Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the values of life among Okinawan elderly women who have bachelor's degrees. We compared a group of elderly women who have bachelor's degrees with those who do not hold such degrees, and with a younger group of women who have the same educational background, i.e., bachelor's degrees. Our results are as follows: 1. Elderly women who have bachelor's degrees reported a higher level of "physical activities" values and lower levels of "self-growth" and "social evaluation" values than those of the younger group of women. It is plausible that these values are influenced by aging process. 2. Elderly women who have bachelor's degrees reported higher levels of "independency," "self-growth," and "contribution" values, and lower levels of "physical activities, health," "economic stability," "respect for educational career," and "home life" values, than their counterparts without bachelor's degrees. We speculate that the educational background has a stronger effect on various values of life than aging process itself, occupational career, and marriage experiences.
