Social Well-Being and Quality of Life Among Older Adults in Latvia—A Country with the Lowest Healthy Life Years in the EU

Background and Objectives: Population ageing is a major challenge of the 21st century and is associated with declining physical and mental abilities, increased disease burden, and higher mortality. Latvia has the lowest healthy life expectancy in the European Union. Social well-being is an important component of healthy and active ageing and may be associated with older adults’ quality of life (QoL). This study aimed to assess the relationship between social well-being, as a component of health, and QoL, including its components (control, autonomy, self-realisation and pleasure), among adults aged 50 and older in Latvia.
Materials and Methods: Data from 1643 Latvian participants in wave 9 of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (2022) were analysed using linear regression. QoL was measured using the 12-item Control, Autonomy, Self-Realisation, and Pleasure (CASP-12) scale. Social well-being factors included household composition, education, employment status, financial capacity, living area, social network (SN) characteristics, and received help, based on self-reported questionnaires. Results were considered statistically significant if the p-value was less than 0.05.
Results: The factors positively associated with overall QoL were being employed, better financial capacity, greater satisfaction with SN, larger SN, participation in social activities, and higher educational attainment. Being employed and the ability to make ends meet easily were positively associated with all QoL components. Higher satisfaction with the SN and participation in social activities were positively related to the control, autonomy, pleasure, and self-realisation components.
Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of social and economic resources for QoL in later adulthood, suggesting that both the quality of social relationships and material security play a central role in shaping overall QoL and its components among older adults.