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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Rowe and Kahn’s (1997) version of successful aging defines avoid- ance of disease and disability, maintenance of high physical and cogni- tive function, and sustained engagement in social and productive activ- ities as essential components of aging successfully. The applicability of this model in very advanced age has been questioned and the relative importance of these aspects to well-being is not properly established. In order to analyze the effect of Rowe and Kahn’ criteria on both subjective (hedonic) and psychological (eudaimonic) well-being, 140 individu- als with 100 and more years old from the Oporto Centenarian Study (PT100) were interviewed. The mean age of the sample was 101.18 (SD 1.59); 89.3% women, 76.4% widowed and 57.9% living in the com- munity. The Positive Valuation of Life Scale (Lawton et al., 2001), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985) and a questionnaire of health and social information were used for data collection. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. Mean scores of well-being were 27.81 (SD=5.21) for VOL and 6.51 (SD=1.97) for SWLS. Of the successful aging criteria only social engagement, i.e. participation in social activities, had a significant association with psychological well-being (p<0.01). These results stress out the influence of activity and social engagement participation in the adaptation to the challenges of very old age. The characteristics, sort and distribution of activities practiced at this age should be further investigated in order to promote and/or adjust available social engagement opportunities.
Description
Keywords
Social engagement Wellbeing