Abstract
This chapter reviews research on well-being in old and very old age focusing on three different aspects. First, it discusses normative changes in well-being in old age and addresses critical methodological issues in this research. Second, it summarizes findings from studies that take a retrospective approach to investigate changes in well-being throughout the final period of life in relation to time left to live instead of time since birth (chronological age), i.e., studies of terminal decline. Third, it addresses the question of life expectancy in well-being, i.e., how many years of remaining life are spent in well-being as examined in cumulative well-being research. Lastly, it highlights important correlates of well-being in old and very old age including health, social integration, and personality. Evidence from studies analyzing well-being in old age across chronological age is mixed. Generally, well-being seems to be relatively stable in old age, but declines in very old age (i.e., at age 80 and beyond). A strong decline in well-being is evident in studies of terminal decline. Evidence from cumulative well-being studies typically shows that the remaining life years spent in well-being in old age are high and account for more than half of the remaining lifetime even in very old age, albeit substantial differences may exist across countries and historical time. More research on indicators and sources of well-being in old age is needed to facilitate the development of interventions to increase the years spent in well-being, a key challenge for aging societies.
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Hartung, J., Nemitz, J., Hülür, G. (2022). Well-Being in Old and Very Old Age. In: Zimmermann, K.F. (eds) Handbook of Labor, Human Resources and Population Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57365-6_376-1
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