Health perception and health status in advanced old age: A paradox of association

Henchoz, Karine; Cavalli, Stefano; Girardin Keciour, Myriam

doi:10.1016/j.jaging.2007.03.002

Scientific article

English

Health perception and health status in advanced old age: A paradox of association

Contributors

Henchoz, Karine; Cavalli, Stefano; Girardin Keciour, Myriam

Published in

Journal of aging studies, vol. 22, p. 282-290

Publication date

2008

Abstract

This paper deals with the relationship between health status and health perception in very advanced age. We examine how older people assess their own health and at the same time we investigate the equivalence between their health status and the perception they have of it. Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected under the {Swiss Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study on the Oldest Old} (SWILSOO), this analysis confirms that, while both health status and self-rated health deteriorate in very old age, people aged 80 and over tend to underestimate the decline. We show that the widening gap between perceived and objective health status can be accounted for by mechanisms of comparison. The qualitative data point to the use of various forms of comparison which allow older people to maintain a relatively favourable perception of their own health — and therefore of themselves — until a very advanced age.

Keywords

Comparaison sociale
Etude longitudinale
Grande vieillesse
Santé
Swilsoo

UNIGE affiliation entities

Centres et instituts / Centre interfacultaire de gérontologie et d'études des vulnérabilités

Citation (ISO format)

HENCHOZ, Karine, CAVALLI, Stefano, GIRARDIN KECIOUR, Myriam. Health perception and health status in advanced old age: A paradox of association. In: Journal of aging studies, 2008, vol. 22, p. 282–290. doi: 10.1016/j.jaging.2007.03.002

Article (Published version)

Identifiers

PID : unige:1622
DOI : 10.1016/j.jaging.2007.03.002

Journal ISSN

0890-4065

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13/05/2009 12:09:36

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13/05/2009 12:09:36

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26/01/2026 13:20:31

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26/01/2026 13:20:44

Health perception and health status in advanced old age: A paradox of association

Contributors

Published in

Publication date

Abstract

Keywords

UNIGE affiliation entities

Citation (ISO format)

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Journal ISSN

Technical informations

Creation

First validation

Update

Status update

Last indexation