging of the population in Thailand, family structure and intergenerational transfers,
and financial and social capital of the Thai elderly.
11 As a leading study on life satisfaction of the aging in Thailand based on data from the
pilot HART project, the authors include the data from respondents aged 45 and older.
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DARARATT ANANTANASUWONG and UDOMSAK SEENPRACHAWONG
1980). Delhey (2004) found only a slight effect of income on life satisfac -
tion. Diener (1984, 2000) found no relationship between income and life
satisfaction. Nonetheless, Veenhoven (2000) related income to life satisfac-
tion at the national level and found a larger effect of income, and the same
positive relationship was found by Inglehart (1997) at a country level. A
study done by Fernandez-Ballesteros, Zammaron, and Ruiz (2001) found
moderate positive effects of socioeconomic variables, including income
and education, on life satisfaction. With regard to physical health, a sub-
stantial body of evidence positively relates health with life satisfaction
(Fernandez-Ballesteros, Zammaron, and Ruiz, 2001; Lehr, 1982; Mannell
and Dupuis, 1996).
In sum, life satisfaction has been considered the subjective expres -
sion of quality of life (Abu-Bader, Rogers, and Barusch, 2002; Fernandez-
Ballesteros, Zammaron, and Ruiz, 2001). There is a link between advancing
age and decreased subjective well-being in social, physical, and economic
domains (Dolyer and Forehand, 1984; George et al., 1985; Jason and
Mueller, 1983). In other words, the major life events experienced in the
aging process are expected to have a profound impact on the aging popu-
lation’s life satisfaction. As people get older, life satisfaction may decrease
sharply year by year as they are affected by major life events such as
retirement and physical health deterioration. Therefore, an examination
of differences in the aging population’s life satisfaction becomes critical
for social welfare programs. This is especially relevant for Thailand as an
aging society. Subgroups of the population perceive satisfaction with life
domains differently. Individuals have different lifestyles and behaviors,
which determine their perceptions of their satisfaction with life domains.
In order to design adequate welfare programs, policies, and regulations
for the aging population, an understanding of the relationships between
people’s individual characteristics and their perceptions of satisfaction
with life is needed.
With the availability of data on life satisfaction from the pilot HART
survey, this chapter is an attempt to lay the groundwork for a study on life
satisfaction of the older Thai. Its main purpose is to explain life satisfac -
tion of older Thai respondents in three respects: (1) whether differences in
life satisfaction in general exist between those in the urban and rural areas
in Bangkok and vicinity and in Khonkaen, (2) which factors are associ-
ated with life satisfaction in general, and (3) the degree of association of
specific life satisfaction domains with life satisfaction in general.
The chapter is organized into five parts. First, the significance of the
longitudinal study on aging and the life satisfaction of the older popu -
lation are introduced. We then elaborate on the characteristics of older
Thai respondents from the pilot HART baseline data and describe the
differences in life satisfaction in different domains between respondents
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442 AGING IN ASIA
in urban and rural areas. We next present the analytical models used,
followed by an explanation of the empirical findings. The chapter closes
with our conclusion.
BASELINE DATA AND LIFE SATISFACTION DOMAINS OF
OLDER THAI RESPONDENTS
In the 2009 pilot baseline survey of the HART project, the collected
data consisted of seven dimensions: population characteristics, family and
transfer, health, employment, income and expenditures, assets and debts,
and life expectancy and life satisfaction.12 Life satisfaction perception and
other relevant data were selected from the rich database according to the
scope of the study. This present analysis is, thus, necessary cross-sectional
because only one series of the survey has been completed.
