Researchers have defined successful aging as an absence of or low level of disease and disability. Now, a fascinating new study of more than 500 elders aged 60 to 98 challenges that notion. It turns out that people who think they are aging well are not necessarily the healthiest individuals. Optimism and effective coping styles (or attitude) were found to be the keys to aging successfully rather than traditional measures of health and wellness.

The study used subjective reports by the participants, all of whom lived independently, and the sample of individuals matched the national averages of medical and mental health conditions. Also, those who regularly engaged in such activities as reading and writing and community socializing gave themselves higher scores than those who did not. And in contradiction to longtime received wisdom, volunteer activities were not found to exert the same influence on participants. Thus, those things leading to successful aging are well within an individual's control. The key is adopting personal coping mechanisms as difficulties come along, and remaining as physically, socially, and mentally active as possible in one's circumstances.

(Released at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology's (ACNP) Annual Meeting, the research was conducted at and funded by the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California-San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.)

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