Blackwell Reference Online

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Social factors are strongly implicated in mental health and well-being throughout life, including old age. Sociologists argue that mental health and subjective well-being are powerful indicators of how well societies serve their members both individually and collectively. That is, effective societies not only meet the basic needs of their members, but also provide the conditions and opportunities that sustain emotional health and perceptions that life is good. Three topics regarding aging, mental health, and well-being are reviewed here: descriptive information about the distribution and dynamics of mental health and subjective well-being in late life, evidence about the social antecedents of mental health and subjective well-being in late life, and the role of social factors in the course and outcome of late-life depression. The vast majority of Americans are relatively free of psychiatric or emotional symptoms and are generally satisfied with their lives. This pattern is at least as strong for older adults as for young and middle-aged adults. It is important to define the terms “mental health” and “subjective well-being” in both conceptual and empirical terms. Subjective well-being is the more straightforward of the two and is generally conceptualized as perceptions that life is satisfying and meaningful. Typical measurement strategies include a global self-assessment of life ... log in or subscribe to read full text