Positive orientation, self-esteem, and satisfaction with life in the context of subjective age in older adults

The relationships between wisdom, positive orientation and health-related behavior in older adults

The concept of healthy ageing, i.e. maintaining health in late life, is closely connected with the role of health behavior. Although health behavior is determined by personal factors, little is known about its relationships with wisdom and positive orientation. Therefore, the aim of the study was to establish relationships between sociodemographic and health factors, personal resources (wisdom and positive orientation) and health-related behavior in late life. The study included 353 Polish seniors aged 60-99 (M = 71.95; SD = 1.45). The respondents completed the Health-Related Questionnaire for Seniors, Three Dimensional Wisdom Scale, Positive Orientation Scale and a sociodemographic survey. Wisdom and positive orientation were associated with general health behavior and all of its factors. Among the sociodemographic variables, attendance in nonformal education courses had the strongest predictive role for health behavior. A hierarchical regression model demonstrated that personal resources significantly determined healthy lifestyle, after controlling for sociodemographic factors. Additionally, mediational analyses revealed that positive orientation acted as a partial mediator between wisdom and health behavior. Our findings extend knowledge about the factors enhancing healthy lifestyle in older adults, indicating that both wisdom and positive orientation may represent valuable personal resources for health-related behavior.

In the Eye of the Storm: Entrepreneurs and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Crisis

In this paper, we examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of entrepreneurs. We surveyed a representative sample of Swedish entrepreneurs and wage employees at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey data, combined with register data, show that the COVID-19 outbreak has a negative effect on the well-being of entrepreneurs in terms of increased perceived stress. However, this negative effect is weaker for entrepreneurs who feel younger than their chronological age and entrepreneurs who are geographically distant from the epicenter of the crisis.

The effect of subjective age on loneliness in the old adults: The chain mediating role of resilience and self-esteem

Objectives

This study aimed to explore the effect of subjective age on loneliness in old adults, and the mediating role of resilience and self-esteem in subjective age and loneliness.

Methods

Approximately 450 old adults from Jiangxi, Hunan, Henan provinces completed the third edition of the Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS III), Age Decade Scale (ADS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Self-Esteem Scale (SES).

Results

(1) Subjective age was significantly positively correlated with loneliness. (2) Resilience, self-esteem, and loneliness were significantly negatively correlated. (3) Subjective age affected loneliness through the mediating effects of resilience and self-esteem, respectively. (4) Resilience and self-esteem played a chain mediating role between subjective age and loneliness.

Conclusion

Resilience and self-esteem can directly affect the loneliness of the old adults alone and can also affect the loneliness of the old adults through the chain mediating effect of resilience and self-esteem.

Subjective age and its relationships with physical, mental, and cognitive functioning: A cross-sectional study of 1,004 community-dwelling adults across the lifespan

Perceived younger age is associated with positive health outcomes in existing literature. Few studies have examined these associations using a wide range of variables in large sample of adults of all ages. The objective of present study was to characterize the discrepancy between chronological age (CA) and subjective age (SA) in a large sample of community-dwelling adults across the lifespan, investigate associations with mental, physical, and cognitive health, and examine how it is related to a broad array of psychosocial variables relevant to well-being. Cross-sectional data from 1,004 individuals aged 21-100+ years from the Successful AGing Evaluation (SAGE) study were used for this analysis. Data included self-report measures of physical health (SF-36 - Physical Component), mental health composite score (created using CES-D Happiness scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, SF-36 Mental Component, Brief Symptom Inventory Anxiety Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Perceived Stress Scale), Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status - modified (TICS-m), and validated measures of various positive psychological variables such as meaning in life and optimism. On average, SA was 11.5 years younger than CA (SD 11.3). The discrepancy increased with CA. A younger SA compared to CA was associated with better mental and physical health in all age groups and was positively associated with measures of presence of meaning in life, successful aging, optimism, personal mastery, resilience, curiosity, hope, and social support. The association between age discrepancy and cognitive functioning was not statistically significant. These findings indicate that SA is potentially valuable for the purposes of clinical assessment and intervention, and this possibility should be investigated in future research.

