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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Old age expectations are related to how long people want to live | | Author(s) | Catherine E Bowen, Vegard Skirbekk |
| Journal title | Ageing and Society, vol 37, no 9, October 2017 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press, October 2017 |
| Pages | pp 1898-1923 |
| Source | https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X16000726 |
| Keywords | Longevity ; Life span ; Attitude ; Adults ; Middle aged ; Quantitative studies ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | How long do people want to live? Why do some people want to live a very long time, and others would rather die relatively young? In this study, the authors examine the extent to which the preference to die young (<80 years, less than average life expectancy) or to live somewhat longer or much longer than average life expectancy (90-99 years or 100+ years, respectively) is related to a person's positive and negative expectations of what their life will be like in old age. The authors use multinomial regression analysis based on survey data from a large sample of younger and middle-aged adults in the United States of America (USA) (N = 1,631, age 18-64 years). The analysis statistically controls for socio-demographic characteristics as well as self-reported happiness and health. The study finds that having fewer positive expectations for their own old age distinguishes people who prefer to die relatively young, while having fewer negative expectations distinguishes people who want to live beyond current levels of life expectancy. The results provide evidence that pessimistic expectations of life in old age can undermine the desire to live up to and beyond current average life expectancy. The study also provides descriptive data about how young and middle-aged adults in the USA anticipate their own ageing. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-171017007 A |
| Classmark | BGA: BG6: DP: SD: SE: 3DQ: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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