How "Successful" Do Older Europeans Age? Findings From SHARE

Abstract

We estimate comparable prevalence estimates of “successful aging” for 14 European countries and Israel, adding a new cross-nationally comparative perspective to recently published findings for the United States. Measures for a variety of specific successful aging criteria were derived from baseline interviews of respondents aged 65+ who participated in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (n = 21,493). A multivariate logistic model was run for our global successful aging measure. Our analysis revealed substantial cross-country variation around a mean value of 8.5%: Although as many as 21.1% of older Danes meet our successful aging criteria, the respective proportion in Poland is only 1.6%. Age, gender, and socioeconomic status are shown to bear highly significant associations with individuals’ odds of successful aging. The observed cross-national variation in successful aging—which continues to exist if population composition is controlled for—highlights the importance of taking into consideration structural factors at the societal level. It also suggests a potential for policy interventions supporting individuals’ opportunities for successful aging.