How closely do the characteristics and predictors of """"""""successful aging"""""""" defined by researchers approximate the domains of quality of life as defined by older adults themselves? That important question is not adequately addressed by current studies. The goal of this qualitative study is to increase our understanding of the experience of aging from the perspective of those oldest- old women. Although America is aging at a rate experienced never before, and the fastest growing segment of this population are women age 85 years and older, we currently lack an adequate understanding of experiences of aging and well-being from their perspective. What can they tell us about the meaning of health and well-being at the end of life that can inform the complex process of developing and sustaining healthful attitudes and health promoting behaviors? The specific aims of this pilot project are to describe: 1) how very elderly women perceive aging and well-being across the life course; 2) how issues, dilemmas, and concerns associated with advanced age relate to present well- being; and 3) how very elderly women view and evaluate the quality of their lives in late life. The project will select 20 women (10 White and 10 African American) age 85 years or over in the Detroit region, identified by others in their communities as living active, satisfying and meaningful lives. The design features in-depth interviews designed to describe what the women identify as the antecedent life events that precipitated changes in perceptions of well- being, at a series of points across the life span, and how those changes are understood and acted upon by the elderly women to maintain good health. Findings will be directly relevant to theory and model development in quality of life research among the oldest-old.
