Components of well-being in centenarians

Abstract

  The purpose of this study is to explore components of psychological well-being for centenarians, who tend to go through various psychological changes due to declines of physical and cognitive functions. By conducting 13 face-to-face interviews, we tried to examine the ways centenarians perceive the notion of happiness in their everyday life. Through qualitative analysis, we found five important ways of thinking that influence centenarian’s psychological well-being: positively approach everyday life, living within a limitation, keeping a good relationship with other people, feeling of satisfaction in life, and accepting the reality. Although centenarians face multiple losses (e.g., declines in physiological functions, loss of social status, and lack of social interaction), they actively adjust their perception in life to sustain their psychological well-being. We also found that psychological well-being for centenarians can be explained better by applying both existing concepts of psychological well-being and gerotranscendence.