Definition of successful aging by elderly Canadian males: the Manitoba Follow-up Study.

Purpose: Although the concept of successful aging is used widely in the field of gerontology, there is no agreed-on standard or common underlying definition for measuring success in aging. Our recent survey of an elderly male population asked respondents to define "successful aging." This paper describes the themes that evolved from those definitions, explores interrelationships between the themes, and examines the association between characteristics of respondents and the themes provided in their definition.