زندگی طولانی و شاد: روندها و الگوهای امید به زندگی شاد در ایالات متحده، 1970-2000

This study assesses the trends and differentials in length of quality life in the U.S. population as measured by happy life expectancy in 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000. The analysis combines age-specific prevalence rates of subjective well-being from a large nationally representative survey and life table estimates of mortality in decennial Census years. Employing the period prevalence-rate life table method—Sullivan method, the analysis finds evidence for improvement in quality of life in the U.S. Happy life expectancy largely increased in both absolute terms (number of years) and relative terms (proportion of life) over time at all adult ages examined. And increases in total life expectancy were mainly contributed by increases in expectancy in happy years rather than unhappy years. Happy life expectancy is longer than active life expectancy. And there has been greater compression of unhappiness than compression of morbidity. There are substantial differentials in happy life expectancy by sex and race because of differential prevalence rates of happiness. Women and whites had longer years of total and happy life expectancies at most ages and dates, while men and blacks had greater proportions of happy life expectancies across the three decades. Although race differentials generally decreased at older ages and with time, relative disadvantages of blacks persisted.

There were substantial mortality declines and sustained increases in life expectancies at birth and old ages in the United States during the last 100 years. The low mortality of older adults combined with the largest birth cohorts entering old age in history, the baby boomers, imply a continuation of the dramatic increase of the size of the aging population in the 21st century (Robine et al., 2003). A question of increasing interest in the demography of aging is whether Americans are living higher quality as well as longer lives. Whereas previous studies assessed healthy life expectancies in terms of negative and domain-specific health outcomes such as disabilities and chronic diseases, few have estimated trends in positive and global measures of subjective well-being that are highly indicative of quality of life. We know little about whether Americans are living longer and happier and how men and women and blacks and whites differ in number of quality years. This study aims to broaden the scope of healthy life expectancy research to include a key positive element of quality of life—subjective well-being, as measured by happiness. It seeks to develop a useful all-encompassing measure of perceived quality of life at the population level—happy life expectancy (HapLE) that is analogous and complimentary to active life expectancy (ALE). It is the first study to provide initial evidence of trends and sociodemographic differentials in HapLE in the U.S. population. It contributes to our knowledge about changes in quality of life as perceived by citizens in our nation as it faces ever-increasing challenges associated with increasing longevity. The study first constructs measures of HapLE by combining large nationally representative survey data on general happiness (the General Social Survey) and population life table estimates of mortality and employing the period prevalence-rate life table method—Sullivan method. It then examines temporal changes in HapLE in the U.S. from 1970 to 2000 and sex and race differences in changes of HapLE over time. It also discusses the implication of findings on compression of morbidity and unhappiness for overall population quality of life in the U.S.