Socio-demographic correlates of subjective age in young and middle-aged adults

Reducing negative attitudes toward older adults and increasing advocacy for policies to support older adults: Bayesian analysis approach

As the world's population is aging, it is necessary to create societies in which older adults and young people can live together comfortably. Reducing young people's negative attitudes toward older adults is a pressing issue. Given the unique characteristics of older adults, which most people will eventually become, we focused on how long people believe it will be before they become older adults (i.e., the subjective time of becoming older). To examine our hypotheses, we performed a Bayesian analysis, which has attracted considerable attention in psychological research in recent years. In Studies 1 and 2, even after controlling for variables such as youth identity and aging anxiety, those with a longer subjective time of becoming older had more negative attitudes toward older adults and lower advocacy for policies to support older adults. In Study 3, we examined the effect of shortening the participants' subjective time of becoming older by presenting an explanatory text on the stereotype embodiment theory and several related empirical findings. We observed decreased negative attitudes toward both the young-old and old-old groups and increased advocacy for policies to support older adults. In the supplemental experiment, the experimental manipulation used in Study 3 reduced participants' aging anxiety. Future studies should elaborate on the negative attitudes toward a broad subgroup of older adults, and examine the perceived relative importance of policies to support older adults compared with policies in other areas.

A study on the factors influencing old age identity among the Chinese elderly

Background

Old age identity is the self-perception of when old age begins, reflects public age values and acceptance of aging. Not all elderly people aged 60 and above identify with their old age status. The aging society in the traditional sense may not be "aging". Therefore, redefining old age is crucial. Different from Western countries, China is a country with a long-standing culture of respect for the elderly and filial piety norms, and the influence of the cultural background on the old age identity is worthy of attention.

Data and method

Data were drawn from the 2014 China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS). A total of 7400 participants answered questions about old age identity. Based on old age identity, we obtained two other types of indicators of perceived old age: elderly group identity and aging degree. For the continuous variable old age identity and aging degree, an OLS linear regression model was established. A binary logistic regression model was established for the binary variable elderly group identity.

Result

The average old age identity of Chinese people aged 60 and above is 70 years. Health status, psychological status, behavior, socioeconomic status, and some demographic characteristics significantly affect the old age identity of the Chinese elderly.

Conclusion

The traditional Chinese cultural background of respect for the elderly and the norms of filial piety have an impact on the old age identity of the Chinese elderly through family intergenerational support. The various forms of support provided by children to the elderly can help them achieve a positive age identity-enter old age later, raise the likelihood of identification with non-elderly groups, and reduce aging degree. The number of children of the elderly, the children's economic conditions and care support for grandchildren have negative effects. A positive old age identity can help the elderly improve their self-esteem.

Association between older subjective age and poor sleep quality: a population-based study

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association of subjective age (SA) with sleep quality in an adult population.

METHODS

In the Korean Sleep and Headache Study, 2,349 participants (49.2% men; 48.1 ± 16.4 years old) were interviewed face-to-face using structured questionnaires between September and December 2018. SA was assessed by asking participants their perceived age in years and then compared with their chronological age (CA). Participants were assigned to three groups: feeling younger, feeling their age, and feeling older. Sleep quality was assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Association between SA and sleep quality was analyzed with multiple linear regression controlling for demographics, psychosocial, and sleep characteristics.

RESULTS

The group feeling older (n = 404, 17.2%; men, 58.2%; age, 46.5 ± 16.2 years) had worse sleep quality than the groups feeling younger and feeling their age (PSQI score, 4.3 ± 2.7, 3.8 ± 2.4, 3.4 ± 2.1, respectively, p <.001; prevalence of poor sleep quality, 29.0%, 18.4%, 13.5% respectively, p <.001). The association between SA and the PSQI score remained significant after adjusting for confounders (β = 1.05, 95% confidence interval 0.26, 1.83; p <.001). Stratified analyses by sex and CA showed that the association between SA and the PSQI score was significant only in women and in middle-aged and older group (aged 50-79), suggesting that sex and CA modified the association.

CONCLUSION

Age perception was associated with self-reported sleep quality, independent of CA. SA may be a useful marker that complements the conventional assessment of subjective sleep quality.