Contribution of social arrangements to the attainment of successful aging--the experience of the Israeli Kibbutz.

The aging populations of the Israeli Kibbutz communities demonstrate characteristics of "successful aging" expressed in high life expectancy and positive well-being. This article summarizes twenty years of focused research about the elderly members of kibbutzim to show that their demonstration of successful aging is mostly due to the social arrangements and policies adopted by their communities in the domains of work, social relations, stability in social roles, and surroundings. Further support for the importance attached to social arrangements is illustrated by the negative effects on well-being that result of structural changes, experienced by some kibbutzim, in the direction of becoming more similar to the rest of society. It is suggested that many of the kibbutz principles of social policies and arrangements could be emulated by the rest of industrial societies to improve chances of "successful aging" among their elderly populations.