Living a long life is desired by many individuals, and this dream is
likely to become reality in more and more industrialized societies.
During the past 3 decades, the number of very old individuals has
increased significantly, creating a global demographic challenge
with consequences at the individual, family, and societal levels.
Yet, life in very old age is still poorly understood in terms of its
unique characteristics and challenges. Besides specific content
areas, very old age represents an understudied field of research.
This lack of knowledge may be one reason that the very old also
are an underserved population. This special issue introduces an
international network of three centenarian studies that describe
and compare the life circumstances and characteristics of centenarians
across Germany, Portugal, and the United States. Our
parallel studies comprehensively assess centenariansâeuro? physical,
cognitive, social, and psychological functioning to create a knowledge
base regarding their capacities and needs. A specific focus
lies in the investigation of psychological aspects, social resources,
and societal/cultural contexts, factors that may contribute to
longevity and successful aging. Determining key characteristics
of this very old population and investigating similarities and
differences across countries is timely and urgent, both from an
applied and a policy standpoint.