The general belief is we want to live for as long as we possibly can - maybe even reaching triple figures. Advances in medicine, science and technology are extending our life expectancy¹ every day.

人们普遍认为大家都想活得尽可能长久，甚至可能希望活到100岁以上。科技和医学的进步每天都在延长我们的预期寿命。

But many are scared of the effects of ageing - with the thought of dementia striking terror into the hearts of most adults.

但是也有许多人对衰老带来的一系列后果感到恐惧，比如，大多数成年人想到以后可能会得痴呆就十分害怕。

And a new study has discovered the fear of becoming old may actually outweigh² the fear of dying.

一项新研究发现，衰老比死亡更让人恐惧。

More than one in six people would prefer to die before they turn 80 - less than the average life expectancy, scientists found.

科学家发现，有六分之一的人更希望在八十岁前死去。这个年龄比现在的平均预期寿命还要低。

Hispanics have the highest preference for a shorter life while African-American people are more likely to want to live for 100 or more years, a new study suggests.

研究表明，拉美裔的美国人最倾向于拥有一个较短暂的人生，而非裔美国人更愿意活到100岁或更久。

But despite women living around five years longer than men, gender³ had no difference in how long people wanted to live for.

尽管女性的平均寿命比男性多五岁，但在想要活多久的问题上男女的想法并无差异。

Age and education were also found to be unrelated - despite those with formal education tending to live longer.

年龄和教育也没有关联，虽然受过正规教育的人都希望活得久一点。

The study is one of the first to investigate how younger adults perceive and anticipate their own ageing.

这项研究首次调查了年轻成人对衰老的认识以及对老年生活的设想。

Researchers from the Columbia Aging Center quizzed 1,600 adults aged 18 to 64 in a telephone survey.

哥伦比亚老年化中心的研究员们通过电话调研了1600名18-64岁的成年人。

They were on average 42 years old, half were women and 33 percent were university graduates.

被调查者的平均年龄为42岁，其中一半是女性，有33%是大学毕业生。

One in three would prefer to live until they are at least 80 years old, researchers discovered.

研究人员发现，有三分之一的人希望自己至少能活到80岁。

While a quarter of adults would prefer to live into their 90s - somewhat longer than expected.

四分之一希望活到90岁，超过了预期寿命。

The remaining people said they hoped to live to 100 or more years.

其他的人们希望活到100岁，甚至更久。

In the UK, the average life expectancy is 81.5 years, while in the US it is 78.7.

英国的平均预期年龄是81.5岁，美国为78.7岁。

Professor Vegard Skirbekk, from the Columbia Aging Center said: 'We were particularly interested in whether how long people want to live would be related to their expectations about what their life in old age will be like.

哥伦比亚老年化中心的韦加尔•希尔贝克教授说：“人们希望活多久和他们对老年生活的期望之间是否有关？我们对这一点尤其感兴趣。”

'For many, it seems that the fear of becoming old may outweigh the fear of dying.'

“对于许多人来说，对变老的恐惧超过了对死亡的恐惧。”

The results confirmed those who had fewer positive expectations of growing old preferred to die earlier, before reaching average life expectancy.

研究结果也证实，对老年生活没有太多正面预期的人更希望早点死去，不愿活到平均预期寿命。

And conversely, those who had fewer negative expectations of old age wanted their lives to go on for longer.

相反的，对老年生活的负面预期较少的人们希望活得更久。

Joint author Dr Catherine Bowen said: 'Having rather bleak⁴ expectations of what life will be like in old age seems to undermine the desire to live up to and beyond current levels of average life expectancy.

研究报告的共同作者凯瑟琳•鲍文博士说：“对老年生活的悲观预期会削减想要活得长久以及超过平均预期寿命的渴望。”

'People who embrace the "better to die young" attitude may underestimate their ability to cope with negative age-related life experiences as well as to find new sources of well-being⁵ in old age.'

“有‘宁愿早死’态度的人可能低估了自己处理衰老带来负面影响的能力和年老时找到保健新方法的能力。”

The findings were published online in the journal Ageing and Society.

这些研究结果都发表在《老龄化与社会》杂志的网站上。