The Moderating Effects of Employment Status on the Relationships between Subjective Expectations about Life and Life Satisfaction or Depression among the Older Adults

Quality of life and mental health in the second half of life are influenced by positive perceptions or expectations about the future. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of employment status on the relationships between the expectations and life satisfaction or depression among the older adults who had just reached their old age. For this purpose, data from the 8th (2020) Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging of the Korea Employment Information Service on 2,047 people aged 65 to 74 years were used for regression analyses. In the regression analyses, life satisfaction and depression were set as dependent variables, four expectations (heritage gift, work, life expectancy, and government policy) as independent variables, and employment status as a moderator. The results showed that the moderating effect of employment status in the relationship between expectations and life satisfaction was found only for the expectation of heritage gift among the four expectations. In the relationships between expectations and depression, the moderating effects of employment status were significant in the relationships between work or government policy expectations and depression among the four expectations. In this study, it was confirmed that employment status was affecting the relationships between expectations and life satisfaction or depression of the older adults. Based on the findings, the discussion highlighted the need to develop policies to provide jobs to the adults and keep them employed.