Psychologists’ Book on Longevity Wins National Award

UC Riverside professor Howard Friedman and alumna Leslie Martin research recognized in Books for a Better Life competition.

By Bettye Miller on March 14, 2012

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — “The Longevity Project,” a book by Howard Friedman, distinguished professor of psychology, and Leslie Martin, professor of psychology at La Sierra University and a UCR alumna, has been named a winner in the 16^th Annual Books for a Better Life Awards competition.

The Books for a Better Life Awards, launched in 1996 by the New York City-Southern New York Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, recognize self-improvement authors whose messages are aligned with the chapter’s mission of inspiring people to live their best lives.

Five finalists were selected from 500 entries for each of 10 categories. A panel of book sellers and magazine, book club and television book editors selects the finalists and the winners are chosen by secret ballot of three expert judges for each category. “The Longevity Project” won in the “Wellness” category.

 Winners were announced at a ceremony in New York City on March 12.

“The Longevity Project” arrives at a new understanding about happiness and health based on nearly two decades of research by Friedman and Martin, who examined, refined and supplemented data gathered by the late Stanford University psychologist Louis Terman and subsequent researchers on more than 1,500 bright children who were about 10 years old when they were first studied in 1921.

The Longevity Project, as the study became known, followed the children through their lives, collecting information that included family histories and relationships, teacher and parent ratings of personality, hobbies, pet ownership, job success, education levels, military service and numerous other details.

Friedman and Martin said the most amazing finding from their research was that personality characteristics and social relations from childhood can predict one’s risk of dying decades later.

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