ABSTRACT
Several studies have demonstrated that centenarians have high levels of life satisfaction and happiness, which are similar to younger-older individuals. Factors associated with their well-being have been of great interest in recent years, but less is yet known about the influence of well-being on longevity itself. Could it be that those who reach the age of 100 and are satisfied with their lives are the ones who get the chance to live even longer? And does health status play a role on such an influence? This chapter focuses on the concept of “satisfaction with life” and evaluates its associated factors as well as its role in the survival of a sample of 83 centenarians (mean age of 101 years; SD = 1.3 years) selected from two Portuguese longitudinal studies. Information about their vital status was collected through phone call every six months over the period of seven years (2013–2019). Cox proportional hazards and linear regression models were performed to achieve objectives. Results suggest that longer survival was associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, which in turn was associated with better self-rated health and more regular social contacts, highlighting the importance of this psychological dimension for longevity even at very advanced ages.
