Views of aging and mental health - The role of informal care provision: Longitudinal findings of the health and retirement study in the US

BACKGROUND

Informal care is a common form of social support, which can vary greatly in its intensity. While views of aging have shown to be relevant to mental health before, we aim to analyze whether the association between views of aging and depressive symptoms is influenced by the provision of informal care and its intensity.

METHODS

Data of six waves of the Health and Retirement Study in the United States was used. The sample includes up to 41,058 observations pooled over six waves of community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 years. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD) and attitudes towards own aging (ATOA) with the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (higher score indicates positive attitudes); informal caregiving (no/yes) and caregiving intensity (moderate, intense) were surveyed. Adjusted fixed effects regression analysis with robust standard errors, and with caregiving as moderator variable were calculated.

RESULTS

Informal caregiving did not interact with ATOA. However, transitioning into intense caregiving significantly moderated the association between ATOA and depressive symptoms. Lower depressive symptoms were associated with better ATOA and this association was significantly stronger in the intense caregiving condition than in the non-caregiving condition. No significant interaction effects were found between any form of caregiving and subjective age.

LIMITATIONS

The possibility of reciprocal effects cannot be excluded.

CONCLUSION

Internalized ageism and depressive symptoms are more strongly related among caregivers who provide intense care. Thus, interventions to reduce internalized ageism could be helpful in particular among this vulnerable group of informal caregivers.

Americans harbor much less favorable explicit sentiments toward young adults than toward older adults

Public and academic discourse on ageism focuses primarily on prejudices targeting older adults, implicitly assuming that this age group experiences the most age bias. We test this assumption in a large, preregistered study surveying Americans' explicit sentiments toward young, middle-aged, and older adults. Contrary to certain expectations about the scope and nature of ageism, responses from two crowdsourced online samples matched to the US adult population (N = 1,820) revealed that older adults garner the most favorable sentiments and young adults, the least favorable ones. This pattern held across a wide range of participant demographics and outcome variables, in both samples. Signaling derogation of young adults more than benign liking of older adults, participants high on SDO (i.e., a key antecedent of group prejudice) expressed even less favorable sentiments toward young adults-and more favorable ones toward older adults. In two follow-up, preregistered, forecasting surveys, lay participants (N = 500) were generally quite accurate at predicting these results; in contrast, social scientists (N = 241) underestimated how unfavorably respondents viewed young adults and how favorably they viewed older adults. In fact, the more expertise in ageism scientists had, the more biased their forecasts. In a rapidly aging world with exacerbated concerns over older adults' welfare, young adults also face increasing economic, social, political, and ecological hardship. Our findings highlight the need for policymakers and social scientists to broaden their understanding of age biases and develop theory and policies that ponder discriminations targeting all age groups.

Correlates of felt age in caregivers of people with dementia: findings from the IDEAL study

Objective

Family relationships influence how people appraise their own aging and how their appraisals impact their health. We analyzed felt age (FA) among family caregivers of people with dementia.

Methods and measures

We used a stratified sample of 1,020 spousal and 202 adult-child caregivers from the IDEAL study. We estimated cross-sectional associations and bidirectional influences between caregivers' FA and their health and wellbeing (depression, number of health conditions, stress, positive aspects of caregiving) over 2 years.

Results

Among spousal caregivers, 25% had a younger FA and 36% had an older FA. Among adult-child caregivers, 21.8% had a younger FA and 36.1% had an older FA. In spousal and adult-child caregivers an older FA was cross-sectionally associated with higher depression, number of health conditions, and stress, and fewer positive aspects of caregiving. In spousal caregivers, hours of care per day moderated the association between FA and depression, and FA was associated with stress 1 year later.

Conclusion

Caregiving may impact FA and its relationship with health. We urge continued research on the connections between caregiving and FA, and how interventions might support caregivers' positive views on their own aging, which will translate views on aging scholarship to meaningfully improve caregivers' lives.

Age Differences in Self-Continuity in Germany and the United States: The Role of Temporal Direction, Temporal Distance, and Demographics

OBJECTIVES

Previous research suggests that self-continuity is higher in older ages, especially for more distant intervals. This study extends prior work by examining age and temporal patterns of self-continuity in 2 adult life-span samples from Germany and the United States.

METHODS

German data (n = 1,656, aged 18-93) were drawn from the German Socioeconomic Panel. U.S. data (n = 230, aged 18-87) were collected through a survey research firm. Preregistered multilevel analyses examined the roles of age, temporal direction (past/future), and temporal distance (1/5/10 years), and explored the role of demographic covariates.

