Successful ageing: criteria and predictors
- Fernández Ballesteros, Rocío
- Zamarrón, María Dolores
- López Bravo, María Dolores
- Molina Martínez, María Ángeles
- Schettini del Moral, Rocío
- Montero López, Pilar
- Díez Nicolás, Juan
ISSN: 1137-9685
Year of publication: 2011
Issue: 15
Pages: 94-101
Type: Article
More publications in: Psychology in Spain
Abstract
Successful ageing: Criteria and predictors. The last forty years have seen the consolidation of the successful ageing concept in the Anglophone scientific literature. Nevertheless, several terms have been used as synonymous, including healthy, active, productive, optimal and positive ageing. But although all of these terms have been described through a broad set of biopsycho-social factors, research in this field usually reduces successful ageing to daily life functioning and physical health. Also, despite the fact that authors consider the determinants of successful ageing to be potentially multi-domain, empirical research usually reduces them to lifestyles. Obviously, the prevalence of this kind of ageing found empirically is not very consistent, and research on its determinants or predictors refers to biomedical conditions. In this study, we examined data on 458 participants (170 males and 288 females; mean age 66.47, range: 55-75) from the ELEA (Longitudinal Study on Active Ageing). The results show (depending on the simple or multidimensional definitions used) a very wide range of proportions of successfully ageing older persons, as well as a large number of multi-domain predictors of successful ageing, including psychological characteristics related to intelligence, personality and motivation.