Feeling Younger, Rehabilitating Better: Reciprocal and Mediating Effects between Subjective Age and Functional Independence in Osteoporotic Fracture and Stroke Patients

INTRODUCTION

The current study aimed to find reciprocal effects between subjective age and functional independence during rehabilitation from osteoporotic fractures and stroke and whether these effects can be mediated by indicators of well-being.

METHODS

Participants were 194 older adults (mean age = 78.32 years, SD = 7.37; 64.8% women) who were hospitalized following an osteoporotic fracture or stroke. Participants completed measures of subjective age and well-being (i.e., optimism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction) several times during rehabilitation. Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was completed by nursing personnel at admission and at discharge.

RESULTS

Younger subjective age at admission predicted higher FIM scores at discharge. The reverse effect, that is, of FIM scores at admission on subjective age at discharge, was nonsignificant. Optimism during hospitalization mediated the effect of subjective age on subsequent FIM scores while self-esteem and life satisfaction did not. Sensitivity analyses further showed that the effect of subjective age on FIM was significant for both fracture and stroke patients.

DISCUSSION

The findings highlight the effect of subjective age on rehabilitation outcomes among osteoporotic fractures and stroke patients and suggest several potential mechanisms behind this effect. Rehabilitation outcomes following osteoporotic fractures or strokes could improve if subjective age and an optimistic outlook are taken into consideration.

Beyond Parenting Socialization Years: The Relationship between Parenting Dimensions and Grandparenting Functioning

Parental socialization has been studied mainly when is in process, but less is known about its long-term impact on older adults, particularly on one of the most important developmental tasks in later life: being a grandparent. Participants were 313 Spanish grandparents. The present study examined the relationship between parenting and its impacts in the long term, when the child is a grandparent. The variables examined were parenting (parental warmth and parental strictness) and grandparenting functioning (satisfaction with life, meaning of life, parent–adult child relationship quality, emotional closeness with grandchildren, and role overload). The statistical analyses were a correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analyses. A constant pattern between parenting and grandparenting functioning has been found. Warmth was positively associated with grandparenting functioning, as opposed to strictness, which did not show benefits for grandparents and even showed a significant negative relationship with an indicator of grandparenting functioning. Present findings highlight that, during the socialization years, greater parental warmth but not parental strictness might be of benefit for children at the end of their life (i.e., when they are grandparents) but also for their descendants because they have a better relationship with the two following generations (i.e., adult children and grandchildren).

Prospective associations between subjective age and fear of falling in older adults

OBJECTIVE

Subjective age has been implicated in a range of health outcomes but its associations with Fear of Falling (FoF) are unknown. The present study examined the relation between subjective age and FoF in large national sample.

METHODS

Participants were drawn from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS, 2011-2017). 1,679 participants provided data on FoF, subjective age, demographic factors, depressive symptoms, prior falls, self-rated health and measures of the Short Physical Performance Battery. FoF was assessed again 7 years later.

RESULTS

Regression analyses revealed that an older subjective age was related to a 24% higher likelihood to develop FoF 7 years later. This association was independent of age, sex, educational attainment, race and prior falls. In addition, depressive symptoms, self-rated health, and physical inactivity mediated the associations between subjective age and FoF.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study showed that an older subjective age is related to the development of FoF over time, and further identified psychological and functional pathways that may explain this association. These results confirm the role of subjective age on one of the markers of frailty in the aging population.

