The apprehensive respondent: failing to rate future life satisfaction in older adults

Rating scales relating to the individual's past, present, and future were administered to subjects aged 60 to 90; those who completed all ratings (N = 589) were compared with others who specifically failed to rate the future (N = 150). The groups were differentiated by age, gender, health, and marital status. Total subjective well-being did not differ, but specific subjective well-being factors concerning time and aging could serve as discriminators. These differences suggest that these older adults might be apprehensive about their future, and that skipping future-related questions is a genuine reaction with both psychological and methodological implications.