Selective attrition in life satisfaction among elderly people: the harmonisation of longitudinal data

Abstract

Methodological research of the determinants of attrition makes it possible to identify which predictors of elderly people are most likely to be lost to follow-up in longitudinal studies. The aim of the study is to explore and compare the attrition in longitudinal aging population studies in the UK and Taiwan. Data draw from the Nottingham Longitudinal Study of Activity and Aging (NLSAA) and the Survey of Health and Living Status of the Elderly in Taiwan (SHLSET). Results from bivariate analyses indicate that no statistically significant association was found from logistic regression analyses between attrition and other factors in the second (1989) and third (1993) wave of the NLSAA survey. However, logistic regression did reveal an association between attrition and having lived with someone else at baseline in the SHLSET. Thus, living with others has effect on attrition and is related to re-interview in follow-up study.