Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:47:13 -0600
NOTE: The message below was written by David Stodolsky and originally posted
to Cryonet.
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This is a summary of the Kogan et al. longevity studies.
Extending the Human Life Span: Assessing Pro- and Anti-Longevity
Attitudes
"The major aim of this research was the construction and application
of a questionnaire whose items incorporate the themes represented in
the bioethical debates. The following seven content categories served
as guidelines for the derivation of questionnaires items.
1. Life extension as prolonging disease, disability, and other
drawbacks.
2. Life extension as improving quality and satisfaction with life.
3. The impact of life extension on intergenerational relationships.
4. The utility or disutility of supporting pro-longevity research.
5. The disruption vs. enhancement of life goals.
6. Effects of life extension on work, retirement, and the economy.
7. Acceptance vs. rejection of deprivation in the pursuit of life
extension. "
The Life Extension Questionnaire (LEQ) was used in two studies and an
additional set of questions was added to the second survey in order to
assess Subjective Well-Being/Age. Some of this is quoted from the
draft: Kogan, Tucker, & Porter. (in revision). Extending the Human
Life Span: Assessing Pro- and Anti-Longevity Attitudes. (Any citations/
quotations should be cleared with the author.)
Demographic variables correlated with overall Pro-longevity attitudes:
The age of the respondent was related to life-extension attitudes (r =.
46, p <.001), the older respondents tilting in the pro-longevity
direction.
Pro-longevity attitudes were strongest in the separated-divorced group
and weakest in the single group (p<.05).
Factors derived from the LEQ:
I. Personal Emotional Rejection (PER) reflects a harsh rejection of
life extension with endorsement of items focused on pointlessness and
waste, and contrary-to-nature aspects of extending life span. Other
items reflect the personal cost of life extension (e.g., delaying
commitments or prolonging goals, inducing boredom).
II. Utopian Vision (UV) points to the many advantages of life
extension for older people and for society at large.
III. Social Economic Burden (SEB) highlights the economic burdens on
the individual and the health-care system flowing from life extension.
The highest loading items stress preference for health over longer
life and a fear of financial dependency for the individual, and
exhaustion of resources for the society.
Age was significant for each of the factors. For Factor I (PER), r =
-.49, p < .001; for Factor II (UV), r = .33, p < .001; for Factor III
(SEB), r = -.23, p < .001. The older the adult, the more likely is he
or she to reject the harsh negativity toward life extension reflected
by the items loading on factor I. Correspondingly, chronological age
is positively associated with endorsement of items that promise a
Utopian future with life extension (Factor II). Finally, the outcome
for Factor III is somewhat counterintuitive as we observe that older
adults are significantly more disposed to endorse anti-longevity
items. These items concern the added costs of health-care and social
welfare and hence raise the possibility of exhaustion of financial
resources.
Education: Two of the three factor are modestly but significantly
related to education level. The Utopian Vision factor is inversely
related to education (r =-.19, p <.02). The more highly educated
apparently tend to not find the Utopian Vision entirely convincing.
The Social Economic Burden factor also bears a negative relationship
with education (r =-.22, p <.01). This suggests that the more highly
educated are not convinced that additional years of life will impose
an undue burden on the social-welfare and health-care systems.
Study 2 (Retired adults):
Males were somewhat more likely than females to endorse pro-longevity
items (r = .22, p < .05) and reject anti-longevity items (r = - .17, p
< .10).
General factor:
1. How would you describe your health?
2. How do you feel about your life as a whole?
3. Regarding your future which one of the following statements do you
think best applies to you?
4. Comparing yourself to most people of your chronological age, do
you feel?
Sub-factors derived from the above:
A. Subjective Well-Being (SWB)
B. Subjective Age (SA)
Participants who endorse more prolongevity items on the LEQ tend to be
more satisfied with life and more optimistic, and perceive themselves
as younger than their age peers, and as having more years left in
their lifetime. In respect to the LEQ factors, higher scorers on
Utopian Vision tend to have a lower Subjective Age score (i.e.,
younger than age peers and more years left to live).
The correlation between the overall mean prolongevity score and the
general factor achieved significance at the .001 level (r = .32). The
general factor also correlated significantly with the Utopian Vision
factor (r
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