Statistically significant inverse associations were found between the percentile ranking of the number of positive sentences in the early-life autobiographies and the risk of mortality in late-life within each of the convents and in both convents combined. For example, for every 1.0% increase in the number of positive-emotion sentences there was a 1.4% decrease in the mortality rate (i.e., the hazard function from the Cox regression model). In contrast, there were no statistically significant associations between the risk of mortality and the percentile rankings of the number of negative emotion sentences or the number of nonemotion sentences.
Positive Emotions in Early Life and Longevity: Findings from the Nun Study
ReplyDeleteDeborah D. Danner, David A. Snowdon, and Wallace V. Friesen
University of Kentucky
Handwritten autobiographies from 180 Catholic nuns, composed when participants were a mean age of 22 years, were scored for emotional content and related to survival during ages 75 to 95. A strong inverse association was found between positive emotional content in these writings and risk of mortality in late life (p < .001). As the quartile ranking of positive emotion in early life increased, there was a stepwise decrease in risk of mortality resulting in a 2.5-fold difference between the lowest and highest quartiles. Positive emotional content in early-life autobiographies was strongly associated with longevity 6 decades later. Underlying mechanisms of balanced emotional states are discussed.