Flourishing Among Elderly Population: The Role of Social Support and Gratitude

This paper sets out a framework for exploring flourishing in older age through the lens of social support and gratitude. Flourishing is a relatively new concept in positive psychology. Social support and gratitude are as potential predictors of flourishing among older individuals that considers hedonic and eudaimonic aspects of well-being. The current study evaluated the relationship between social support and gratitude associated with flourishing among elderly people. The proposed relationship was assessed among 413 elderly people from north India aged 60-90 years with a mean age of 67.94 years. The data were analysed using a two-step approach to structural equation modeling. The findings revealed that gratitude as a mediator in the relationship between social support and flourishing. Additionally, a significant indirect relationship was also found between perceived social support and flourishing via gratitude. To the best of our knowledge, the current study is one of the first studies that conceptualizes and assesses flourishing among older adults in India. The findings from the present study make important contributions to the existing literature on well-being among elderly population. It is suggested that health and social care professionals working with older adults adopt a comprehensive approach to identify and propel non-flourishing people toward flourishing in life.