Ryne Estabrook

Longitudinal data spanning 22 years, obtained from deceased participants of the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP; N = 1,637; 70 to 100 year olds), were used to examine if and how life satisfaction exhibits terminal decline at the end of life. Relative to distance from birth (i.e., chronological age), distance-to-death provided for a better fit to the data, suggesting that late-life changes in life satisfaction are characterized by relatively steep mortality-related declines. Multiphase growth models were used to identify a transition point roughly 4 years prior to death. Further analyses found improved fit by random effects models allowing for individually-varying change points, raising questions about the ergodicity of terminal decline.

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