Socioeconomic Status and Subjective Life Expectancy
This study tests the hypothesis that American adults expect longer lives, the higher their achieved socioeconomic status. It maps the relationship in a 1995 national sample of 2,037 Americans ages 18 through 95. We find that each additional year of education increases the predicted subjective life expectancy by about .7 years. Adults currently in school expect 2.5 years of life more than do similar adults with full-time jobs. Adults unable to work because of a disability expect about 3.3 fewer years of life. Long-past economic hardship decreases predicted subjective life expectancy by about four years, and current economic hardship decreases it by about eight years. Current health and self-confidence about the future account for some parts of the associations. Other parts appear to anticipate future risks to health and survival.