Associations of Wellbeing Levels, Changes, and Within-Person Variability With Late-Life All-Cause Mortality Across 12 Years: Contrasting Hedonic vs. Eudaimonic Wellbeing Among Very Old Adults

Advanced old age has been characterized as a biologically highly vulnerable life phase. Biological, morbidity-, and cognitive impairment-related factors play an important role as mortality predictors among very old adults. However, it is largely unknown whether previous findings confirming the role of different wellbeing domains for mortality translate to survival among the oldest-old individuals. Moreover, the distinction established in the wellbeing literature between hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing as well as the consideration of within-person variability of potentially relevant mortality predictors has not sufficiently been addressed in prior mortality research. In this study, we examined a broad set of hedonic and eudaimonic wellbeing indicators, including their levels, their changes, as well as their within-person variability, as predictors of all-cause mortality in a sample of very old individuals. We used data from the LateLine study, a 7-year longitudinal study based on a sample of n = 124 individuals who were living alone and who were aged 87–97 years (M = 90.6, SD = 2.9) at baseline. Study participants provided up to 16 measurement occasions (mean number of measurement occasions per individual = 5.50, SD = 4.79) between 2009 and 2016. Dates of death were available for 118 individuals (95.2%) who had deceased between 2009 and 2021. We ran longitudinal multilevel structural equation models and specified between-person level differences, within-person long-term linear change trends, as well as the “detrended” within-person variability in three indicators of hedonic (i.e., life satisfaction and positive and negative affect) and four indicators of eudaimonic wellbeing (i.e., purpose in life, autonomy, environmental mastery, and self-acceptance) as all-cause mortality predictors. Controlling for age, gender, education, and physical condition and testing our sets of hedonic and eudaimonic indictors separately in terms of their mortality impact, solely one eudaimonic wellbeing indicator, namely, autonomy, showed significant effects on survival. Surprisingly, autonomy appeared “paradoxically” related with mortality, with high individual levels and intraindividual highly stable perceptions of autonomy being associated with a shorter residual lifetime. Thus, it seems plausible that accepting dependency and changing perceptions of autonomy over time in accordance with objectively remaining capabilities might become adaptive for survival in very old age.Peer Reviewe

Trajectories of Pain in Very Old Age: The Role of Eudaimonic Wellbeing and Personality

Pain is common in very old age and in the last years prior to death. However, little is known regarding longitudinal trajectories of pain in very old age and at the end of life. Moreover, whereas medical and morbidity-related factors contributing to pain are established, the role of psychosocial factors, such as eudaimonic wellbeing or personality as potential determinants of late-life pain trajectories has so far not been sufficiently investigated. We used data from the LateLine project. The sample consisted of n = 118 very old adults (M = 90.5 years, SD = 2.8 years) who were living alone at baseline and who had died between 2009 and 2021. They took part in up to 16 measurement occasions (M = 5.2, SD = 4.7, range 1–16) within an observational interval of 7 years. Assessment of pain was based on the SF-36 bodily pain subscale. Key indicators of eudaimonic wellbeing (autonomy, environmental mastery, and purpose in life) as well two of the Big Five personality traits (neuroticism and extraversion) were included as predictors. We controlled in all analyses for gender, education, subjective health, and depressive symptoms. Contrasting pain trajectories over chronological age (time since birth) vs. time to death, a time-to-death-related model resulted in a better model fit and accounted for a larger amount of pain variability than the age-related model. Mean-level change in pain, both over age and time to death, was not significant, but there was substantial interindividual variability in intraindividual trajectories. Age-related change in pain was significantly predicted by autonomy and neuroticism, with increasing pain among those who had lower initial autonomy scores and higher initial neuroticism scores. With regard to time-to-death-related trajectories of pain, higher purpose in life as well as lower extraversion at baseline predicted less increase or even steeper decrease in pain with approaching death. Our findings suggest that, despite overall mean-level stability in pain both over age and time to death, there is a substantial proportion of individuals who reveal deterioration in pain over time. Regarding the role of psychosocial predictors, personality traits and eudaimonic wellbeing are related with late-life pain trajectories both over age and time-to-death.Peer Reviewe

Four-year stability, change, and multidirectionality of well-being in very-old age

