Beyond Ponce de Leon and Life Satisfaction: New Directions in Quest of Successful Ageing

TLDR

Previous studies of successful ageing have lacked a guiding theory, tended toward negative conceptions of well‑being, ignored potential for continued growth, and failed to account for cultural and historical variation. The authors propose an alternative framework that integrates life‑span developmental, clinical personal‑growth, and mental‑health theories to reconceptualize successful ageing. This framework identifies six well‑being criteria—self‑acceptance, positive relations, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth—and explains their relevance for studying adulthood and ageing.

Abstract

Previous approaches to the study of successful ageing are reviewed. It is argued that there has been an absence of theory guiding this research; an implicit negativism in the proposed conceptions of well-being; a neglect of the possibility for continued growth and development in old age; and a failure to see conceptions of positive ageing as human constructions that are open to cultural variations and historical change. An alternative approach that draws on the convergence in life-span developmental theories, clinical theories of personal growth, and mental health perspectives is presented. Six criteria of well-being result from this integration: self-acceptance, positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, purpose in life, and personal growth. These dimensions are defined and their relevance for the study of adulthood and ageing is discussed. New avenues for investigating successful ageing as a human construction are presented with emphasis given to the complementarity between quantitative and qualitative research strategies.