RETROSPECTIVE EVALUATIONS OF ONES LIFE - THE LIFE-SATISFACTION GRAPH

The Life-Satisfaction Graph is introduced as a method that allows for the temporal reconstruction of life satisfaction with regard to differ ent rime points within the individual biography. Starting from the age of 10 and ascending in 5-year intervals, subjects had to evaluate the quality of their lives at each age and these estimates were combined into a line graph. The instrument was administered to a sample of N = 135 subjects within the age range of 65 to 88 years. Analyses of varia nce as well as factor analysis proved the effect of historic time as w ell as age and sex on the estimates of life satisfaction. Furthermore, correlations with other indicators of subjective well-being were obta ined.