Observer ratings of health and sickness: can other people tell us anything about our health that we don't already know?
After administering interviews covering health conditions, physical limitations, optimism, and affect to 851 older adults, interviewers rated the health and sickness of the interviewees. Observers' ratings of health and sickness were more highly correlated with the severity of participants' self-reported health conditions than were participants' self-ratings of health. This finding is likely attributable to participants' self-ratings of health being more highly correlated with their optimism and positive affect than the observers' ratings. Participants rated as sicker and less healthy at baseline were at a 3 times greater risk for mortality over 114 months. This association was independent of participants' self-rated health as well as demographics, self-reported health conditions, years of smoking, physical limitations, body mass index, optimism, and affect.
Brissette
Ian
I
Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Dept of Psychology, Inst for Health, Health Care Policy & Aging, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA. ianb@rci.rutgers.edu
Leventhal
Howard
H
Leventhal
Elaine A
EA
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009515:New Jersey; D015588:Observer Variation; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012649:Self Concept