TY - JOUR
T1 - Linking concurrent self-reports and retrospective proxy reports about the last year of life
T2 - A prevailing picture of life satisfaction decline
AU - Infurna, Frank J.
AU - Gerstorf, Denis
AU - Ram, Nilam
AU - Schupp, Jürgen
AU - Sprangers, Mirjam A.G.
AU - Wagner, Gert G.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding D. Gerstorf and N. Ram gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the National Institute on Aging (NIA RC1-AG035645, NIA R21-AG032379, NIA R21-AG033109) and the Social Science Research Institute at the Pennsylvania State University. Additional support was provided by G. G. Wagner’s fellowship from the Max Planck Society. Special thanks to Frederike Esche for help with compiling the data set. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.
PY - 2014/9
Y1 - 2014/9
N2 - Objective. We examined the extent to which retrospective proxy reports of well-being mirror participant self-reports at 12-24 months before death and how proxy reports of well-being change over the last year of life. We also explored the role of sociodemographic, cognitive, and health factors of both participants and proxies in moderating such associations. Method. We used retrospective proxy ratings obtained in the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (N = 164; age at death = 19-99 years). Results. Results revealed moderate agreement between self- and proxy reports (r = .42), but proxies, on average, overestimated participants' life satisfaction by two thirds of a scale point on a 0-10 scale (or 0.4 SD). Discrepancies were particularly pronounced when proxies themselves reported low life satisfaction. Over the last year of life, participants were viewed to have experienced declines in life satisfaction (-0.54 SD). Declines were stronger for ill participants and proxies who reported low life satisfaction. Discussion. Results qualify theoretical expectations and empirical results based on self-report data that are typically available 1 or 2 years before death. We discuss that retrospective proxy reports in panel surveys can be used as a hypothesis- generating tool to gather insights into late life.
AB - Objective. We examined the extent to which retrospective proxy reports of well-being mirror participant self-reports at 12-24 months before death and how proxy reports of well-being change over the last year of life. We also explored the role of sociodemographic, cognitive, and health factors of both participants and proxies in moderating such associations. Method. We used retrospective proxy ratings obtained in the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (N = 164; age at death = 19-99 years). Results. Results revealed moderate agreement between self- and proxy reports (r = .42), but proxies, on average, overestimated participants' life satisfaction by two thirds of a scale point on a 0-10 scale (or 0.4 SD). Discrepancies were particularly pronounced when proxies themselves reported low life satisfaction. Over the last year of life, participants were viewed to have experienced declines in life satisfaction (-0.54 SD). Declines were stronger for ill participants and proxies who reported low life satisfaction. Discussion. Results qualify theoretical expectations and empirical results based on self-report data that are typically available 1 or 2 years before death. We discuss that retrospective proxy reports in panel surveys can be used as a hypothesis- generating tool to gather insights into late life.
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U2 - 10.1093/geronb/gbt055
DO - 10.1093/geronb/gbt055
M3 - Article
C2 - 23766436
AN - SCOPUS:84906231634
SN - 1079-5014
VL - 69
SP - 695
EP - 709
JO - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
JF - Journals of Gerontology - Series B Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences
IS - 5
ER -