Life Satisfaction and Old Age

Abstract

Using data from a large, representative national sample, this article replicates some earlier analyses regarding life satisfaction and old age. Persons over age 65 were found to be only slightly less satisfied with their lives than persons aged 40 to 54 and 55 to 64. Poor health, loneliness, and money problems are the strongest correlates of life satisfaction across age groups. The small negative correlation between age and satisfaction is largely eliminated when controls for these three factors are imposed. A regression analysis is used to determine the relative strength of a number of possible predictors of life satisfaction within different age groups.