Associations Between Purpose in Life and Mortality by SES

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Public Health
• Psychology

Background:

• A higher purpose in life is associated with better health outcomes.
• Research on the purpose-health association across socioeconomic status (SES) levels is limited.
• Understanding how SES influences the benefits of purpose in life on health is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether the association between a higher purpose in life and lower mortality risk differs across socioeconomic status (SES) levels.
• To examine the moderating role of education, income, and wealth on the purpose-mortality relationship.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a national sample of 13,159 U.S. adults aged over 50 from the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2008 baseline).
• Purpose in life assessed using the Ryff Psychological Well-being Scales; mortality risk assessed over an 8-year follow-up.
• Socioeconomic status (SES) measured by education, income, and wealth; multivariable Poisson regression used to test effect modification by SES.

Main Results:

• Individuals with the highest purpose in life showed consistently lower mortality risk across all SES levels.
• Moderate levels of purpose in life were linked to lower mortality risk only among those with mid-to-high education, income, and wealth.
• Evidence suggests the mortality-protective association of purpose in life is stronger for individuals with high SES.

Conclusions:

• A high purpose in life offers protection against all-cause mortality irrespective of SES.
• The health benefits of a purpose in life may be diminished for individuals with lower SES when purpose levels are modest.
• SES plays a modifying role in the health advantages conferred by purpose in life, particularly at moderate levels of purpose.