The socioeconomic factors selected include the respondent’s age, mar-
ital status, gender, educational level, membership in social clubs, employ-
ment status, and household characteristics such as income and assets. The
data on perceived life satisfaction consist of five domains: physical health,
economic status, relationship with children, relationship with spouse, and
life in general. The sample size drawn from the database is 1,468 observa -
tions from Bangkok and its vicinity and Khonkaen province.13
The descriptive statistics for the 2009 survey are presented in
Table 18-1 through Table 18-4. Of the total, 66.7% of the respondents
were female and 33.3% were male. Sixty-three percent of the respon -
dents reported having no income from work, while 25% of those who
work reported incomes of less than 100,000 baht per year.14 The majority
of respondents (70%) had a primary level of education. More than
half of the respondents were between 45 and 59 years old.
Table 18-5 summarizes responses obtained from the urban and rural
samples for the domains of health, income, and family life. The last panel
presents responses to the question regarding life satisfaction in general.
For all domains and for general satisfaction, the distributions in the urban
and rural respondents are significantly different (see the Chi-squared tests
reported at the bottom of each panel).
Before turning to between-location differences, it is useful to high -
light some differences across the domains of life. Both urban and rural
people appear to be more unsatisfied with their spousal relationship
12 A homepage on the HART project with the data archive is under construction. The
baseline data from the pilot project will be accessible by the public when construction is
completed.
13 The complete data from the 1,500 respondents (observations) resulted in 1,468 after all
the missing values were rejected.
14 Approximately equivalent to US$3,330 (US$1 = 30 Baht).
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DARARATT ANANTANASUWONG and UDOMSAK SEENPRACHAWONG
TABLE 18-1 Distribution of Respondents by Province and Gender
(in percentage)
Province Female Male Total
Bangkok 20.7 9.7 30.4
Vicinity 18.1 9.4 27.5
Khonkaen 27.9 14.2 42.1
Total 66.7 33.3 100.0
SOURCE: Data from HART pilot (2009).
TABLE 18-2 Distribution of Respondents by Province and Age
Group (in percentage)
Age
Province 45–59 60–69 70–79 Over 80 Total
Bangkok 15.3 8.8 5.0 1.4 30.4
Vicinity 15.1 7.7 3.9 0.8 27.5
Khonkaen 21.5 10.8 6.9 2.8 42.0
Total 51.8 27.3 15.8 5.0 100.0
SOURCE: Data from HART pilot (2009).
than with other domains. Approximately 30% of respondents are not
happy with their relationship with their spouses. The economic status
domain is next, followed by the physical health domain. Finally, a small
proportion of both urban and rural respondents appear to be dissatisfied
with their relationship with their children.
We first considered how satisfied respondents in the two locations are
with their physical health. Rural respondents (65%) tend to be more satis-
fied with their physical health than urban respondents (57%). Similarly,
a larger fraction of rural respondents (46%) said that they are satisfied
with their economic status compared to 34% among urban respondents.
A slightly larger fraction of rural respondents (63%) are happy with their
relationship with their spouse, compared to 59% among urban respon-
dents. Regarding relationship with their children, rural respondents (80%)
appear to be more satisfied than urban respondents (76%). The majority
of both urban and rural respondents appear to be satisfied with their lives
when answering a question about life satisfaction in general. However,
rural respondents (80%) are much more satisfied with their lives in gen -
eral than urban respondents (69%).
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TABLE 18-3 Distribution of Respondents by Province and Income from Work (in percentage)
444
100,000– 200,001– 300,001– 400,001– More than
No Income <100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 500,000
Province from Work baht/year baht/year baht/year baht/year baht/year baht/year Total
Bangkok 20.3 6.3 2.7 0.7 0.1 0.1 0.3 30.4
Vicinity 16.8 6.7 2.7 0.5 0.3 0.4 0.1 27.5
Khonkaen 26.4 12.1 2.2 0.7 0.4 0.2 0.1 42.0
Total 63.4 25.1 7.5 2.0 0.9 0.7 0.5 100.0
SOURCE: Data from HART pilot (2009).
