[Continuity of life situation and "successful" aging (author's transl)].

Abstract

The determinants of "successful" aging have been a main concern in social gerontological research. The Continuity Hypothesis suggests that there is a relationship between an older person's life satisfaction and the similarity of his social life situation in middle adulthood and in old age. The old person is the more likely to score low in life satisfaction the less similar his old age situation to his life situation in middle adulthood. This hypothesis has been tested in summer 1973 in Cologne with a sample of 406 people aged 65 and over. Findings indicate that continuity of life situation may be an important variable accounting for life satisfaction in old age. Moreover, it could be shown that the various negatively experienced life changes since adulthoood formed a complex of interacting variables, thereby increasing the negative effect on the old person's life satisfaction. Health proved to be one of the most important variables. The continuity hypothesis as stated here represents a modified version of activity theory.