In 2009, a representative subsample of participants in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS: N = 5333; Age 50-101) responded to a short day reconstruction self-administered questionnaire that asked about their time and experiences on seven activities the previous day. We evaluate the quality and reliability of responses to this 10-minute measure of experienced well-being… Continue reading Snapshots of Mixtures of Affective Experiences in a Day: Findings from the Health and Retirement Study
Keyword: Subjective Well-being
Health and well-being in the young old and oldest old
Notes that most individuals experience a decline in health status during old age. Paradoxically, there are proposals that older adults nevertheless maintain a positive sense of well-being, an indicator of successful aging. Data from the Berlin Aging Study (BASE), a locally representative sample of 516 men and women (aged 70-100+ yrs), suggest that cumulative health-related… Continue reading Health and well-being in the young old and oldest old
Positive Affect and College Success
This study investigated the relation between positive affect and a variety of variables related to college success for undergraduate students matriculating at 21 academically selective 4-year colleges and universities in the United States. Positive affect-cheerfulness-is generally positively related to students' self-rated academic abilities, self-predicted likelihoods of various college outcomes, self-stated major and academic-degree intentions, and… Continue reading Positive Affect and College Success
Is age-related stability of subjective well-being a paradox? Cross-sectional and longitudional evidence from the Berlin Aging Study
Subjective well-being is thought to remain relatively stable into old age despite health-related losses. Age and functional health constraints were examined as predictors of individual differences and intraindividual change in subjective well-being, as indicated by positive and negative affect, using cross-sectional (N = 516) and longitudinal (N = 203) samples from the Berlin Aging Study (age range 70-103 years).… Continue reading Is age-related stability of subjective well-being a paradox? Cross-sectional and longitudional evidence from the Berlin Aging Study
Life satisfaction and use of preventive health care services
Objective: Although a growing body of research shows that life satisfaction is linked with enhanced health behaviors and physical health, no study has examined life satisfaction’s association with use of preventive health care services. From prior research the authors hypothesized that people with higher life satisfaction would be more proactive in taking care of their… Continue reading Life satisfaction and use of preventive health care services
Resources and Life-Management Strategies as Determinants of Successful Aging: On the Protective Effect of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation
In this research, the authors investigated the specific and shared impact of personal resources and selection, optimization, and compensation (SOC) life-management strategies (A. M. Freund & P. B. Baltes, 2002) on subjective well-being. Life-management strategies were expected to be most relevant when resources were constrained, particularly in very old age. In Study 1 (N =… Continue reading Resources and Life-Management Strategies as Determinants of Successful Aging: On the Protective Effect of Selection, Optimization, and Compensation