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This study critically analyses the role of Happiness among the Portuguese elderly. The
term is understood as a grouping of variables including Subjective Well-being, defined by
satisfaction with life, positive and negative affects, flourishing, optimism and pessimism,
positive and negative emotions, meaning of life, religiosity, Spirituality, and mindfulness. The
qualities of Happiness are explored as they contribute to successful ageing and higher levels
of Happiness in the elderly. We conducted a correlational study of 329 participants, aged 55
to 98 years. We used several questionnaires to gather data as a socio-demographic
questionnaire, Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Positive and Negative Affect (PANAS),
Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Flourishing Scale (FS), Positivity test (PST),
Mental Health Inventory-5 (MHI-5) Life Extended Orientation Test (LOT) and Meaning Life
Questionnaire (MLQ). Results indicated the meaning of life, mindfulness attention, positive
emotions and optimism are important factors for ageing well. On the contrary, gender, marital
status, religiosity, and income are not predominant factors of Subjective Well-being in ageing.
This study found six significant predictors of flourishing: satisfaction with life, positive or
negative affects, optimism, positive and negative emotions, meaning of life, and mindfulness
attention.
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