Does Life Satisfaction Change in Old Age: Results From an 8-Year Longitudinal Study

Gana, Kamel; Bailly, Nathalie; Saada, Yaël; Joulain, Michèle; Alaphilippe, Daniel

doi:10.1093/geronb/gbs093

Cited by 114 publications

(88 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…A similar paradox of aging has been noted in the SWB literature, in that in the face of physical and cognitive declines, SWB remains constant or increases with age (Gana et al , 2013). One potential explanation for this paradox is the role of goal discrepancy or the discrepancy between one’s current status and their expectation in a specific domain (Cheng, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…While aging has traditionally been viewed as a period of decline in physical, cognitive, and psychosocial health, recent literature has shown that many elderly individuals consider themselves to be aging successfully (Montross et al , 2006; Jeste et al , 2013) and report increased subjective well-being (SWB) with age (Gana et al , 2013) even in spite of age related declines. Self-rated successful aging may be a powerful indicator of well-being (Strawbridge et al , 2002; Li et al , 2006; Jeste et al , 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Associations of self-perceived successful aging in young-old versus old-old adults

Martin

Palmer

Rock

et al. 2014

Int. Psychogeriatr.

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Background The aim of this research was to compare associations of self-perceived successful aging (SPSA) among Young-Old (Y-O; age 50–74 years) versus Old-Old (O-O; 75–99 years) community-dwelling adults. To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare respondents’ self-perceptions of successful aging among O-O relative to Y-O adults. Methods Participants included 365 Y-O and 641 O-O adults. The two age groups were compared in terms of the association of SPSA with other preselected measures including sociodemographic information, physical and mental functioning, objective and subjective cognitive functioning, emotional health, and positive psychological constructs. Results The O-O group reported higher levels of SPSA than the Y-O group. In multiple regression modeling examining predictors of SPSA in each group, there was a tendency toward lower associations in the O-O group overall. Most notably, the associations between physical and mental functioning with SPSA were significantly lower in the O-O versus Y-O group. There were no associations with SPSA that were significantly higher in the O-O versus Y-O group. Conclusion The lower predictive power of physical and mental functioning on SPSA among O-O relative to Y-O adults is particularly noteworthy. It is apparent that SPSA is a multidimensional construct that cannot be defined by physical functioning alone. Continuing to clarify the underlying factors impacting SPSA between groups may inform tailored interventions to promote successful aging in Y-O and O-O adults.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations of self-perceived successful aging in young-old versus old-old adults

Martin

Palmer

Rock

et al. 2014

Int. Psychogeriatr.

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“…years, age range = 62-95 years), controlling for covariates such as gender, education, and selfperceived health (Gana et al, 2013). In addition, positive affect remained stable from young to middle-age (n = 2,804, age range = 15-90 years at baseline) and showed only modest decline into old age.…”

mentioning

confidence: 92%

Trajectories of depressive symptoms in old age: Integrating age-, pathology-, and mortality-related changes.

Chui¹,

Gerstorf

Hoppmann³

et al. 2015

Psychology and Aging

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Late life involves a variety of different challenges to well-being. This study extends upon and qualifies propositions drawn from the paradox of well-being in aging using 15-year longitudinal data on depressive symptoms from old and very old participants in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (at baseline n = 2,087, M age = 78.69 years, range = 65-103 years; 49.40% women). We first examined age-related trajectories in depressive symptoms from young-old to oldest-old, taking into account (changes in) relevant correlates, pathology, and mortality, and, second, investigated gender differences in these trajectories. Results revealed that age-related trajectories of depressive symptoms were indeed predictive of mortality hazards. The unique predictive effects of both level of, and change in, depressive symptoms were independent of one another and hold after taking into account education as well as changes in marital status, living arrangements, cognitive function, and illness burden. In addition, results indicated that depressive symptoms were elevated among participants suffering from arthritis, and increased with age more markedly in men than in women. In particular, the significant age by gender interaction indicated that the gender gap in depressive symptoms reduced from young-old to oldold and reversed in very old age when men showed more depressive symptoms than women.Qualifying the paradox of well-being in aging, findings demonstrate that depressive symptoms increased from young-old to oldest-old and suggest that age-, pathology-, and mortality-related changes should be examined in concert to advance our understanding of individual differences in Late life involves many challenges with consequences for changes in well-being (Baltes, 1997; Berg, 1996; Birren & Cunningham, 1985). Yet, in contrast to age-normative declines in physical health and cognitive functioning, a myriad of studies provide empirical evidence of a relative stability or even improvement in well-being in old age (Charles & Carstensen, 2010; Charles, Reynolds, & Gatz, 2001;Mather, 2012;Mroczek & Kolarz, 1998). This preservation of well-being despite age-related losses has been coined "the stability paradox of well-being in aging" (Kunzmann, Little, & Smith, 2000;Mather, 2012). From our perspective, however, the empirical evidence for the paradox has three important limitations. First, evidence mostly concerns age-related changes in the cognitive component of subjective well-being (e.g., life satisfaction; Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999;Gana, Bailly, Saada, Joulain, & Alaphilippe, 2013), whereas results regarding age-related changes in affective components of subjective wellbeing are less clear (Schilling, 2006). Second, the well-being paradox may hold only until early old age and less is known about life periods for which major loss experiences are frequent such as old-old and oldest-old age (Baltes & Smith, 2003). Third, a major challenge for research examining age-related changes in well-being pertains to the fact that ...

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“…This phenomenon, called the paradox of well-being, has not been fully explained and requires further investigation (Gana, Bailly, Saada, Joulain, & Alaphilippe, 2012). Nonetheless, some approaches do contribute to a greater understanding, such as the theory of socioemotional selectivity developed by Cartensen (Gana et al, 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthy Ways of Coping With Losses Related to the Aging Process

Dockendorff

2013

Educational Gerontology

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Does Life Satisfaction Change in Old Age: Results From an 8-Year Longitudinal Study

Cited by 114 publications

References 86 publications

Associations of self-perceived successful aging in young-old versus old-old adults

Associations of self-perceived successful aging in young-old versus old-old adults

Trajectories of depressive symptoms in old age: Integrating age-, pathology-, and mortality-related changes.

Healthy Ways of Coping With Losses Related to the Aging Process

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