Personality and health in middle age as predictors for well-being and health in old age

Relationship Between Personality Traits, Generativity, and Life Satisfaction in Individuals Attending University Programs for Seniors

Personality traits of older adults and their contribution to life satisfaction and generative interest were assessed. A total of 342 older participants (66% women), mean age = 67.89 years old ( SD = 6.52, range = 55-84 years old), who attended the University of the Experience in Salamanca (Spain), were evaluated. Information on sociodemographic data, perceived health and activity, personality traits, generativity, and life satisfaction was collected using self-reported questionnaires. Results confirmed a relation between personality traits, life satisfaction, and generativity. In addition, generative concern, neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness predicted life satisfaction at this stage. Moreover, the role of personality on generativity was confirmed. Individuals with interest and agreeableness toward others, who are organized, persistent, and motivated, are more predisposed to generativity. These results open the way to develop intervention programs that enhance positive personality traits and generative interest to improve quality of life of older people.

Protective Factors in Midlife

The detection of psychological variables with a positive impact on health during middle age is of great interest. The data of 393 middle-aged participants (aged 35–45 at T1 and 45–55 at T2) of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS) were analyzed to investigate the associations between health, optimism, positive affect, social support, and a cumulative burden score. Results show a positive association of the protective factors and a predictive value of positive emotions on health over time. The burden score showed no unique association with health. Overall, the predictors explained 17% of the variance of physical health and 33% of the variance of mental health. These findings emphasize the importance of investigating protective pathways.

Development of the WHOQOL disabilities module

PURPOSE

This paper describes the development of an add-on module for the World Health Organization WHOQOL measures of quality of life for use with adults with physical or intellectual disabilities. The add-on module, known as the WHOQOL-DIS, was derived following standard WHOQOL methodology and is designed to assess people with disabilities.

RESULTS

In the pilot phase of the study, 12 centres from around the world carried out focus groups with people with physical disabilities, people with intellectual disabilities, with their carers, and with relevant professionals in order to identify gaps in the coverage of the WHOQOL-BREF that were relevant for their quality of life. Items generated from the focus groups were then tested in a pilot study with 1,400 respondents from 15 different centres worldwide, with items being tested and reduced using both classical and modern psychometric methods. A field trial study was then carried out with almost 3,800 respondents, again with the use of both classical and modern psychometric methods.

CONCLUSIONS

The outcome of the two rounds of data collection and analysis is a 12-item module that can be used in conjunction with the WHOQOL-BREF or the WHOQOL-100 for assessment of quality of life in physically or intellectually disabled people. Further modifications are also proposed for the use of the WHOQOL-BREF with adults with intellectual disabilities, including simplification of wording of some of the items, the use of a three-point response scale, and the inclusion of smiley faces.

Socioeconomic gradients in mortality in the oldest old: a review

This review aims at identifying gaps in knowledge on socioeconomic gradients in mortality in the oldest old. The authors review literature on oldest old population with a focus on unanswered questions: do socioeconomic status (SES) gradients in mortality persist after 80; does the magnitude of the gradient change as compared with younger populations; which socioeconomic/socio-demographic determinants should be used in this population with specific characteristics (e.g., with respect to sex ratio and household type)? Results are often inconsistent while conclusions drawn by selected studies are generally limited by the difficulty of disentangling the effects of age and cohort, and of generalizing results observed in preponderantly small, selected samples (which typically exclude institutionalized persons). Future research should explore the effects of socio-demographic indicators other than education and social class (e.g., marital status, loss of the partner) and adequately differentiate the social position of oldest old women. The authors recommend that research applies a life-course perspective combined with an interdisciplinary perspective to improve our understanding of the SES gradients in later life. Research is needed to elucidate which causal pathways depending on SES in younger age impact on mortality in higher ages up to oldest old.