TABLE 18-4 Distribution of Respondents by Province and Education (in percentage)
No High
Province Schooling Primary Secondary School Diploma Undergraduate Graduate Doctoral Other Total
Bangkok 2.5 19.7 2.1 3.0 0.5 1.2 0.1 0.0 1.4 30.4
Vicinity 1.3 18.0 2.5 2.2 0.6 1.3 0.0 0.0 1.6 27.5
Khonkaen 1.7 32.2 2.2 2.3 0.8 2.1 0.2 0.1 0.4 42.0
Total 5.4 69.9 6.9 7.5 1.9 4.6 0.3 0.1 3.5 100.0
SOURCE: Data from HART pilot (2009).
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DARARATT ANANTANASUWONG and UDOMSAK SEENPRACHAWONG
TABLE 18-5 Perceived Satisfaction with Domain of Life (in percentage)
Rural Urban
1. How satisfied are you with your physical health?
Very dissatisfied 5.89 6.26
Not satisfied 9.86 10.92
Neither satisfied nor not satisfied 18.31 24.89
Satisfied 27.14 39.59
Very satisfied 38.80 18.34
Pearson Chi-Square = 77.3884 p-value = 0.0000
2. How satisfied are you with your economic status?
Very dissatisfied 7.94 6.84
Not satisfied 13.96 18.20
Neither satisfied nor not satisfied 32.01 40.32
Satisfied 23.43 24.75
Very satisfied 22.66 9.90
Pearson Chi-Square = 47.6906 p-value = 0.0000
3. How satisfied are you with your spouse relationship?
Very dissatisfied 24.71 28.53
Not satisfied 3.71 2.04
Neither satisfied nor not satisfied 7.94 10.04
Satisfied 16.39 27.80
Very satisfied 47.25 31.59
Pearson Chi-Square = 51.6912 p-value = 0.0000
4. How satisfied are you with your children relationship?
Very dissatisfied 6.66 9.61
Not satisfied 1.92 2.18
Neither satisfied nor not satisfied 10.50 11.50
Satisfied 20.23 35.66
Very satisfied 60.69 41.05
Pearson Chi-Square = 63.5018 p-value = 0.0000
5. How satisfied are you with your life in general?
Very dissatisfied 2.18 2.33
Not satisfied 3.33 4.08
Neither satisfied nor not satisfied 13.70 24.45
Satisfied 26.76 42.94
Very satisfied 54.03 26.20
Pearson Chi-Square = 120.0655 p-value = 0.0000
SOURCE: Data from HART pilot (2009).
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446 AGING IN ASIA
EMPIRICAL FINDINGS
In order to understand how socioeconomic and demographic factors
are associated with life satisfaction in general, we employed an ordered
probit estimation method. In this analysis, the dependent variable is the
ranking the respondent gave for his perceived life satisfaction in general.
The respondent was asked to rate life satisfaction in general: very dis-
satisfied (y = 0); not satisfied (y = 1); neither satisfied nor dissatisfied
(y = 2); satisfied (y = 3); and very satisfied (y = 4). The respondents rate
the level of life satisfaction as a discrete ordinal number (0, 1, 2, 3, 4).
In addition, standardized regression coefficients were computed from a
multiple regression method in order to investigate the degree of influence
each domain of life has on life satisfaction in general.
The results of the factors associated with life satisfaction in general of
the older Thai respondents are summarized in Table 18-6. All statistically
significant coefficients, based on a two-tailed test at the 0.05 significant
levels, are marked. As indicated in Table 18-6, level of education (EDU),
age (AGE), income from work (INCOME), ownership of house (OWN),
and gender (MALE) are related to level of satisfaction with life in general.
The higher a respondent’s level of education, the happier with quality of
life he or she indicates. Older respondents tend to be happier with their
life in general, and high-income respondents tend to be happier with
their lives than the low-income respondents. Similarly, the respondents
who are house owners indicate higher satisfaction with their life than
the ones who are not. Regarding the gender variable, male respondents
appear to be more satisfied with their lives than their female counterparts.
