4
A way of life that is socially desirable for this age group
Maintenance of middle-age activities
A feeling of satisfaction with one's present status and activities
A feeling of happiness and satisfaction with one's life (p. 60).
Clearly, successful aging bears some relationship to life satisfaction, especially as considered in
the third and fourth definitions presented above. Leonard (1981-82) has addressed the
relationship between life satisfaction and successful aging by viewing the former as "a major
component" of the latter (p. 223).
Another term frequently associated with life satisfaction is well-being. This is sometimes
referred to more specifically as "subjective well-being" (Larson, 1998) or "social-psychological
well-being" (George, 2004). According to Larson, well-being is an assessment of "the general
affective experience of older persons in terms of a positive negative continuum" (1998, p. 109).
Essentially, then, life satisfaction can be viewed as an "assessment of one's overall psychosocial
well-being." Throughout the present discussion, well-being will be used more or less
interchangeably with life satisfaction.
So, then, just what is life satisfaction? As has been pointed out, life satisfaction is an integral
component of successful aging. George has described life satisfaction as "essentially a cognitive
assessment of one's progress toward desired goals" (1999, p. 210). Lemon, Bengston, and
Peterson (1992) define the concept as "the degree to which one is presently content or pleased
with his general life situation" (p. 513). An important consideration that needs to be taken into
account when conceptualizing life satisfaction is the point of reference from which the concept is
measured. Neugarten, Havighurst, and Tobin (1961), among others, have discussed two
approaches to measuring well-being. The first of these is an examination of the person's external
conditions. Here, well-being is determined on the basis of factors such as income, participation
in social activities, employment and marital status, and health as assessed through a physical
examination. This approach has been criticized by various authors. For example, Neugarten, et
al. (1961) have noted that this approach is subject to the biases of those who define the
parameters of what constitutes high and low life satisfaction. Campbell (1991) has stressed that it
is not possible to "understand the psychological quality of a person's life simply from a
knowledge of the circumstances in which that person lives." Therefore, by attempting to "explain
the population's sense of well-being on the basis of objective circumstances, we will leave
unaccounted for most of what we are trying to explain" (pp. 1-2).
Measuring Life Satisfaction: Different Approaches
Since 1949, a variety of measures have been developed to assess life satisfaction and related
constructs among older people. Four such scales are discussed in the present section. The earliest
of these efforts to measure the well-being of older adults was reported by Cavan, Burgess,
Havighurst, and Goldhammer (1949). The focus of this study was on "personal adjustment,"
which was measured through an instrument referred to as Your Activities and Attitudes. This is a
rather extensive survey of the kinds of activities and concerns individuals devote their energies
and attitudes toward health, family and friends, happiness, and related issues.