Abstract
Psychosocial factors have rarely been examined to determine their influence on longevity in very old adults. The present study evaluated the effect of psychosocial factors, self-rated health and self-rated life expectancy on mortality risk over a nine-year period. A stratified random sample of 2087 males and females aged 65 and older recruited for the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing were assessed on measures of perceived control, morale, self-rated health (SRH), social participation, life satisfaction, self-rated life expectancy and self reported physical function. Cox hierarchical regression analyses revealed that for men, perceived control was associated with longevity after controlling for age, SRH and physical function. For women, social participation, morale and perceived control were associated with longevity after controlling for age, SRH and physical function. The effects were of moderate size. Results suggest that social participation and well-being, may account for gender differences in longevity. The impact of positive aspects of psychological functioning, particularly feeling in control, have been under-recognised in gerontological research, which is unfortunate, given their amenability to change or intervention that could result in not only a longer life, but also a more satisfying one.
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Kaarin Anstey is a Fellow at the Centre for Mental Health at the Australian National University and works on longitudinal epidemiological studies of aging and mental health. She has published extensively in the field of gerontology, focussing on predictors of cognitive decline, psychological predictors of mortality and biomarkers of aging. Centre for Mental Health Research, Australian National University, School of Psychology, Flinders University, Centre for Ageing Studies, Flinders University.
Mary Luszcz is Professor of Psychology at Flinders University, Editor of the Behavorial Sciences Section of Gerontology and former Secretary General and Vice President of the International Association of Gerontology (IAG). She has published widely in the field of cognitive aging and has specific interests in memory aging, gender, and wellbeing.
Gary Andrews is the immediate Past-President of the IAG, Honorary Professor and Director of the Centre for Ageing Studies, Flinders University of South Australia. He is a principal investigator of the ALSA, and has also been responsible for a series of studies of health and social aspects of aging in more than 16 countries in Asia, the Pacific and in the Middle East under WHO auspices.
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Anstey, K.J., Luszcz, M.A. & Andrews, G. Psychosocial factors, gender and late-life mortality. Ageing Int. 27, 73–89 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-002-1003-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12126-002-1003-3