Successful Aging in US Veterans with Mental Disorders: Results From the National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence and correlates of successful aging in US veterans who screened positive for current major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and/or posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHODS: In a nationally representative sample of 475 US military veterans (mean age=58.3, SD=14.7; range 24-92) who screened positive for MDD, GAD, and/or PTSD, multivariable logistic regression and relative importance analyses were conducted to identify independent correlates of successful aging. RESULTS: One-in-five (20.6%) veterans rated themselves as aging successfully. Resilience and gratitude were the strongest positive correlates of successful aging, accounting for 38.1% and 32.4% of the explained variance, respectively. Greater somatic symptoms were the strongest negative correlate, accounting for 11.2% of the explained variance. Higher gratitude moderated the negative association between somatic symptoms and successful aging. CONCLUSIONS: Positive psychiatry interventions targeting psychosocial factors such as resilience and gratitude may help promote successful aging among US veterans with mental disorders.