The Influence of Javanese Cultural Internalizationon the Happiness of the Elderly

Happiness of elderly could be influenced by cultural values that have been applied for generations. A cultural value strongly held by most Indonesian people, particularly the elderly, is the value of Javanese culture. The Javanese cultural values attached up to now is the principle of harmony, respect and nrima (acceptance of the existing situation). This study using quantitative method, attempt to comprehend the influence of Javanese cultural internalization on the happiness factor of the elderly. Subjects were 151 Javanese elderly, aged between 55 and 86 year, living in the region of Malang.The measurement procedureused the happiness-scales of 12 items from Seligman with the happiness aspects, such as engagement, pleasure and meaning. Another implemented scale was the Javanese cultural values developed by Karmiyati (26 items) with some aspects of Javanese cultures, such as harmonious, respectful and nrima (acceptance of the existing situation). Research analysis used simple linear regression technique. The study result showed that there was an influence of Javanese cultural values on theelderly’shappiness (F=258.876; Sig.000). The influence of Javanese cultural values on elderly happiness was 63.5%.