[Psychological aspects of aging--a review]

A number of models of aging have identified predictors of longevity, well-being and life quality among the elderly. The predictive patterns are multifactorial, and in all models psychological aspects are important. Most of all it is a matter of personality, intellectual functioning, adaptive capacity and coping, as well as making use of one's life-spain experiences. Personality, by consensus deemed to be essentially stable all through life, exerts a constant influence on the individual for better or for worse, steering the individual toward excessive wear and tear or constructive development and maturity. Some aspects of intellectual functioning are more important than others in this context, e.g. crystallized and fluid intelligence and episodic short term memory. Crystallized intelligence usually remains unchanged throughout life and even improves with age, while fluid intelligence and episodic memory decline. In very old age as for instance in centenarians, fluid intelligence is found to be a very strong predictor of future survival. Among the elderly in general, terminal decline is evident shortly before death. Coping strategies and capacity combined with type of incidents, change or threat are found to be strong predictors of both life satisfaction and survival after 80 years of age. Identifying the importance of coping in old age has brought about a change in perspective in caring for the elderly in which the psychological aspects become more important as a complement to the medical model. Increasingly, autobiographical reflections or life-story telling, also when used in group sessions, is shown to be one way of increasing well-being and life satisfaction among the elderly.