“Longevity Project” Findings for Parents and Grandparents
Findings which can affect the lives of our children and grandchildren were reported by psychologists Howard S. Friedman and Leslie R. Martin as they sifted through 80 years of research begun in 1921. Stanford University psychologist Lewis Terman tracked bright 10 year olds with his focus on intellectual achievement. However, his detailed interviews have provided the material for additional research in other areas as well since his death in 1956. Friedman and Martin are among those who’ve studied his work in order to write their book: “The Longevity Project.”
Significant Findings:
This project has revealed some significant findings which impact the quality and length of life of our children and grandchildren. It seems that a high IQ has no direct link to longevity, nor does getting an advanced degree in a field. According to Friedman and Martin they have determined that persistence and the ability to accept and deal with life’s challenges are better predictors of longevity.
The quality that is the best childhood predictor of a long life is conscientiousness. Their insightful conclusion is that “The often complex pattern of persistence, prudence, hard work, close involvement with friends and communities” produces a person who is well-organized and who is “somewhat obsessive and not at all carefree.”
Surprisingly, cheerful children did not live as long as their more serious-minded classmates. The authors explained that these risk-taking children became adults who engaged in behaviors known to be life-shortening such as drinking, smoking, and driving fast cars. Sadly they were also often the ones to die from a homicide, suicide or accident. With that information, please don’t decide that you must squelch the cheeriness of your child’s personality; instead, as Friedman and Martin wisely suggest, make every effort to instill values such as “forethought and purposefulness” in these happy-go-lucky souls. They certainly add a lot of sunshine to our lives.
It seems that the early death of a parent did not have any measurable effect on the child’s life span or his/her own mortality risk. Instead, the researchers discovered that parental divorce was the “single strongest predictor of early death in adulthood.” The Wall Street Journal summarized the findings by saying that the grown children of divorced parents “died almost five years earlier, on average, than children from intact families.” Causes of death for these children ranged from accidents and results of violence to cancer, heart attacks and strokes. According to the authors, parental break-ups are among the most traumatic and harmful events for children.
The subjects in the study, who did best in the longevity aspect also tended for the most part to be very physically active, to give back to their communities, have thriving and enduring careers, healthy marriages and a good family life. They also had the strength of character and resiliency to deal with reverses and challenges; loss of a spouse, career disappointments, divorce, and the traumas of war.
They also found that those study subjects who had darker dispositions, and were not able to take life as it comes, but considered even minor problems as a catastrophe or calamity were the most likely to die sooner. “The Longevity Project” doesn’t say by what percentage this occurs, but another study which was published in 1998 reported that men in the Terman group were 25% more likely to die by 65 if they were prone to consider every set-back as though it were a catastrophe.
A book reviewer of “The Longevity Project” says that “its larger aim seems to be to improve public health by encouraging a society with more goal-oriented and conscientious citizens.” This is certainly a worthy effort for all of us to invest in, especially those of us now in the parenting or grand-parenting years. We can help model and inculcate in our children the skills, healthy outlooks and character traits needed to live productive, happy and rewarding lives that are a blessing to others as well as to our own families.
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