Abstract
Those who survive into oldest-old age may expect and have developed resilience towards terminal processes, hence showing less terminal decline in well-being than evidenced with samples with a broader range of age-at-death. The present study analyzed time-to-death-related change in a broad range of facets of well-being (affective, eudaimonic, death-related fears), making use of longitudinal oldest-old data (N=125, aged 87–96 at baseline) that provides up to 18 measurements with short (3–6 month) intervals, hence enabling observation of changes in close proximity to death. Confirming our expectations, terminal drop did not unfold de-differentiated across all facets of well-being, but appeared pronounced only for indicators of positive affect. Further analyses suggest that this terminal drop was driven by loss of functional abilities. Altogether, the findings point at the oldest-olds’ resilience towards terminal experiences – except the interruption of positive affect due to terminal loss of behavioral competences which are needed for prohedonic activities.