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The symposium will explore how purpose in life contributes to aging well. Presenters will debate whether purpose in life is predicted by vital involvement in old age, religiosity, spirituality, and wisdom, and what the mechanisms might be that link life purpose to subjective and psychological well-being in old age. Hanne Laceulle offers a critical, philosophical investigation of the relations between purpose, eudaimonia, and self-realization, given the limited time-horizon that older adults face. Helen Kivnick discusses how personal values, strategies, and Erikson’s concept of vital involvement in old age are connected and exemplified in a nursing home resident who is an elder role model and has realized a life of purpose. Using qualitative interview data, Jenni Spännäri examines how religion, spirituality, spiritual seeking, and religious communities help older retirement migrants, who divide their time between Finland and Spain, find meaning in life. Finally, Monika Ardelt and Michel Ferrari use cross-sectional data of 111 older adults (age range 62–99 years, M=77) and 100 young adults (age range 21–30 years, M=24) from the US and Canada and multi-group path analysis to show that the association between wisdom and well-being was partially mediated by a sense of mastery and purpose in life. The relation between religiosity and well-being was also mediated by mastery and purpose in life among US young adults, but purpose in life alone partially mediated the association among older adults. Our discussant, Thomas Cole, will critically summarize the individual contributions and discuss how the presentations are related to each other.
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