Introduction:

Successful aging has been shown to be strongly associated with life satisfaction perceived by the elderly.

Objective: To identify levels of satisfaction with life in the elderly (institutionalized and domiciled) and to analyze factors associated with this satisfaction.

Methods:

Quantitative, descriptive and correlational study. It involved a non-probabilistic convenience sample, consisting of 126 elderly people (65 residents at home and 61 institutionalized). A questionnaire was used that included: sociodemographic and contextual data, the Family Attachment scales and the Satisfaction with Life scale.

Results:

The sample was mostly female, with an average age of 75.29 years, with a marital status of widowhood and with low educational qualifications. They were mostly retired and had limited economic resources. Life satisfaction was high for 41.6%, low for 32.0% and moderate for 26.4%. The most satisfied elderly with life live in their own home, resorted to religious practices, practiced regular physical activity and perceived functional families. On the other hand, gender, age, marital status, education, economic status and the amount of the pension were independent of that satisfaction.

Conclusion:

This study reinforces the assumption that life satisfaction in most elderly people ranges from moderate to high and is correlated with some psychosocial variables. Thus, it is imperative that Nurses develop therapeutic and educational intervention programs aimed at promoting life satisfaction for the Elderly.

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