The Gerontologist, Vol 39, Issue 4 406-416, Copyright © 1999 by The Gerontological Society of America

ARTICLES

Health, valuation of life, and the wish to live

MP Lawton, M Moss, C Hoffman, R Grant, T Ten Have and MH Kleban
Polisher Research Institute, Philadelphia Geriatric Center, PA 19141, USA.

This research investigated the relationship of an affective-cognitive schema, valuation of life (VOL), to older people's responses to a set of health utility (years of desired life) questions. Six hundred healthy and chronically ill elders aged 70 and older were interviewed to measure quality of life (QOL), mental health, and VOL. Valuation of life was significantly correlated with longer Years of Desired Life under 8 of 10 health conditions when background, health, QOL, and mental health states were controlled. We concluded that VOL is an internal representation of the many positive and negative features of the person and her everyday life that is necessary to comprehend how people may cling to life or welcome its end.

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