Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T13:47:49.934Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Success at 100 is easier said than done – comments on Araújo et al: successful aging at 100 years

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 January 2016

Peter Martin  and
Leonard W. Poon
Peter Martin
Affiliation:
Department of Human Development & Family Studies, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
Leonard W. Poon
Affiliation:
Institute of Gerontology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Few would argue that achieving the age of 100 years is extraordinary, but what about the quality of life at this extreme age? Is it worth it to live to 100 and beyond? The study by Araújo, Ribero, Teixeira, and Paúl (2015) in three ways provided an answer to this question substantiating and complementing recent findings about successful aging in extreme old age (Poon and Perls, 2007; Martin et al., 2015). First, the study joined other investigators in asking whether the criteria for successful aging posed by Rowe and Kahn (1997) are applicable for older adults at the end stage of a very long life. Second, the study shed light on whether objective or subjective criteria are more appropriate to gauge levels of successful aging for the oldest old (e.g. Pruchno et al., 2010; Cho et al., 2012). Finally, the study provided additional data on psychological, social, and economic resources that enhance the needed ingredients of successful aging at the century mark.

Type
Commentary paper of the month
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 28 , Issue 2 , February 2016 , pp. 177 - 178
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Araújo, L., Ribeiro, O., Teixeira, L. and Paúl, C. (2015). Successful aging at 100 years: the relevance of subjectivity and psychological resources. International Psychogeriatrics, 1–10. doi:10.1017/S1941610215001167.Google Scholar
Cho, J., Martin, P. and Poon, L. W. (2012). The older they are, the less successful they become? Findings from the Georgia centenarian study. Journal of Aging Research, 695854. doi:10.1155/2012/695854.Google Scholar
Martin, P. et al. (2015). Defining successful aging: a tangible or elusive concept? The Gerontologist, 55, 14–25, doi:10.1093/geront/gnu044.Google Scholar
Martin, P., Poon, L. W., Kim, E. and Johnson, M. A. (1996). Social and psychological resources of the oldest old. Experimental Aging Research, 22, 121–139. doi:10.1080/03610739608254002.Google Scholar
Poon, L. W. and Cohen-Mansfield, J. (Eds.) (2011). Understanding the Well-being of the Oldest Old. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poon, L. W. and Perls, T. (Eds.) (2007). Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics: Biopsychosocial Approaches to Longevity. NY: Springer.Google Scholar
Pruchno, R., Wilson, Genderson, M. and Cartwright, F. (2010). A two-factor model of successful aging. Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 65B, 671–679. doi:10.1093/geronb/gbq051.Google Scholar
Rowe, J. W. and Kahn, R. L. (1997). Successful aging. The Gerontologist, 37, 433–440. doi:10.1093/geront/37.4.433.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed