Table 1.

Percentages, means, standard deviations, coding algorithms, wording of survey questions, and psychometric properties of the predictor and outcome variables measured at baseline (N = 548).

Variable	%	M	SD	Coding algorithm	Wording of question/item	α
Predictors
Control variables
Age	-	67.7	5.5	Continuous variable		n/a
Gender	51.8	-	-	Dummy variable: 1 = female, 0 = male		n/a
Education	39.6 41.8 18.6	- - -	- - -	High school or less College Graduate school/master/PhD	What is the highest grade of school or year of college you completed? (12-answer categories: no school/some grade school, eighth grade/junior high school, some high school, GED (General Equivalency Diploma), graduated from high school, 1 to 2 years of college (no degree), 3 or more years of college (no degree), graduated from a two-year college or vocational school, graduated from a four- or five-year college or bachelor’s degree, some graduate school, master’s degree, Ph.D, or other professional degree)	n/a
Income	-	80,439	62,052	Continuous variable (in $)	Sum of income from self, spouse, or other family members in household. Social security, government assistance, and all other sources.	n/a
Instrumental activities of daily living1	-	1.6	0.7	Scores constructed by calculating the mean across items (1–4 scale range)	Seven-item scale of four-point ratings (ranging from 1 = not at all to 4 = a lot). Items: How much does your health limit you in doing each of the following? Lifting or carrying groceries/Climbing several flights of stairs/Bending, kneeling, or stooping/Walking more than a mile/Walking several blocks/Vigorous activities (e.g., running, lifting heavy objects)/Moderate activities (e.g. bowling, vacuuming)	.90
Self-rated mental health	39.2 33.4 27.4	- - -	- - -	Poor/fair/good Very good Excellent	In general, would you say your mental or emotional health is…? (five-answer categories poor, fair, good, very good, or excellent)	n/a
Personality traits
Neuroticism2	-	2.1	0.6	Scores constructed by calculating the mean across items (1–4 scale range)	Four-item scale of four-point ratings (ranging from 1 = not at all to 4 = a lot) on moody, worrying, nervous, calm	.72
Extraversion2	-	3.2	0.5	Scores constructed by calculating the mean across items (1–4 scale range)	Five-item scale of four-point ratings (ranging from 1 = not at all to 4 = a lot) on outgoing, friendly, lively, active, talkative	.76
Agreeableness2	-	3.5	0.5	Scores constructed by calculating the mean across items (1–4 scale range)	Five-item scale of four-point ratings (ranging from 1 = not at all to 4 = a lot) on helpful, warm, caring, softhearted, sympathetic	.81
Conscientiousness2	-	3.5	0.4	Scores constructed by calculating the mean across items (1–4 scale range)	Four-item scale of four-point ratings (ranging from 1 = not at all to 4 = a lot) on organized, responsible, hardworking, careless	.57
Openness to experience2	-	3.0	0.5	Scores constructed by calculating the mean across items (1–4 scale range)	Seven-item scale of four-point ratings (ranging from 1 = not at all to 4 = a lot) on creative, imaginative, intelligent, curious, broad-minded, sophisticated, adventurous	.78
Generativity
Generative concern2	-	17.3	3.7	Scores constructed by summing the values of the items (6–24 scale range)	Six-item scale, adapted from Loyola Generativity Scale (McAdams & de St. Aubin, 1992), of four-point ratings (ranging from 1 = not at all to 4 = a lot). Items: Others would say that you have made unique contributions to society/You have important skills you can pass along to others/Many people come to you for advice/You feel that other people need you/You have had a good influence on the lives of many people/You like teaching things to people	.85
Outcomes
Wellbeing variables
Hedonic wellbeing2	-	1.78	0.0	Scores constructed by summing the standardized z-scores of positive affect and satisfaction with life.	Positive affect: Six-item scale, of five-point ratings (ranging from 1 = all to 5 = none of the time), on how much of the time respondents felt indicators of positive affect during the past 30 days. Items: cheerful, in good spirits, extremely happy, calm and peaceful, satisfied, full of life. Scores constructed by calculating the mean across items (1–5 scale range)	.91
					Satisfaction with life: Rate your life overall these days (ten-point ratings ranging from 0 = worst possible life overall to 10 = best possible life overall).	n/a
Eudaimonic wellbeing2	-	83.2	11.6	Scores constructed by summing the scores of the six subscales (18–126 scale range)	Ryff’s (1989) scales of psychological wellbeing. Each of the six scales consisted of three items of seven-point ratings (ranging from 1 = strongly agree to 7 = strongly disagree). Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for all items combined was .80
					Autonomy. Items: I tend to be influenced by people with strong opinions/I have confidence in my own opinions, even if they are different from the way most other people think (R)/I judge myself by what I think is important, not by the values of what others think is important (R)	.47
					Environmental mastery. Items: The demands of everyday life often get me down/In general, I feel I am in charge of the situation in which I live (R)/I am good at managing the responsibilities of daily life (R)	.51
					Personal growth. Items: For me, life has been a continuous process of learning, changing, and growth (R)/I think it is important to have new experiences that challenge how I think about myself and the world (R)/I gave up trying to make big improvements or changes in my life a long time ago	.54
					Positive relations with others. Items: Maintaining close relationships has been difficult and frustrating for me/People would describe me as a giving person, willing to share my time with others (R)/I have not experienced many warm and trusting relationships with others	.59
					Purpose in life. Items: Some people wander aimlessly through life, but I am not one of them (R)/I live life one day at a time and don’t really think about the future/I sometimes feel as if I’ve done all there is to do in life	.34
					Self-acceptance. Items: I like most parts of my personality (R)/When I look at the story of my life, I am pleased with how things have turned out so far (R)/In many ways I feel disappointed about my achievements in life	.52

¹Higher scores reflect a greater difficulty in performing instrumental activities of daily life.

²Higher scores reflect higher standings on the variable.