Respondents who are actively involved in social clubs (MEMBER) and
meet with friends (FRIEND) tend to be happier with their lives compared
to those who are not. In addition, the respondents who are in urban areas
(URBAN) appear to be happier with their life in general than those who
live in rural areas.15
The investigation of the degree of association of each domain of life
on life satisfaction in general is shown in Table 18-7.16 As expected, the
results show that satisfaction with life in general is positively associated
with satisfaction within each of the four domains. Life satisfaction in gen -
eral is a function of physical health (standardized beta = 0.322), economic
status (standardized beta = 0.239), relationship with spouse (standardized
beta = 0.115), and relationship with children (standardized beta = 0.238).
The results indicate that physical health has the strongest association
with life satisfaction in general. Relationship with spouse is least associ -
15 This result, which was tested statistically using an econometric model, is different from
the descriptive result described earlier.
16 The respondents who have no children were excluded from the analysis.
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DARARATT ANANTANASUWONG and UDOMSAK SEENPRACHAWONG
TABLE 18-6 Satisfaction with Life in General
Coefficient t-ratio P-value
SINGLE –0.1602 –1.1047 0.2693
EDU 0.1802 7.3310 0.0000
FRIEND 0.3988 5.6000 0.0000
MEMBER 0.4270 5.1650 0.0000
OWN 0.3697 5.9970 0.0000
WORK 0.8677 12.3837 0.0000
AGE 0.0939 3.1335 0.0017
INCOME 0.0825 2.5014 0.0124
MALE 0.1260 2.0627 0.0391
URBAN 0.1590 2.3419 0.0192
SOURCE: Data from HART pilot (2009).
TABLE 18-7 Ranking of Four Domains of Life Affecting Life
Satisfaction
Standardized
Domains Coefficient t-ratio P-value
(Constant) 15.401 0.0000
Physical health 0.322 13.430 0.0000
Economic status 0.239 10.111 0.0000
Relationship with spouse 0.115 5.089 0.0000
Relationship with children 0.238 10.433 0.0000
Dependent variable: Life satisfaction
SOURCE: Data from HART pilot (2009).
ated with life satisfaction. A 1-point change in perceived physical health
satisfaction is associated with increased life satisfaction by 0.322 point,
whereas a 1-point change in perceived spouse relationship satisfaction
is associated with increased life satisfaction by only 0.115 point, holding
other things constant. Economic status and relationship with children are
moderately related to life satisfaction.
CONCLUSIONS
Employing the baseline data from the pilot HART project, this study
focused on three main questions about life satisfaction of Thai respon -
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448 AGING IN ASIA
dents aged 45 and older in Bangkok and the vicinity and Khonkaen. We
looked at whether perceived life satisfaction of respondents in the rural
and urban areas is different, what factors are related to their life satis-
faction in general, and the degree of association of specific domains of
satisfaction with their life satisfaction in general. The results indicate that
the perceived life satisfaction of respondents in rural and urban areas in
five domains—physical health, economic status, spouse relationship, chil-
dren relationship, and life in general—are significantly different. Level of
education, age, income from work, ownership of house, and being male
are positively and significantly associated with life satisfaction in general.
Other factors that are significantly associated with life satisfaction in
general include being involved in social activities, meeting friends, and
living in an urban area. The degree of association of each domain with
life satisfaction in general indicates that physical health has the strongest
association with life satisfaction in general, while relationship with spouse
is least associated.
The study indicates clearly that the aging process in Thailand is just
beginning. Older Thai respondents perceived their life satisfaction posi -
tively or optimistically. However, the finding that the highest proportion
of them, both in rural and urban areas, are not satisfied with their relation-
ship with their spouse implies that the marriage dimension of the older
Thai may become an important policy issue to address.
Related to the factors associated with life satisfaction, building a
good environment with facilities where the Thai elderly can participate
in social activities and meet friends, creating economic security (e.g.,
financial literacy, employment, and asset ownership), and gaining and
maintaining good physical health are also important public policies for
the aging society.
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