Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Nov;69(6):930-41.
doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbu006. Epub 2014 Feb 25.

Aging and subjective well-being in later life

Stephen Jivraj  1 , James Nazroo  2 , Bram Vanhoutte  2 , Tarani Chandola  2
Affiliations

Aging and subjective well-being in later life

Stephen Jivraj et al. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2014 Nov.

Abstract

Objectives: This paper examines age-related changes in subjective well-being (SWB) in later life using multiple measures that cover eudemonic, evaluative, and affective dimensions of well-being.

Method: Using data from 5 waves of respondents aged 50 and older from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2002-11), we fit multilevel linear growth curve models to examine the cohort differences and individual aging effects on quality of life, depressive symptomatology, and life satisfaction.

Results: Older cohorts are shown to have equivalent or better SWB than younger cohorts for each well-being measure. Nonetheless, individual aging effects for each well-being measure were observed with deterioration in well-being being greatest in older cohorts, even when adjusting for age-related changes in later life, including widowhood, retirement, and declining health.

Discussion: The results suggest that although older cohorts enjoy higher levels of SWB than their younger counterparts when under similar circumstances, they experience sharper declines, especially in the very oldest cohorts. The findings demonstrate the importance of separating out cohort differences and aging effects and also of taking into account the multidimensionality of SWB to determine the point at which age deterioration begins to occur across different measures.

Keywords: Ageing; Cohort; Growth curve modeling; Subjective well-being..

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Age-adjusted vector graphs for predicted subjective well-being scores by single year of age from Waves 1 to 5, 2002–11. (a) Quality of life; (b) depressive symptoms; and (c) life satisfaction. See Table 3 for base model coefficients. CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression; SWLS = Satisfaction With Life Scale.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Fully adjusted vector graphs for predicted subjective well-being scores by single year of age from Waves 1 to 5, 2002–11. (a) Quality of life; (b) depressive symptoms; and (c) life satisfaction. Predicted values refer to an individual who is female, white, in the richest wealth quintile, in a managerial and professional socioeconomic class, has a high education level, is volunteering, has a mean number of close contacts and support score from social contacts, has no limitations in activities of daily living, chronic conditions, or limiting long-standing illness, is retired, and has a partner. See Table 3 for full model coefficients. CES-D = Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression; SWLS = Satisfaction With Life Scale.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Baird B. M., Lucas R. E., Donnellan M. B. (2010). Life satisfaction across the lifespan: Findings from two nationally representative panel studies. Social Indicators Research, 99, 183–203. 10.1007/s11205-010-9584-9 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cheshire H., Hussey D., Phelps A., Wood N. (2012). Methodology. In Banks J., Nazroo J., Steptoe A. (Eds.), The dynamics of ageing: Evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing 2002–10 (wave 5) (pp. 183–213). London: Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    1. Clouston S., Brewster P., Kuh D., Richards M., Cooper R., Hardy R., et al. Hofer S. (2013). The dynamics relationship between physical function and cognition in longitudinal aging cohorts. Epidemiologic Reviews. doi:10.1093/epirev/mxs004 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Demakakos P., McMunn A., Steptoe A. (2010). Well-being in older age: A multidimensional perspective. In J. Banks, C. Lessof, J. Nazroo, N. Rogers, M. Stafford, & A. Steptoe (Eds.), Financial circumstances, health and well-being of the older population in England. The 2008 English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (Wave 4) (pp. 115–177). London: Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    1. Diener E. D. (1994). Assessing subjective well-being: Progress and opportunities. Social Indicators Research, 31, 103–157. 10.1007/BF01207052

Publication types