Research Project 2 Your Life Review

The "Life-Span Health and Well-Being" box at the end of Chapter 17 discusses the concept of a life review, and presents an example of a life review chart. Even though you are (probably) a good ways away from middle age, you will learn more about the concept of a life review (and _:something about yourself) if you attempt to do one.

Read the text to remind yourself about the life review concept. Construct a chart, make one big enough to accommodate all the information you may want to enter into it. Based on what you learn from this process, write a brief report in which you indicate whether doing this life review gave you "a broader view on things that can be put back together into a whole and meaningful picture."

An interesting addition to your project would be to have a middle-aged person also carry out a life review by filling out a life review chart. Summarize what you learn about the person's ideas about his or her past, present and future life, and compare their review to yours. Also, indicate whether the findings are in line with information about life-span developmental changes reported in Life-Span Development 5/e.

Chapter 18

Research Project 1 Variations in Life-Expectancy

Administer the following questionnaire, to at least 5 male and 5 female acquaintances (or alternatively, to any two or more groups of college students you would like to compare). Then add (or subtract) the total points indicated to each individual's basic life expectancy (71 for males, 78 for females; add 10 to these basic figures for each respondent over 50 years of age).

Once you have collected your data, prepare a table in which you tally the number of Individuals in each of your groups who indicated that a question applied to them. Calculate the average (mean) number of years the pattern of answering adds or subtracts for each category (e.g., family history), and calculate the overall average (mean) number of years the answer adds or subtracts to each groups life expectancy.

Finally, write a brief report that summarizes your findings by answering at least the following questions:

1.Is the pattern of answers for the groups similar or different?

2.Which categories of answers tend to add to or subtract from each groups life expectancy?

3. Does one group have a larger overall life expectancy than the other?

4. What conclusions can you draw about the basic life expectancies of each group?

5. If the answers to questions 1 - 4 indicate interesting group differences, why do you think these differences exist?

Basic Life Expectancy Questionnaire

1. Family history

Add five years if two or more of your grandparents lived to 80 or beyond.

Subtract four years if any parent, grandparent, sister, or brother died of heart attack or stroke before 50.

Subtract two years if anyone died from these diseases before 60.

Subtract three years for each case of diabetes, thyroid disorder, breast cancer, cancer of the digestive system, asthma, or chronic bronchitis among parents or grandparents.

2. Marital status

If you are married, add four years.

If you are over twenty-five and not married, subtract one year for every unwedded decade.

3. Economic status

Add two years if your family income is over $60,000 per year.

Subtract three years if you have been poor for the greater part of your life.

4. Physique

Subtract one year for every ten pounds you are overweight.

For each inch your girth measurement exceeds your chest measurement deduct two years. Add three years if you are over forty and not overweight.

5. Exercise

Add three years if you exercise regularly and moderately (jogging three time a week). Add five years if you exercise regularly and vigorously (long-distance running three times a week).

Subtract three years if your job is sedentary. Add three years if your job is active.

6. Alcohol

Add two years if you are a light drinker (one to three drinks a day). Subtract five years if you are a heavy drinker (more than four drinks per day). Subtract one year if you are a teetotaler.

7. Smoking

Subtract eight years if you smoke two or more packs of cigarettes а day.

Subtract two years if you smoke one to two packs per day.

Subtract two years if you smoke less than one pack per day.

Subtract two years if you regularly smoke a pipe or cigars.

8. Disposition

Add two years if you are a reasoned, practical person.

Subtract two years if you are aggressive, intense, and competitive.

Add two years if you are basically happy and content with life.

Subtract two years if you are often unhappy worried, or often feel guilty.

9. Education

Subtract two years if you have less than a high school education, Add one year if you attended four years of school beyond high school. Add three years if you attended five or more years beyond high school.

10. Environment

Add four years if you have lived most of your life in a rural environment. Subtract two years if you have lived most of your life in an urban environment.

11. Sleep

Subtract five years if you sleep more than nine hours a day.

12. Temperature

Add two years if your home's thermostat is set at no more than 68°F.

13. Health care

Add three years if you have regular medical checkups and regular dental care. Subtract two years if you are frequently ill.