Table 1.
Measurement and Distribution of Longevity Desires: An Overview of Findings
| Authors/sample | Sample items on longevity desire | Key findings |
|---|---|---|
|
Lang and colleagues (2007)
a
N = 364 (Study 2), M = 52 years (20–92 years); 54% female |
(1) What age would you like to reach? (2) How desirable would it be for you to reach the age you want to if you were confronted with a health problem resulting in frailty or need for care? |
(1) Desired years: M = 85, SD = 10; 17% desired to live beyond 90 (2) Not desirable: 75% |
|
Cicirelli (2011)
N = 109, M = 77 years (60–99 years), 64% female |
If you could choose and you knew you could maintain good health, how many more years would you like to live? | Wished for 16 more years (SD = 8.9) |
|
Karppinen, Laaokkonen, Strandberg, Tilvis, and Pitkälä (2012)
N = 283, M = 79 years (75–90 years), 62% female |
How many more years would you still wish to live? | Wished for 8 additional years on average: <5: 26%, 5–10: 56%, >10: 18% |
|
Donner and colleagues (2016)
N = 1,000, 20–70 years,b 67% female |
(1) How long would you like to live? (2) If you could be physically and mentally the same as in your 20s, how long would you like to live? |
(1) 65% → desire 85 years (2) 80% → 120 or more years (unlimited: 53%) |
|
Karppinen, Laakkonen, Strandberg, Huohvanainen, and Pitkala (2016)
N = 1,405, = 83 years (75– 96 years), 69% female |
(1) Do you want to live to be 100? (2) Why? (3) Why not? |
(1) 33% want to live to be 100 (2) for purpose in life: 57% (3) expecting disability: 48%; negative view of late life: 77% |
|
Ekerdt and colleagues (2017)
N = 90, 65–85 years,b 54% female |
(1) Would you like to have more time? (2) If someone would offer you extra years, how many would you like to get? What for? |
No wish for more time: 37%; conditional on health: 48%; unconditional wish for more years: 15% |
|
Bowen and Skirbeck (2017)a N = 1,631, M = 42 years (18–64 years), 50% female |
If you had your choice, how long would you like to live? That is, until what age? | Desired lifetime: 90 years (median); 17% prefer less than 80 years |
|
Ambrosi-Randic, Nekić, and Tucak Junaković (2018)
N = 423, M = 69 years (60–95 years), 57% female |
What age would you like to reach? How long do you expect to live? |
Desired average lifetime: 88 years (SD = 9), 4 years longer than expected |
aResponses more than 120 years were recoded as 120 in this study.
bMean age not reported.