How Could Lay Perspectives on Successful Aging Complement Scientific Theory? Findings From a U.S. and a German Life-Span Sample

Purpose of the Study: This article investigates lay perspectives of the concept of success-ful aging in young, middle-aged, and older adults from 2 cultures, the United States and Germany, to potentially guide the development of scientific theories of successful aging. The empirical findings are embedded in a comprehensive overview of theories of suc-cessful aging and life-span development and offer implications for theory development. Design and Methods: Two samples of young, middle-aged, and older adults from the United States (N = 151) and Germany (N = 155) were asked about definitions and deter-minants of successful aging. Codes were developed to capture common themes among the answers, resulting in 16 categories. Results: Themes mentioned included resources (health, social), behaviors (activities), and psychological factors (strategies, attitudes/beliefs, well-being, meaning). There wer