Longitudinal profiles of mental well-being as correlates of successful aging in middle age

Abstract

This study analyzed the multidimensional (including emotional, psychological, and social well-being) profiles of mental well-being and their links to various indicators of successful aging (SA; including diseases, cognitive and physical function, and engagement with life). The analyses were based on the Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, where the age-cohort participants have been followed from age 8 to 50. Data on 335 participants collected in mid-adulthood were analyzed. Applying Latent Profile Analysis and measures of life satisfaction and psychological well-being at ages 36, 42, and 50 and social well-being at ages 42 and 50, four longitudinal well-being profiles were extracted: high (29% of the participants), relatively high (47%), moderate (22%), and low (3%). ANCOVAs (controlling for gender and education) revealed that the participants in the high, relatively high, and moderate well-being profiles had more satisfying relationships, better labor market success, and fewer diseases at age 50 than those in the low well-being profile. Fewer inter-profile differences were observed in physical or cognitive function. Favorable profiles of mental well-being are related to SA in mid-adulthood. Future studies should investigate the causal relations between well-being and SA.