Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine two hypotheses on personality relating to longevity and its relation to successful aging, using as subjects 82 centenarians and 605 community aged whose ages ranged from 60 to 89 years old We used Bem Sex Role Inventory and Bortner Pattern A Behavior Scale to measure personality, and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Cattell Anxiety Scale, PGC Morale Scale, and subjective health rating to measure successful aging. We observed more femininity than androgyny among centenarians which suggested femininity related to the longevity. More type B's were seen in the centenarians than 60's. Women showed higher scores of femininity and type B than men. It was confirmed that androgyny are psychologically most adaptive in old age. Differential psychological adaptation styles were displayed among the sexes. Type B's showed lower self-esteem than type A's in women while type B's manifested lower anxiety than type A's in men.
