Correlates of subjective health in older adults: A meta-analysis.

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Abstract

Age-associated changes of subjective health and associations of subjective health with physical health, functional health, and mental health were meta-analyzed in older adults (M age > 60 years). An age-associated decline of subjective health, which was stronger in old-old samples than in young-old samples, was found. Subjective health was correlated with the indicators of objective health, but the association with physical health was stronger than with functional health. Correlations of subjective health with physical health and functional health were lower in the old-old than in the young-old samples, whereas associations of subjective health with mental health were stronger in older samples. Furthermore, the size of the association between subjective and objective health varied by the method of assessment of objective health, showing highest associations with symptom checklists and results of medical examinations due to strict protocols.

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What do global self-rated health items measure?

NEAL KRAUSE, GINA JAY (1994)

One of the most frequently used health status measures consists of a single item that asks respondents to rate their overall health as excellent, good, fair, or poor. This study identified the conceptual domain that is assessed by this self-rated health measure. Findings from 158 in-depth interviews revealed that the same frame of reference is not used by all respondents in answering this question. Some study participants think about specific health problems when asked to rate their health, whereas others think in terms of either general physical functioning or health behaviors. The data further revealed that the specific referents that are used vary by age. In addition, more tentative findings suggest that the use of specific referents may also vary by education and race. Finally, the results suggest that certain referents may not be related to closed-ended health ratings in predictable ways.

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Eric A. Nelson, D Dannefer (1992)

Studies examining age-related changes typically report findings as age-based generalizations that neglect the phenomenon of variability in gerontological research. This paper examines the degree of attention given in 185 studies to individual differences and the empirical patterns of variability reported in those studies that present measures of dispersion. Measures of dispersion were reported in 43% of the gerontological studies reviewed and in 24% of the developmental studies. Overall, a majority of all gerontological studies presenting data reported increases in variability with increasing age (65%). This pattern was more pronounced in longitudinal studies than in cross-sectional ones.

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Integrating bottom-up and top-down theories of subjective well-being: the case of health.

Arthur Brief, Ann Butcher, Jennifer M. George … (1993)

As a means of integrating bottom-up and top-down theories of subjective well-being (SWB), a framework was proposed that, in part, posits that both objective life circumstances and global personality dimensions indirectly affect SWB through their effects on the interpretation of life circumstances. This proposition was tested both cross-sectionally and longitudinally among a sample of approximately 375 men and women. Personality was operationalized in terms of the dispositional trait negative affectivity (NA), and the life circumstance investigated was health. Strong support was obtained for the hypothesized indirect effects of NA and objective health on SWB. Implications of the integrative framework for the study of SWB are discussed.