The general aim of this research is to use the multistate approach to active life expectancy to provide a fuller portrayal of the interaction of health and mortality change among the older members of the American population. The impetus for this study comes from a desire to clarify how change over time and differences at a point in time in mortality and morbidity conditions can affect the health status of a population. Given the recent remarkable changes in old-age mortality int eh United States, our analysis will demonstrate the effect of such changes on active life. Moreover, given the current stratification of morbidity rates across sociodemographic groups, our analysis attends to major cleavages in active life expectancy among the oldest members of the American population. Our strategy to examine these issues rests on the following specific aims: 1) the estimation of levels of active and inactive life expectancy during the mid 1980's. In this phase of the study, we question the utility of previously employed definitions of active and inactive life and propose a division of life expectancy into states based on ability to provide a set of basic needs of life. These definitions divide life when functioning is less than complete into a set of policy=relevant health states. 2) the use of simulation techniques to determine the likely effects of known changes in past and possible future changes in mortality and morbidity transition schedules as well as population composition changes on estimated active life expectancy and the prevalence of disability in surviving populations. 3) the use of multivariate hazard models to probe the social, demographic and medical correlates of changes in health status in old age; and 4) to derive active life tables from the multivariate hazard models to achieve a substantive interpretation of he implications of the combined set of hazard-model estimates from older persons' health events. This will result in life tables for more detailed subgroups of the population than has previously been possible. Further, this approach will allow the identification of how sociodemographic characteristics shape the potentially complex process by which individuals experience declines in health. GRANT-R21RR09411 In recent years people with cystic fibrosis (CF) are living longer, more productive lives. Still, CF is a chronic ad lethal disease. While the psychosocial problems and interventions for children and adolescents with CF and their families have been extensively researched an discussed, there has been far less attention to the needs of adults with CF, a growing clinical population. Most have outlived their life expectancies, and have more or less successfully negotiated developmental challenges around forming mature relationships, sexuality, independence, educational/career goals, and satisfactions with one's experiences and achievements. With age, the disease process causes physical deterioration. Issues of mortal...