The effects of vacations on well-being in a large sample of Belgian elderly people

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Ageing is associated with a variety of painful losses that together contribute to loneliness and decrease of well-being in older people. Vacations are a way to cope with these stressors. The aims of this study are to investigate whether vacations contribute to well-being and examine which types of activities practiced during vacations will have an impact on well-being of older vacationers. METHOD: 4131 older members of a large Belgian health insurance service filled in an online questionnaire. Participants answered to questions related to their last vacations, their physical and psychological health and their lifestyle. Hierarchical multiple regressions analyses were computed in order to examine whether vacations could represent an incremental predictor for well-being. FINDINGS: Results indicated that vacations are a significant predictor of well-being. They contribute to 4% increase of the variance explaining well-being of older people, over and beyond the explanation provided by socio-demographical data (ΔR2 = .10), health status (ΔR2 = .28) and of the level of physical (ΔR2 = .01) and social activity (ΔR2 = .08) in the daily life. Four dimensions that were included in the vacation block of predictors were significantly related to well-being: frequency, satisfaction, social activities practiced during vacations and perceived benefits of vacations. DISCUSSION: The results of this study have important implications. They allow for a better understanding of the factors that contribute to well-being during aging. Future interventions could be based on the promotion of holiday departures by educating older people about their benefits as protective factors for mental health.