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Life experience and longevity

Findings from the Berlin aging study

  • Schwerpunkt: Alter
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Summary

Factors associated with education, social status, health, and psychological makeup are indicators of life experience and are also associated with quality of life in old age. Do these factors also contribute to a longer life? Data from the Berlin Aging Study (BASE; see Baltes/Mayer 1999), a locally representative sample of men and women aged 70 to 100+, are examined to determine whether status on these dimensions of life experience 1) differs between individuals in the early phase of old age (young old) and individuals who have survived beyond the average life expectancy of this birthcohort (age 85 plus, the so-called Fourth Age), and 2) predicts survival during old age. After controls for age and gender, health, occupational status and psychological functioning predicted survival. In general, long-lived individuals in present cohorts of the Fourth Age compared with those in the Third Age have lower education, lower occupational status at retirement, poorer health status, and lower levels of psychological functioning. Future studies should address the effects of various dimensions of life experience in different phases of the life course to determine the paths through which experience influences individual differences in the rate of aging and age at death in old age.

Zusammenfassung

Lebenserfahrungen und Langlebigkeit. Ergebnisse der Berliner Altersstudie

Bildungsstand, sozialer Status, Gesundheit und psychologisches Befinden bestimmen die Erfahrungen, die im Laufe des Lebens gemacht werden, mit (“life experience”), und somit auch Lebensqualität im Alter. Tragen diese Faktoren auch zu einem längeren Leben bei? Zu dieser Frage wurden Daten der Berliner Altersstudie (BASE: vgl. Baltes/Mayer 1999) von einer lokal repräsentativen Stichprobe von Männern und Frauen im Alter von 70 bis 100+ untersucht. Ziel war es herauszufinden (1), ob sich Menschen in der früheren Phase des Alters (junge Alte) und Menschen, die über die durchschnittliche Lebenserwartung eines Geburtenjahrganges hinaus überlebt haben (älter als 85; das sogenannte Vierte Lebensalter) hinsichtlich der genannten Dimensionen der Lebenserfahrung unterscheiden und (2), ob diese Dimensionen Langlebigkeit vorhersagen können. Nach Kontrolle von Alter und Geschlecht zeigten sich Gesundheit, beruflicher Status und psychologische Funktionsfähigkeit als Prädiktoren der Langlebigkeit. Im Allgemeinen verfügen lang lebende Individuen der gegenwärtigen Kohorten im vierten Lebensalter über einen niedrigeren Bildungsstand, einen niedrigeren beruflichen Status beim Eintritt in den Ruhestand, einen schlechteren Gesundheitszustand sowie über ein niedrigeres Niveau der psychologischen Funktionalität als diejenigen im Dritten Lebensalter. Zukünftige Untersuchungen sollten die Auswirkungen der verschiedenen Dimensionen der Lebenserfahrung in unterschiedlichen Lebensphasen thematisieren, um herauszufinden, wie Erfahrung individuelle Differenzen im Alternsverlauf und das Sterbealter im hohen Alter beeinflusst.

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  1. Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Lifespan Psychology, Lentzeallee 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Jacqui Smith

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Presented are data from the Berlin Aging Study (BASE), a study which was financially supported by two German Federal Departments: The Department of Research and Technology (13 TA 011: 1988–1991) and the Department of Family and Senior Citizens (1991-1998). From 1999, the project has been funded by the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, where the study is housed. Members of the Steering Committee are P. B. Baltes and J. Smith (psychology), K. U. Mayer (sociology), E. Steinhagen-Thiessen and M. Borchelt (internal medicine and geriatrics), H. Helmchen and F. Reischies (psychiatry). Field research was coordinated at various phases by R. Nuthmann, K. M. Neher, and K. Fröhlich.

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Smith, J. Life experience and longevity. ZfE 4, 577–599 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-001-0058-3

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