摘要：The number of adults aged 65 years and older is increasing rapidly, creating public health challenges. We used data from the 1995 and 2005 national surveys of Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) to compare changes in mental well-being of participants (n = 1007) of 3 age cohorts (ages 45–54 years, 55–64 years, and 65–74 years in 1995). Older adults experienced a slight decline in mental well-being not seen among younger participants and not explained by demographic variables, physical ailments, mental illnesses, or chronic conditions. Mental health research among older adults most often focuses on disease entities and symptoms such as major depression and anxiety that are known to be associated with poor outcomes in other health domains such as increased mortality and health care costs, especially in those with co-occurring chronic conditions (e.g., cardiovascular disease). 1 – 4 Mental well-being and positive mental health are less studied among older adults. Measures of mental well-being load on a separate, but correlated, factor structure from measures of mental disorders. 5 – 10 These findings support the dual continuum model of mental health, meaning that the absence of mental disorders does not imply the presence of high levels of mental well-being. Existing research on age and well-being has examined a wide spectrum of issues, encompassing general concepts such as life satisfaction 11 or more narrow domains such as positive affect. 12 , 13 Often such investigations have relied on cross-sectional data, and the findings vary depending on how well-being is operationalized. We have expanded on critical research focusing on mental well-being, or “good” mental health, because we have included the established dimensions of psychological well-being 14 and social well-being 15 as well as emotional well-being as incorporated in a single instrument, the Mental Health Continuum–Long Form (MHC-LF). 16 This structure of mental well-being proposed by Keyes has been confirmed in several subsequent studies. 17 , 18 We sought to address a research gap in understanding whether and why levels of mental well-being and its constituent components change over time. Specifically, is there a change in mental well-being in late life? Second, do physical ailments, chronic conditions, and mental disorders account for changes, if any, in mental well-being in late life?
