Feelings of closeness with loved ones and
active lives are providing a majority of seniors with
the sense that they're aging successfully, a new study
finds.
Ninety-two percent of the 205 older, community-living
adults (age 60 and above) in the California study rated
themselves as aging successfully. However, contrary to
expectations, their feelings of successful aging weren't
related to age, ethnicity, level of education, martial
status, or income, the study authors found.
Instead, having close friends, participation in activities,
visiting with family and spending time reading and listening
to the radio were what made these people feel they were
aging successfully.
"As Americans look forward to longer life expectancies,
defining healthy aging through the eyes of older adults
will serve to enhance the overall health of the community
by allowing us to develop programs and offer resources
to help older Americans lead quality lifestyles,"
study lead author Dr. Dilip Jeste, director of the Sam
and Rose Stein Institute for Research in Aging at the
University of California, San Diego School of Medicine,
said in a prepared statement.
The study appears in the January issue of the American
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
