기사
How “Successful” Do Older Europeans Age? Findings From SHARE
- 개인저자
- Karsten Hank
- 수록페이지
- 230-236 p.
- 발행일자
- 2011.03.08
- 출판사
- The Gerontological Society of America
초록
Objectives. We estimate comparable prevalence estimates of “successful aging” for 14 European countries and Israel, adding a new cross-nationally comparative perspective to recently published findings for the United States.
Methods. Measures for a variety of specific successful aging criteria were derived from baseline interviews of respondents aged 65+ who participated in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (n = 21,493). A multivariate logistic model was run for our global successful aging measure.
Results. Our analysis revealed substantial cross-country variation around a mean value of 8.5%: Although as many as 21.1% of older Danes meet our successful aging criteria, the respective proportion in Poland is only 1.6%. Age, gender, and socioeconomic status are shown to bear highly significant associations with individuals’ odds of successful aging.
Discussion. The observed cross-national variation in successful aging—which continues to exist if population composition is controlled for—highlights the importance of taking into consideration structural factors at the societal level. It also suggests a potential for policy interventions supporting individuals’ opportunities for successful aging