Older Southlanders Accept Their Age

Older Southern Californians are more satisfied with being old, and fear aging and death less than younger age groups, according to a major public opinion survey conducted by the Los Angeles Times.

In spite of being closer to the end of their lives, 36% of Southern Californians 65 and older believe that they are at their ideal age. That compares to 27% of those younger than 44, and just 24% for those 45-64, according to the survey.

Only 9% of older Southern Californians said they are scared of getting older, compared to 19% of the total sample. Meanwhile, 93% of those 65 and older said they didn’t fear death, compared to roughly three-quarters of those 18 to 44.

“The elderly are more likely to accept their age and be less fearful of what lies ahead,” said Sharon Pinkerton, associate director of the Times Poll.

The poll, conducted Oct. 25-28, surveyed 1,218 Southern California adults by telephone and focused on attitudes and opinions about health and fitness habits. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

The poll findings about older people and aging reaffirm a number of similar national studies, according to Dr. Gary Small, director of UCLA’s Center on Aging. As long as they are generally healthy, older people tend to have a better perspective about the aging process and dying, he said.

“In many older people, especially those with relative physical health and financial resources, they are able to enjoy the moment and often have a greater optimism,” Small said. “They don’t have the worries and challenges of their earlier life, when the focus was upon supporting their families and getting ahead.”

Other highlights from the poll include:

* 11% of those 65 and older said their ideal age was 30 or less, compared with 28% for ages 45-64 and 51% for ages 30-44.

* The average ideal age for all respondents was 34.6 years.

* 42% said they have owned or own a self-help book, tape or video.

* Among those who had or have self-help material, 71% said it has improved their lives; 24% said it hasn’t improved their lives; and 5% said they’ve never read, watched or listened to the materials.

* 65% believe there is life after death.

* 88% do not want extreme measures taken to preserve their lives, including 87% who are 65 and older.

The poll also showed that, contrary to Southern California’s reputation for perpetual shallowness, 54% of the respondents chose health and happiness over fame, money or even power.

In another blow to the regional stereotype of self-centeredness, 16% said helping others would be more important to them than all else, including health, happiness or success. Minority residents were somewhat more likely than whites to espouse this altruistic attitude--with 22% of African Americans and 19% of Latinos giving this response compared to 14% of whites. Asians were interviewed and are included as part of the overall results but the sample was too small to be broken out separately.

Of course, those motivated by self-interest were not absent from poll results, either--18% gave these goals top priority. Eleven percent opted for success, while 5% wanted wealth, and 1% wished for power and fame each.

Those four interests were named by more men than women (21% to 14%); more African Americans (30%) than Latinos (23%) or whites (13%); and more city of Los Angeles residents (24%) than other parts of the region.

When it came to major diseases, respondents tended to be fairly optimistic about the fight against two major killers--cancer and AIDS. Half believed a cure for AIDS will be found within the next 10 years, and 45% said a cure for cancer will be discovered within the same time frame.

Just over a third of those with household incomes more than $60,000 thought a cure for cancer would be discovered in 10 years, compared to just over half of those with household incomes under $20,000.

Meanwhile, only 35% of those with a college degree believed a cure would be found in 10 years, compared to 50% of those with a high school education or less.

Overall, 14% said a cure for both diseases would never be found.

More pessimistic views about a cure for cancer tended to prevail as education and income levels rose.

Personal concern over cancer and AIDS decreased with age, according to the poll.

When asked what health problem they feared most, 36% of 18- to 29-year-olds said cancer, compared to just 19% for those 65 and older.

Likewise, the worry over contracting AIDS concerned young people more than any other group. The responses fell between the high of 16% for 18- to 29-year-olds to the low of less than 1% for those older than 65. (However, at 18%, residents 65 and older were most likely to fear Alzheimer’s.)

In spite of fears about cancer, few Southern Californians believed they would die from it. Only 8% thought cancer would kill them.

However, almost half (47%) believed they would simply die of old age. Eleven percent thought a heart attack will claim their lives, while 7% thought they would die in an accident.

Overall, only 1% thought they would be murdered. But 5% of African Americans believed they would suffer that fate, while 3% of single women believed the same.

The poll also found that Southern Californians aren’t as well-prepared as the rest of the nation when it comes to having a will or a trust. Two-thirds said they do not have either one prepared.

Though no recent figures were immediately available, a 1991 national survey by Money magazine showed that 58% of respondents had a will or a trust.

*

In next week’s special Health section on fitness, the Times Poll will look at Southern Californians’ attitudes on diet, exercise and overall fitness.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Los Angeles Times Poll

Southern Californians are not afraid of getting old or dying, but do fear a number of health problems.

* Percent who say they. . .

*--*

All Ages 18-29 Ages 30-44 Ages 45-64 dont’t fear getting old 81% 79% 84% don’t fear dying 79% 73% 77% 82% have a wil or trust 35% 14% 26% 46% have a “living will” 22% 6% 14% 30%

Ages 65+ dont’t fear getting old 91% don’t fear dying 93% have a wil or trust 76% have a “living will” 55%

*--*

* What health problems do you personally fear the most?

(top five answers shown)

*--*

All Men Women Ages 18-29 Ages 30-44% Ages 45-64 Cancer 30% 26% 36% 32% 29% 19% Alzheimer’s disease 10 7 12 3 9 13 Stroke 7 7 8 3 6 12 Aids 7 8 6 16 5 2 Nothing (volunteered) 19 23 15 13 18 19

Ages 65+ Cancer Alzheimer’s disease 18 Stroke 14 Aids -- Nothing (volunteered) 28

*--*

Note: “--” indicates less then 0.5%. Percentages do not total 100% because not all answer categories are shown.

Source: L.A. Times Poll.

Times Poll results are also available on the World Wide Web at

https://www.latimes.com/HOME/NEWS/POLLS/

How The Poll Was Conducted

The Times Poll contacted 1,218 adults in Southern California by telephone Oct. 25-28. Telephone numbers were chosen from a list of all exchanges in the six counties of Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino). Random-digit dialing techniques were used so that listed and unlisted numbers could be contacted. The sample was weighted slightly to conform with census fiqures for sex, race, age, education and region. The margin of sampling error for all adults is plus or minus 3 percentage points; for certain subgroups the error margin may be somewhat higher. Poll results can also be affected by other factors such as question wording and the order in which questions are presented. Interviews were conducted in both English and Spanish.