Table 1.
Participant Characteristics for New England Centenarian Study Offspring and Referents
| Offspring | Spouse referents | Septuagenarian referents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| N | 361 | 72 | 87 |
| Age, mean (SD) | 82.0 (6.6) | 80.1 (7.2)* | 82.2 (5.4) |
| % Female | 64.0 | 57.0 | 52.9 |
| Education | |||
| % Less than high school | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| % High school | 15.2 | 12.5 | 20.7 |
| % College | 84.5 | 87.5 | 79.3 |
| Marital status | |||
| % Married | 53.0 | 82.9*** | 60.7 |
| % Divorced | 8.7 | 0a** | 4.8 |
| % Widowed | 33.8 | 17.1** | 32.1 |
| % Never married | 4.5 | 0a | 2.4 |
| Purpose in life, median (IQR) | 5.28 (4.57, 5.85) | 5.28 (4.50, 5.71) | 5.14 (4.14, 5.42) |
Note: Offspring were the referent group; SD = standard deviation; IQR = interquartile range.
aFisher’s exact test used due to low cell count.
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .0001.