Original articles
The structure of IKIGAI concept for retirees over 60 years old
The difference between IKIGAI and Subjective Well-Being
2009 Volume 31 Issue 3 Pages 366-377
Details
2009 Volume 31 Issue 3 Pages 366-377
The IKIGAI concept is the Japanese spiritual feeling. In the study of gerontology in Japan, IKIGAI has been substituted as Subjective Well-Being (SWB). However, the difference of IKIGAI and SWB has been not clear. The purpose of this study was to verify the structure of IKIGAI and to show the difference between IKIGAI and SWB for retirees over 60 years old in Japan. During the first research, this concept was comprehended in the Exploratory Factor Analysis on 198 retirees. For the second research, the factors structure was verified in the Confirmatory Factor Analysis on 367 community dwellers. As a result, IKIGAI has been found to have a structure comprised of three factors, and partially overlapped but was wider than the SWB. In conclusion, it is essential to distinguish both concepts in future studies.
