Wisdom Predicting Well-Being and Ill-Being in the Old Age: A Time-Lag Verification

Abstract

Wisdom can be understood as a resource for adaptation and adjustment that contributes to well-being in various demanding life circumstances, including aging as both a biological process and a sociohistorical phenomenon. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between wisdom and subjective well-being and ill-being in individuals over 60 years of age, using two independent groups assessed a decade apart. Well-being included self-esteem, self-rated health, and life satisfaction, while ill-being encompassed anxiety and depression symptoms. One group consisted of 113 participants aged 60–89 in 2012 and the other included 118 participants in 2022. Wisdom was assessed using the Self-Assessed Wisdom Scale (SAWS), which provided a total score and scores on five subscales: experience, emotional regulation, reminiscence/reflectiveness, humour, and openness. No significant differences were found between the two groups regarding life satisfaction, health, and overall wisdom, except that openness was slightly higher in 2022. Self-esteem, anxiety, and depression symptoms were higher in the 2022 group. When the groups were combined, age was weakly negatively associated with health and positively associated with anxiety symptoms, and women reported marginally higher anxiety levels. Controlling for age, gender, and group, wisdom dimensions modestly contributed to higher life satisfaction and self-esteem, to better health, and fewer anxiety and depression symptoms. Except for reminiscence/reflectiveness, the other four wisdom dimensions individually predicted at least one well-being variable, with emotional regulation and humour showing the strongest effects. These findings suggest that fostering wisdom throughout life may enhance well-being in old age.