title: The will to live and death-related decline in life satisfaction.
abstract: This study examined the relationship between the will to live (WTL) and death-related decline in life satisfaction in 382 decedents who participated in a national 3-wave study (mean age at study entry 79 years). Growth-curve models revealed that distance to death was more predictive of declines in life satisfaction than chronological age. WTL moderated, but did not mediate, death-related decline in life satisfaction. Those with high WTL did not show a decrease in life satisfaction as death approached. This study highlights an important motivational construct, WTL, which regulates life satisfaction when death approaches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology of Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Guiron University of the Negev.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carmel
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shrira
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University.
authors.forename: Dov
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shmotkin
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013405:Suicide; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014836:Volition