Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Aging, mobility impairments and subjective wellbeing.

Vicki A Freedman1, Deborah Carr2, Jennifer C Cornman3

  • 1Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.

Disability and Health Journal
|April 8, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Cohabitation and unmet care needs in later life.

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences·2026
Same author

Trends In Care Needs Among Older US Adults Diverged By Age, 2011-22.

Health affairs (Project Hope)·2026
Same author

Friend Caregivers Among Older Adults.

JAMA network open·2026
Same author

Partnership Trajectories and Older Adults' Supportive and Strained Friendship Ties: Do Patterns Differ for Men and Women?

Research on aging·2026
Same author

The Future Availability of Family Caregivers: Implications for Late-Life Care Gaps.

Population research and policy review·2026
Same author

Beliefs about Levels of Care Responsibility for Older Adults in Need: Differences by Relationship and the Presence of Dementia.

Alzheimer's & dementia. Behavior & socioeconomics of aging·2026

Older adults with mobility impairments report lower wellbeing. Mobility is critical for life satisfaction, emotional, and somatic wellbeing in later life, challenging the U-shaped wellbeing theory.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Public Health
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Wellbeing is often described as U-shaped across the life course.
  • This suggests wellbeing remains high in older ages despite increased impairments.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore associations among age, lower body impairments, and wellbeing (life satisfaction, emotional, and somatic).
  • To test hypotheses that age effects are positive and stronger with maintained mobility.
  • To investigate if impairments worsen wellbeing and if this effect diminishes with age.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of the 2013 Disability and Use of Time supplement to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (N=1607 adults aged 60+).
  • Estimation of nested regression models including age, lower body impairments, and confounding factors.
Keywords:
AgingMobilityWellbeing

Related Experiment Videos

  • Testing of age-impairment interactions and age- and impairment-stratified models.

    • Main Results:

    • Positive age effects on life satisfaction were observed after controlling for impairments, though significance weakened with full adjustments.
    • Negative adjusted age effects on emotional wellbeing were concentrated among those with limitations.
    • Severity of lower body impairments consistently reduced wellbeing across all domains, most strongly for somatic wellbeing in those aged 65-74.

    Conclusions:

    • The study challenges the U-shaped wellbeing theory in later life.
    • Mobility is a critical factor influencing multiple domains of wellbeing in older adults.