We examined stability, change, and dedifferentiation of well-being in 124 participants with a baseline age between 87 and 97 years (M = 90.56, SD = 2.92) across 7 measurement occasions over 4 years. Measures of hedonic (life satisfaction, positive affect and negative affect) and eudaimonic well-being (autonomy, purpose in life, self-acceptance, environmental mastery), as well as indicators of mental distress (depressive symptoms, attitudes toward death and dying, disease phobia) were included. Average levels indicated high well-being at all measurement occasions in the majority of indicators analyzed. However, mean numbers of depressive symptoms were close to the cutoff point of clinical depression. Analyses of intra-individual correlations revealed high loadings of depressive symptoms, positive affect, and environmental mastery on a common factor. However, several well-being indicators were not substantially interrelated on the intra-individual level, suggesting their trajectories were rather independent of each other. Acceptance of death and dying was surprisingly high and even increased, whereas mean levels in fear of death were very low and declined over time. Overall, our findings do not suggest late-life dedifferentiation of well-being trajectories in very-old age. Our results rather support the need to consider indicators of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being, as well as mental distress, to understand the multifaceted and multidirectional dynamics of well-being in very-old age

Electronic properties of wurtzite GaAs: A correlated structural, optical, and theoretical analysis of the same polytypic GaAs nanowire

III-V compound semiconductor nanowires are generally characterized by the coexistence of zincblende and wurtzite structures. So far, this polytypism has impeded the determination of the electronic properties of the metastable wurtzite phase of GaAs, which thus remain highly controversial. In an effort to obtain new insights into this topic, we cross-correlate nanoscale spectral imaging by near-field scanning optical microscopy with a transmission electron microscopy analysis of the very same polytypic GaAs nanowire dispersed onto a Si wafer. Thus, spatially resolved photoluminescence spectra could be unambiguously assigned to nanowire segments whose structure is known with lattice-resolved accuracy. An emission energy of 1.528 eV was observed from extended zincblende segments, revealing that the dispersed nanowire was under uniaxial strain presumably due to interaction with its supporting substrate. These crucial information and the emission energy obtained for extended pure wurtzite segments were used to perform envelope function calculations of zincblende quantum disks in a wurtzite matrix as well as the inverse structure. In these calculations, we varied the fundamental bandgap, the electron mass, and the band offset between zincblende and wurtzite GaAs. From this multi-parameter comparison with the experimental data, we deduced that the bandgap between the Γ8 conduction and A valence band ranges from 1.532 to 1.539 eV in strain-free wurtzite GaAs, and estimated values of 1.507 to 1.514 eV for the Γ7–A bandgap. Address correspondenc

Awareness of age-related change in the context of major life events

Although gains and losses are an integral part of human development, the experience of change and readjustment that often comes with major life events may be particularly influential for an individual's subjective aging experience and awareness of age-related change (AARC). Thus, this study focused on the role of life events in the domains of family and health for an individual's awareness of age-related gains and losses. Specifically, we differentiated between the experience of specific life events (e.g., entering a new romantic relationship; hospital stay) and the cumulative experience of multiple life events. Furthermore, we differentiated between life events experienced at an expected time in life and life events experienced relatively early or relatively late compared to established social norms. Data came from the Innovation Sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP-IS) and consisted of 1,612 participants aged 16 to 93 years (M = 54.1; SD = 18.2). Life events were assessed annually and retrospectively for the last 2 years. Propensity score matching provided evidence for an association of specific family life events and a higher awareness of age-related gains, as well as specific health life events and a higher awareness of age-related losses. Results furthermore indicated that the cumulative experience of family life events was associated with a higher awareness of age-related gains. Conversely, the cumulative experience of health events was associated with higher awareness of both age-related losses and age-related gains. Moreover, it was not only life events happening at an expected age, but also those happening relatively early and particularly those happening late in life, which were associated with AARC. In summary, life events and the change they may bring seem to be reflected in individuals' awareness of age-related losses and awareness of age-related gains.Peer Reviewe

The Advocate

Headlines Include: Laurels For Feerick: An Alumnus To Remember; Crime at Fordham; Who\u27s Next?, Film at 11https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/student_the_advocate/1007/thumbnail.jp