Life review in Scottish ninety year olds from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1921: Developing qualitative methodology in a longitudinal study

Abstract

Lothian Birth Cohort 1921 members were part of a Scottish nation-wide study of mental ability in schoolchildren. They were tracked down in 1999 and since 2001, via several waves of data-gathering, they have provided researchers with information about cognition, health, personality, social connectedness and other topics. This paper aims to demonstrate the use of a qualitative methodology in a longitudinal study. It presents early findings from the Life Review Questionnaire, which has been completed by more than 100 ninety year olds in the LBC 1921 cohort. Qualitative analysis identified themes in the data and interpretation is focused on gender, relationality, positiveness and social context. Coding of responses provides numerical data to link with wider cohort data. In conclusion, the life review questionnaire is a useful tool for longitudinal studies of ageing populations.