title: Wisdom and life satisfaction in old age.
abstract: According to previous research findings, objective life conditions such as physical health, socioeconomic status, financial situation, the physical environment, and social involvement cannot fully explain the well-being of older persons. Instead, personality characteristics and developmental influences appear to have a stronger impact. This study combines personality and individual development by introducing the ancient but neglected concept of wisdom as a predictor of life satisfaction. Using a sample of 120 elderly women and men from the 1968/69 Berkeley Guidance Study, structural equation models with latent variables show that wisdom (defined aa a composite of cognitive, reflective, and effective qualities) has a profoundly positive influence on life satisfaction independent of objective circumstances. The inclusion of wisdom as an additional predictor of subjective well-being increases the explanatory power of the model considerably. Gender differences in predictors of life satisfaction are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, University of Florida, USA. ardelt@soc.ulf.edu
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ardelt
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010551:Personality; D011788:Quality of Life; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class