International Differences in Life Satisfaction among Urban-Living Elders: Chinese and Canadian Comparisons.

Few studies compare the level of satisfaction among Chinese elders living in different cities and in different countries. This research compared the levels of satisfaction among Chinese elders living in Vancouver, Canada, Hong Kong, and Shanghai (both in China), as well as the predictors of life satisfaction. These data reveal that those living in Hong Kong show the least satisfaction both for overall life satisfaction as well as for the majority of domains. In every aspect of life satisfaction, those living in Vancouver are more satisfied than those living elsewhere. Elders living in Shanghai fall in the middle. For those living in all three cities, it is health, social support, and economic variables that are predictive of life satisfaction. Overwhelmingly, these data point to the importance of location for quality of life and suggest more research needs to focus on comparisons in location.