Relation of life goals at age 70 to activity participation and health and psychological well-being among Terman's gifted men and women.
In this study I investigated the relation of life goals to activity participation and health and psychological well-being for men and women in Terman's Study of the Gifted. The subjects were between the ages of 65 and 75 years (M = 70.2 years) when they responded to a mail-out survey in 1982. The study included three goals scales-Autonomy, Involvement, and Achievement Motivation-as well as measures of activity participation and health and psychological well-being. Multiple regression analyses in which the three goals scales were used to predict health and psychological well-being were both significant. Path analyses demonstrated both a direct and an indirect contribution, through activity participation, of life goals to health and well-being. In most cases, the indirect effect of life goals on health and well-being accounted for more than one half of the total effect. Implications of the results for life satisfaction in aging are discussed.
Holahan
C K
CK
Measurement and Evaluation Center, University of Texas, Austin 78712.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010553:Personality Development; D012919:Social Behavior; D012933:Social Identification