The purpose of this study is to examine what affluence means for the aged having respective views toward their way of life. For this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the consciousness of living of the aged in a hilly and mountainous area, and the replies were processed by principal component analysis as well as covariance structure analysis. The main results are as follows : 1) The concept or sense of affluence was evaluated in terms of Four types of activities,
i.e., the income-related activities, the consumption-related activities, the life improvement activities, and the activities to secure against future risks. 2) The activities related to income earning may be divided into two different groups,
i.e., whether the aged are included in extended or nuclear families. 3) As to whether or not the aged consider that they lead an affluent life, their absolute evaluation showed a contradictory relation to the relative evaluation of their consciousness. 4) Their sense of affluence seems furthered by the sense of togetherness with their families. 5) Their ability to achieve a high degree of affluence in terms of leading a way of life true to themselves, is limited. 6) Although the method employed had the disadvantage of only being able to draw on a portion of a variety of potential information, a clear comparison of the characteristics of individual households was attained.
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