ABSTRACT
Social comparison is increasingly recognized as an important cognitive process in adaptation to old age. By comparing themselves with age peers who are doing worse, i.e., downward comparison, older persons can make an adjusted assessment that allows them to reinterpret their present lives in a positive manner. "Even though I can no longer do my own shopping, I'm still fortunate compared to those who can not leave their houses at all". In this way, older persons may preserve a certain level of life satisfaction, despite age-related loss. In a study among 455 community-dwelling older persons, the effects of social comparison on life satisfaction were examined. Older persons were confronted with a fictitious interview with either an upward or a downward target. After downward comparison, older persons felt more satisfied with their lives than after upward comparison, especially those who had higher levels of frailty. These effects were only found with lower levels of identification. With higher levels of identification, older persons felt more satisfied with their lives after upward comparison than after downward comparison. Apparently, downward comparison only serves its self-enhancing function on life satisfaction among frail elderly persons when they perceive the comparison target as different from themselves.
