Resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life and self-transcendence in relation to perceived physical and mental health among the oldest old
Aging & Mental Health July 1, 2005 B. Nygren, L. Aléx, E. Jonsén et al. 593 citations
People aged 85 and older possess levels of inner strength—resilience, sense of coherence, purpose in life, and self-transcendence—equal to or higher than those of younger adults. Among 125 participants in the Umeå 85+ study, scores on these four scales correlated significantly with each other and with mental health, but only for women, not for men. No link was found between perceived physical and mental health. The findings suggest that the scales measure a common dimension of inner strength, and that the components of mental health differ between women and men in the oldest old.