Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 52, Issue 1 P15-P27, Copyright © 1997 by The Gerontological Society of America
Wisdom and life satisfaction in old age
M Ardelt
Department of Sociology, University of Florida, USA. [email protected]
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.
