Defining successful aging: a tangible or elusive concept?

doi:10.1093/geront/gnu044

Review

. 2015 Feb;55(1):14-25.

doi: 10.1093/geront/gnu044. Epub 2014 May 18.

Defining successful aging: a tangible or elusive concept?

Peter Martin¹, Norene Kelly², Boaz Kahana³, Eva Kahana⁴, Bradley J Willcox⁵, D Craig Willcox⁶, Leonard W Poon⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames. pxmartin@iastate.edu.
² Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames.
³ Department of Psychology, Cleveland State University, Ohio.
⁴ Department of Sociology, Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio.
⁵ Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu. Kuakini Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.
⁶ Department of Human Welfare, Okinawa International University, Ginowan.
⁷ Institute of Gerontology, University of Georgia, Athens.

PMID: 24840916
PMCID: PMC4542894
DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnu044

Review

Defining successful aging: a tangible or elusive concept?

Peter Martin et al. Gerontologist. 2015 Feb.

. 2015 Feb;55(1):14-25.

doi: 10.1093/geront/gnu044. Epub 2014 May 18.

Authors

Peter Martin¹, Norene Kelly², Boaz Kahana³, Eva Kahana⁴, Bradley J Willcox⁵, D Craig Willcox⁶, Leonard W Poon⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames. pxmartin@iastate.edu.
² Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames.
³ Department of Psychology, Cleveland State University, Ohio.
⁴ Department of Sociology, Case Western University, Cleveland, Ohio.
⁵ Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu. Kuakini Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii.
⁶ Department of Human Welfare, Okinawa International University, Ginowan.
⁷ Institute of Gerontology, University of Georgia, Athens.

PMID: 24840916
PMCID: PMC4542894
DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnu044

Abstract

Purpose of the study: Everyone wants to age successfully; however, the definition and criteria of successful aging remain vague for laypersons, researchers, and policymakers in spite of decades of research on the topic. This paper highlights work of scholars who made significant theoretical contributions to the topic.

Design and methods: A thorough review and evaluation of the literature on successful aging was undertaken.

Results: Our review includes early gerontological definitions of successful aging and related concepts. Historical perspectives reach back to philosophical and religious texts, and more recent approaches have focused on both process- and outcome-oriented models of successful aging. We elaborate on Baltes and Baltes' theory of selective optimization with compensation [Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1990a). Psychological perspectives on successful aging: The model of selective optimization with compensation. In P. B. Baltes & M. M. Baltes (Eds.), Successful aging: Perspectives from the behavioral sciences (pp. 1-34). United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press], Kahana and Kahana's preventive and corrective proactivity model [Kahana, E., & Kahana, B. (1996). Conceptual and empirical advances in understanding aging well through proactive adaptation. In V. Bengtson (Ed.), Adulthood and aging: Research on continuities and discontinuities (pp. 18-40). New York: Springer], and Rowe and Kahn's model of successful aging [Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1998). Successful aging. New York: Pantheon Books], outlining their commonalities and differences. Additional views on successful aging emphasize subjective versus objective perceptions of successful aging and relate successful aging to studies on healthy and exceptional longevity.

Implications: Additional theoretical work is needed to better understand successful aging, including the way it can encompass disability and death and dying. The extent of rapid social and technological change influencing views on successful aging also deserves more consideration.

Keywords: Centenarians; Longevity; Successful aging.

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References

1. Achenbaum W. A. (2001). Productive aging in historical perspective. In Morrow-Howell N., Hinterlong J., Sherraden M. (Eds.), Productive aging: Concepts and challenges (pp. 19–36). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
1. Andersen-Ranberg K., Schroll M., Jeune B. (2001). Healthy centenarians do not exist, but autonomous do: A population-based study of morbidity among Danish centenarians. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 49, 900–908. :10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49180.x - PubMed
1. Arnold J., Dai J., Nehapetyan L., Arte A., Johnson M. A., Hausman D, … Poon L. W. (2010). Predicting successful aging in a population-based sample of Georgia centenarians. Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research, 2010, 1–9. :10.1155/2010/989315 - PMC - PubMed
1. Aspinwall L. G. (2011). Future-oriented thinking, proactive coping, and the management of threats to health and well-being. In Folkman S., Nathan P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of stress, health, and coping (pp. 334–365). New York: Oxford University Press. :10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195375343.013.0017
1. Baltes P. B. (1997). On the incomplete architecture of human ontogeny. Selection, optimization, and compensation as foundation of developmental theory. The American Psychologist, 52, 366–380. :10.1037//0003-066X.52.4.366 - PubMed

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[1] Achenbaum W. A. (2001). Productive aging in historical perspective. In Morrow-Howell N., Hinterlong J., Sherraden M. (Eds.), Productive aging: Concepts and challenges (pp. 19–36). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

[2] Achenbaum W. A. (2001). Productive aging in historical perspective. In Morrow-Howell N., Hinterlong J., Sherraden M. (Eds.), Productive aging: Concepts and challenges (pp. 19–36). Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.

[3] Andersen-Ranberg K., Schroll M., Jeune B. (2001). Healthy centenarians do not exist, but autonomous do: A population-based study of morbidity among Danish centenarians. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 49, 900–908. :10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49180.x - PubMed

[4] Andersen-Ranberg K., Schroll M., Jeune B. (2001). Healthy centenarians do not exist, but autonomous do: A population-based study of morbidity among Danish centenarians. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 49, 900–908. :10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49180.x - PubMed

[5] Arnold J., Dai J., Nehapetyan L., Arte A., Johnson M. A., Hausman D, … Poon L. W. (2010). Predicting successful aging in a population-based sample of Georgia centenarians. Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research, 2010, 1–9. :10.1155/2010/989315 - PMC - PubMed

[6] Arnold J., Dai J., Nehapetyan L., Arte A., Johnson M. A., Hausman D, … Poon L. W. (2010). Predicting successful aging in a population-based sample of Georgia centenarians. Current Gerontology and Geriatrics Research, 2010, 1–9. :10.1155/2010/989315 - PMC - PubMed

[7] Aspinwall L. G. (2011). Future-oriented thinking, proactive coping, and the management of threats to health and well-being. In Folkman S., Nathan P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of stress, health, and coping (pp. 334–365). New York: Oxford University Press. :10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195375343.013.0017

[8] Aspinwall L. G. (2011). Future-oriented thinking, proactive coping, and the management of threats to health and well-being. In Folkman S., Nathan P. (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of stress, health, and coping (pp. 334–365). New York: Oxford University Press. :10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195375343.013.0017

[9] Baltes P. B. (1997). On the incomplete architecture of human ontogeny. Selection, optimization, and compensation as foundation of developmental theory. The American Psychologist, 52, 366–380. :10.1037//0003-066X.52.4.366 - PubMed

[10] Baltes P. B. (1997). On the incomplete architecture of human ontogeny. Selection, optimization, and compensation as foundation of developmental theory. The American Psychologist, 52, 366–380. :10.1037//0003-066X.52.4.366 - PubMed

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Defining successful aging: a tangible or elusive concept?

Affiliations

Defining successful aging: a tangible or elusive concept?

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