WHY CENTENARIANS ARE SO OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FUTURE?

People living longer lives report that they are “making the most of it” reflecting a realistic and optimistic approach to life. This adaptive attitude among the oldest-old challenges the model of inevitable health and functional limitations expected at the end of life. However, researchers find that centenarians report good health, gratitude, enjoyment of life and feel optimistic about the future. Using data from a sample of 68 urban nonagenarians and centenarians in the city of Valencia in Spain (Age range 90–105, Mean= 96; SD= 3.93), we report on the associations between the participants’ cognitive dispositions and their level of life satisfaction while controlling by predisposing factors…