Religiosity, Spirituality and Biopsychological Age of Professionals in Russia

The challenges of modern civilization resulted in the premature biological and psychological aging of professionals of working age. This phenomenon raises both medical and psychological problems associated with personality factors that affect psychobiological maturity and the rate of aging. The influence of religiosity and spirituality on biopsychological age remains the least studied area of psychology. Progress in this area will help to identify the components of religiosity-predictors of the aging rate of professionals. The sample included 295 people (148 women) aged 24 to 54 years (average age 31.7 years) and consisted of Christians (67.12%), Muslims (5.76%), Buddhists, deists, Shintoists, etc., (7.79%) and atheists (17.29%). The average work experience was 9 years. Using correlation analysis and methods of multivariate linear regression and t-test for independent samples, we found that the religiosity of professionals increases with natural aging and deterioration of their physical condition and does not depend on gender. Religiosity to a greater extent affects psychological age, the indicator of the psychobiological maturity of a professional and, to a lesser extent, biological age. Most of the indicators of religiosity are inherent in a person who is more mature in psychobiological terms. The biological age of professionals increases due to asthenic experiences, while gaining faith in God, unusual religious experiences and the existential meaning of life can reduce it. An increase in the spirituality of professionals is associated with a slowdown in the rate of biological aging.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Subjective Age and the Association With Cognition, Subjective Well-Being, and Depression

OBJECTIVES

A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to quantify the degree to which subjective age is associated with cognition, subjective well-being, and depression.

METHOD

A systematic search was performed in three electronic social scientific databases, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Web of Science in May 2018. A manual forward and backward citation search of articles meeting the criteria for inclusion, including a mean participant age of 40+ years, was conducted in November 2019. Twenty-four independent data sets were included in the meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Overall, a younger subjective age was related to enhanced subjective well-being and cognitive performance, and reduced depressive symptoms (r = .18). This association was stronger among collectivist (r = .24) than individualist (r = .16) cultures. Mean chronological age across samples (ranging from 55 to 83 years), type of subjective age scoring, and gender did not influence the strength of the overall association. Further analysis revealed that subjective age was individually associated with depressive symptoms (r = .20), subjective well-being (r = .17), and cognition (r = .14), and none had a stronger association with subjective age than the other.

DISCUSSION

The results indicate a small yet significant association between subjective age and important developmental outcomes.

Impostorism, subjective age, and perceived health among aging veterans

RATIONALE

Aging veterans often suffer from increased vulnerability, manifested among other things in old subjective age and poor perceived health. Though research has documented the contribution of trauma related variables to these negative appraisals, their associations with impostorism (i.e., the subjective experience that one is less adequate than others perceive) remain unexamined.

OBJECTIVE

Filling this gap, this study explored the relations between impostorism and subjective age and perceived health among aging combat veterans.

METHOD

The study was conducted among 146 Israeli veterans of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Participants were assessed for combat exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and health-related behaviors during middle adulthood (1991; T1), and for subjective age, perceived health, impostorism, PTSD symptoms, and depressive symptoms during old age (2018; T2).

RESULTS

The veterans' impostorism was associated with relatively old subjective age and poor perceived health, above and beyond the effects of age, health-related behaviors, combat exposure, depressive symptoms, and PTSD symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

The current results suggest that impostorism may contribute to veterans' stress and negatively affect their evaluations regarding age and health.

Adapting and validating the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale for elderly Spanish population

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to adapt and validate the most common measure of self-esteem, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), in the elderly Spanish population based on the initial one-factor model proposed by the author of the scale.

DESIGN

The factorial validity of the scale was tested using confirmatory factor analysis.

SETTING

The study was carried out in the city of Valencia (Spain).

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 231 elderly people with a mean age 72.68 (SD=8.55).

MEASUREMENTS

The participants completed the questionnaire RSES for the validation process, sociodemographic data and Mini-Mental State Examination.

RESULTS

Confirmatory factor analysis with a five-item structure for the one-factor structure showed good fit indexes (Chi square [5] = 217.20, p < .05; CFI = .965; GFI = .980; RMSEA = .070 [90% confidence interval of RMSEA, .022-.087]), and reliability, as internal consistency, measure with Cronbach's alpha was .732.

CONCLUSION

The adaptation of the RSES showed a unifactorial structure with good internal consistency. This reduced adaptation/version of the scale may facilitate clinical practice and be useful in research in older people.

