Terminal Decline in Well-Being: The Role of Social Orientation

被引:40
作者
Gerstorf, Denis [1 ,2 ]
Hoppmann, Christiane A. [3 ,4 ]
Lockenhoff, Corinna E. [5 ]
Infurna, Frank J. [6 ]
Schupp, Juergen [2 ,7 ]
Wagner, Gert G. [2 ,8 ]
Ram, Nilam [2 ,9 ]
机构
[1] Humboldt Univ, Inst Psychol, Rudower Chaussee 18, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
[2] German Inst Econ Res DIW Berlin, Berlin, Germany
[3] Univ British Columbia, Dept Psychol, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
[4] Univ British Columbia, Ctr Hip Hlth & Mobil, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
[5] Cornell Univ, Dept Human Dev, Ithaca, NY 14853 USA
[6] Arizona State Univ, Dept Psychol, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA
[7] Free Univ, Dept Polit & Social Sci, Berlin, Germany
[8] Max Planck Inst Human Dev, Berlin, Germany
[9] Penn State Univ, Dept Human Dev & Family Studies, University Pk, PA 16802 USA
关键词
successful aging; life satisfaction; social support; development; German Socio-Economic Panel Study; LIFE SATISFACTION; SET-POINT; AGE-DIFFERENCES; NEGATIVE AFFECT; NETWORK TYPES; OLD-AGE; HEALTH; DEATH; TIME; SUPPORT;
D O I
10.1037/pag0000072
中图分类号
R4 [临床医学]; R592 [老年病学];
学科分类号
100201 [内科学]; 100218 [急诊医学];
摘要
Well-being development at the end of life is often characterized by steep deteriorations, but individual differences in these terminal declines are substantial and not yet well understood. This study moved beyond typical consideration of health predictors and explored the role of social orientation and engagement. To do so, we used social variables at the behavioral level (self-ratings of social participation) and the motivational level (valuing social and family goals), assessed 2 to 4 years before death. We applied single-and multiphase growth models to up to 27-year annual longitudinal data from 2,910 now deceased participants of the nation-wide German Socio-Economic Panel Study (M-age at death = 74 years; SD = 14; 48% women). Results revealed that leading a socially active life and prioritizing social goals in late life were independently associated with higher late-life well-being, less pronounced late-life decline, and a later onset of terminal decline. Significant interaction effects suggested that the combination of (reduced) social participation and (lowered) social goals magnifies the effects of each other. Findings also indicated that less decline in social participation was associated with less severe rates and a later onset of well-being decline. We found little evidence that valuing family goals is associated with late-life trajectories of well-being. Associations were independent of key correlates of well-being and mortality, including age at death, gender, education, disability, hospital stays, and goals in other life domains. We discuss possible pathways by which maintaining social orientation into late life may help mitigate terminal decline in well-being.
引用
收藏
页码:149 / 165
页数:17
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