Reconsideration of fear of personal aging and subjective well-being in later life.

Abstract

In a study of older Alabamians, Klemmack and Roff (1984) identified fear of aging as both an important correlate of subjective well-being and an intervening process through which physical health influences well-being. The present study examined the possibility that fear of aging, as a reflection of personal worries (frequently designated as "negative affect"), is actually an indicator rather than a determinant of subjective well-being. According to this alternative explanation, fear of aging was essentially used to predict itself. A factor analysis of Klemmack and Roff's original data supported this alternative interpretation. As predicted, fear of aging items loaded as a factor with other indicators of "negative affect" and, thus, should have been designated as part of the dependent variable. Furthermore, and contrary to Klemmack and Roff's treatment of subjective well-being as unidimensional, the factor analysis indicated two additional dimensions of well-being--Happiness and Plans for the Future. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of subjecting items to factor analysis and related techniques when developing and validating constructs.