Effects of the Tell Me About Me Program: Perception of Social Support, Self-Esteem, and Self-Compassion in Older Adults

The aim of the current quasi-experimental study was to investigate the effect of the Tell Me About Me program on the perception of social support, self-esteem, and self-compassion among 44 older adults in a nursing home in Turkey. Data were collected from May 2015 to May 2016 via a sociodemographic characteristics form, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory, and Self-Compassion Scale. The difference found between the mean scores of participants' perceived social support and self-esteem on the pretest, posttest, and retest was statistically significant (p < 0.01), but the difference in their mean scores in self-compassion on the pretest, posttest, and retest was not significant (p > 0.05). It is recommended that this program be used for improving social support and self-esteem among older adults. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 45(10), 39-46.].

Strengths in older adults: differential effect of savoring, gratitude and optimism on well-being

Objetive: The present study aimed to compare the efficacy of three separate strengths training-based interventions - Gratitude, Savoring, and Optimism - in older adults. Method: The sample comprised 124 older adults, namely, 74 women and 50 men, non-institutionalized individuals who regularly attend day centers in the provinces of Jaén and Córdoba, southern Spain. Their ages ranged between 60 and 89 years. The measures used were Anxiety, Depression, Life Satisfaction, Positive and Negative Affect, Subjective Happiness, and Resilience. Results: Training in Gratitude and Savoring increased scores in Life Satisfaction, Positive Affect, Subjective Happiness and Resilience, and reduced Negative Affect, whereas training in Optimism failed to produce a significant change in these variables. The Savoring and Optimism interventions decreased scores in Depression but, contrary to hypothesis, this was not the case for Gratitude. Conclusion: These results represent an important step in understanding what type of strengths work best when it comes to enhancing well-being in older adults and consequently helping them tackle the challenges of everyday life and recover as quickly as possible from the adverse situations and events that may arise.

“Shall We Dance?” Older Adults’ Perspectives on the Feasibility of a Dance Intervention for Cognitive Function

We explored perceptions of social dance as a possible intervention to improve cognitive function in older adults with subjective memory complaints. A total of 30 participants (19 females; mean age = 72.6 years; SD = 8.2) took part in the study. This included 21 participants who had self-reported subjective memory complaints and nine spouses who noticed spousal memory loss. Semistructured interviews were conducted, and a thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Three main themes were constructed: (a) dance seen as a means of promoting social interaction; (b) chronic illness as a barrier and facilitator to participation; and (c) social dance representing nostalgic connections to the past. Overall, the participants were positive about the potential attractiveness of social dance to improve cognitive and social functioning and other aspects of health. In future research, it is important to examine the feasibility of a social dance intervention among older adults with subjective memory complaints.

Telomere Length and Depression Among Ex-Prisoners of War: The Role of Subjective Age

Objectives

Exposure to captivity increases the risk for multiple disturbances that may intensify during old age. In later phases of life, former-prisoners-of-war (ex-POWs) may suffer from depression as well as from accelerated aging, manifested in older subjective age and leukocyte telomere shortening. The current study assesses the link between these varied facets of increased vulnerability during old age and explores (a) the associations between subjective age and telomere length; (b) the mediating role of changes in subjective age over time within the associations between depression and telomere length.

Methods

Eighty-eight ex-POWs were assessed prospectively 30 (T1), 35 (T2), and 45 (T3) years after the 1973 Israeli Yom-Kippur War. Depression was assessed at T1; subjective age was assessed at T2 and T3; and telomere length and control variables were assessed at T3.

Results

Older subjective age at T3 was associated with concurrent shorter telomeres, beyond the effect of chronological age. Change in subjective age between T2 and T3 mediated the relations between depression at T1 and shorter telomeres at T3 beyond the effects of control variables.

Discussion

Findings suggest that the detrimental ramifications of accelerated subjective age involve premature cellular senesces, and may explain the relation between depression and accelerated aging processes among trauma victims. Hence, clinical interventions may seek to address accelerated subjective age among trauma survivors who suffer from depression.