In 2024, The Gerontologist published a study nearly two decades in the making titled “Subjective Successful Aging Predicts Probability of Mortality Over 9 Years Among Adults Aged 50-74” from researcher Rachel Pruchno, PhD, and colleagues at New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging. The study’s goal: To find out how a person’s outlook on aging contributed to mortality rates.
Good news: The findings should give encouragement to anyone grappling with a fear of aging, otherwise known as gerascophobia.
The researchers interviewed 5,483 people six times between 2006 and 2019 and asked participants to answer three questions on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 being the best…
- What number best describes your aging experience?
- What number describes how well you are aging?
- How would you rate your life these days?
Results: For people who had a score of 25 to 30 and believed they were aging well—called subjective successful aging (SSA)—the probability of death within nine years was just 10%. For those who scored 0 to 5, it was 45%. Each one-point rise in SSA decreased the risk for mortality within the nine-year period by 3%.
Just what constitutes subjective successful aging? Bottom Line Personal asked Dr. Pruchno to explain…
Aging Successfully: Objective or Subjective?
The concept of subjective successful aging—a self-appraisal based on a person’s aging experience—was introduced in 1961 (in the first issue of The Gerontologist) by Robert Havighurst, PhD, a chemist, physicist and expert on human development and aging. He found that life satisfaction and well-being are critical to determining successful aging, and older adults who stay active and engage in meaningful activities are more likely to experience life satisfaction and a positive sense of self than those who don’t.
But over the years, the focus of successful aging shifted to a more objective assessment. Researchers John W. Rowe, MD, from Columbia University and psychologist Robert L. Kahn, PhD, felt that successful aging was best determined by researcher and clinician evaluations—how healthy a doctor said you were, for instance, and how well you were functioning physically and cognitively if you had no chronic illnesses or disabilities and were fully able to do things and be socially engaged.
But something was missing from this assessment—the voice of the individual. When Dr. Pruchno started studying successful aging 20 years ago, she measured it using both the subjective and the objective…and found that there can be stark differences in the results. Examples: Some people in her study who were in wheelchairs—totally disabled and not in contact with anyone—said they were aging extremely well, whereas some who had no chronic illnesses, were running marathons, and were connected to other people said they were not. Dr. Pruchno’s conclusion: Clearly some factors could override traditional predictors of mortality while growing old.
Embracing Aging: Lessons Learned from Fearless Agers
In the initial panel of thousands of participants, researchers identified about 200 people who answered that they were aging successfully every time they were asked. That prompted the question, What are the characteristics of people who are aging successfully, and what can we learn from them?
To get a good sense of who the successful agers are, Dr. Pruchno interviewed 50 of them about their typical day, who they interact with and the neighborhoods in which they live. What she learned: Successful aging has little to do with health and wealth. Instead, there are nine strategies for enhancing later life that unite these people (she called them “zesties” because they’re full of zest) that fall into three buckets—what they think about…what they do…and how they interact.
How Zesties think about their lives…
#1. They practice acceptance and adaptation. Successful agers have been dealt as many negatives in life as anyone else…but they accept what happens with age, whether it be physical changes or losing loved ones, and they adapt.
#2. They express gratitude. They’re grateful for the good things that happen and for what life has given them.
#3. They live in the present. They might plan for the future but are focused on making the most of today.
What Zesties do…
#4. They have a purpose. The quilter who couldn’t wait to get up every day and work on her current quilt…the 85-year-old clinical psychologist who just loved his patients…the teacher who volunteered to work with kids even after she retired.
#5. They keep moving. They’re focused on doing whatever they can physically, whether it be walking, dancing or going to physical rehab if needed.
#6. They stay curious. Some are studying a new language…others are voracious readers…but they’re always learning new things.
How Zesties interact with other people…
#7. They have close relationships. These may be with a spouse, children, grandchildren or neighbors.
#8. They connect with younger people. This is called generativity, and it involves contributing to the next generation, whether by parenting their own children or grandchildren or mentoring in the community.
#9. They have community connections. They are socially connected to their neighborhood, church or community groups, often through volunteering, to be part of something bigger than themselves.
Main takeaway: Successful aging means something very different from what everybody thought it was. Many talked about serious illnesses they had experienced, yet they retained their zest for life and resilience. They face the same fears and challenges as everyone else…they just look at them differently and find accommodations.
Examples: One man is a little shaky on stairs, so when he goes down to the basement to do his laundry, he makes sure he has his phone and carefully holds onto the railing. He didn’t stop going downstairs or hire somebody to go do his laundry for him—he adapted. Another participant’s eyes started failing her, and she had to give up driving to see her daughter out of state. But she didn’t give up visiting her—she problem-solved and found a train to take.
All nine of these themes can be learned and practiced, turning aging from something you fear to something you embrace. Though this group of 50 people lived by all or nearly all these themes, you don’t have to do all nine. But they all are things that we should be thinking about as we get older.
If you can’t resolve your fear of aging on your own: Consider talking to a therapist to uncover the root cause—are you afraid that you haven’t accomplished as much as you wanted or that your kids will have difficulties without you? Try to understand what is troubling you and start living your best life.
