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Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the nun study.

Deborah D. Danner, David A. Snowdon, Wallace V. Friesen

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · 2001 · ▲ 1,338 citations

Loss of proteostasis Human

Abstract

Handwritten autobiographies from 180 Catholic nuns, composed when participants were a mean age of 22 years, were scored for emotional content and related to survival during ages 75 to 95. A strong inverse association was found between positive emotional content in these writings and risk of mortality in late life (p < .001). As the quartile ranking of positive emotion in early life increased, there was a stepwise decrease in risk of mortality resulting in a 2.5-fold difference between the lowest and highest quartiles. Positive emotional content in early-life autobiographies was strongly associated with longevity 6 decades later. Underlying mechanisms of balanced emotional states are discussed.

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Provenance

Source: OpenAlex
DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.80.5.804
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Fetched: 2026-05-31 MST

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APA

Danner, D.D., Snowdon, D.A., & Friesen, W.V. (2001). Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the nun study. <em>Journal of Personality and Social Psychology</em>. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.80.5.804

Vancouver

Danner DD, Snowdon DA, Friesen WV. Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the nun study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2001. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.5.804.

BibTeX

@article{deborah2001Positi, title = {Positive emotions in early life and longevity: Findings from the nun study.}, author = {Deborah D. Danner and David A. Snowdon and Wallace V. Friesen}, journal = {Journal of Personality and Social Psychology}, year = {2001}, doi = {10.1037/0022-3514.80.5.804}, }