Successful aging was defined as having no multimorbidity, high functional capacity, active life engagement, and good health-related quality of life. This study analyzed data from 1433 older adults who were followed up for 12 years across seven waves from the New Zealand Health, Work and Retirement study by examining the trajectories of successful aging. Latent growth curve modeling was used to assess the growth factors of successful aging trajectories of older adults. The mean successful aging score was 3.53 (range: 0-6) in 2006 and linearly declined by 0.064 units every year. Those with higher successful aging scores at baseline had a slower decline. Successful aging scores were lower among females, Māori, and those aged 65 years and above at baseline. The findings from this study suggest that gender and ethnic inequalities play significant roles in successful aging among older adults in New Zealand.
Keywords: New Zealand; latent growth curve modeling; longitudinal methods; older adults; population aging; successful aging.