RESULTS

In both data sets, self-continuity was higher in older ages and decreased with distance from the present, especially for the past. Interaction effects among age, temporal distance, and temporal directions were complex and varied across samples. Self-continuity was higher among married and more educated German participants and more affluent U.S. participants, but age differences remained robust when including demographic covariates.

DISCUSSION

Findings replicate prior evidence for age-related increments in self-continuity but suggest that patterns vary by temporal distance and direction and may be sensitive to contextual factors.

Turning Back the Clock: A Retrospective Single-Blind Study on Brain Age Change in Response to Nutraceuticals Supplementation vs. Lifestyle Modifications

BACKGROUND

There is a growing consensus that chronological age (CA) is not an accurate indicator of the aging process and that biological age (BA) instead is a better measure of an individual's risk of age-related outcomes and a more accurate predictor of mortality than actual CA. In this context, BA measures the "true" age, which is an integrated result of an individual's level of damage accumulation across all levels of biological organization, along with preserved resources. The BA is plastic and depends upon epigenetics. Brain state is an important factor contributing to health- and lifespan.

METHODS AND OBJECTIVE

Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG)-derived brain BA (BBA) is a suitable and promising measure of brain aging. In the present study, we aimed to show that BBA can be decelerated or even reversed in humans (N = 89) by using customized programs of nutraceutical compounds or lifestyle changes (mean duration = 13 months).

RESULTS

We observed that BBA was younger than CA in both groups at the end of the intervention. Furthermore, the BBA of the participants in the nutraceuticals group was 2.83 years younger at the endpoint of the intervention compared with their BBA score at the beginning of the intervention, while the BBA of the participants in the lifestyle group was only 0.02 years younger at the end of the intervention. These results were accompanied by improvements in mental-physical health comorbidities in both groups. The pre-intervention BBA score and the sex of the participants were considered confounding factors and analyzed separately.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the obtained results support the feasibility of the goal of this study and also provide the first robust evidence that halting and reversal of brain aging are possible in humans within a reasonable (practical) timeframe of approximately one year.

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.

"Better be dead than grow older:" A qualitative study on subjective aging among older Koreans

While a large body of evidence suggests potential cultural variations in the experiences of subjective aging, very little is known about how members of Asian cultures feel about their aging. This study aims to acquire an in-depth understanding of subjective aging and its cultural/societal contexts among older Korean adults. In-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted with 20 community-dwelling Korean adults over age 65. Guided by the Stereotype Embodiment Theory, open-ended questions were asked to address how exposure to cultural/societal views about older adults relate to individuals' subjective aging. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Seven categories were identified, which were grouped into three primary themes: 1) exposure to negative views on aging/older persons; 2) salience gain from self-relevance; and 3) influence on older adults' subjective aging. Most participants were generally not satisfied with their aging, felt they were a burden, and were prone to experience intergenerational conflicts. This may be attributed in part to their exposure to widespread negative age stereotypes and disrespect for older adults. Awareness of age-related changes and experience of age discrimination appear to be triggers through which the negative cultural/societal views on aging/older persons influence one's subjective perceptions and experience of aging. This in-depth data from an understudied population contributes to the existing literature by suggesting that the dominant-negative experience of aging among older Koreans may be better understood from socio-cultural contexts. Our findings can inform culture-specific intervention strategies to promote positive subjective aging.

Social Exclusion and Subjective Well-being Among Older Adults in Europe: Findings From the European Social Survey

Objectives

The current study aims to examine how social exclusion is related to subjective well-being in older adults across different European regions.

Methods

European population-based cross-sectional study design was employed using data sampled from the eighth round of the European Social Survey (ESS). Multiple items for social exclusion were used in this round, including household income, civic participation, frequent meetings with friends and relatives, basic health services, and neighborhood cohesion. Life satisfaction, happiness, and self-rated general health were also assessed. An ANOVA was performed to examine the regional differences related to social exclusion and subjective well-being, while a regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the social exclusion and subjective well-being.

Results

There were significant regional differences in the social exclusion and subjective well-being of older Europeans. In addition, older adults in the Nordic nations are more likely to indicate higher levels of subjective well-being and lower levels of social exclusion, while older adults from Central and Eastern European nations tend to report lower levels of subjective well-being and higher levels of social exclusion. Material resources and basic services are highlighted as the most important domains pertaining to life satisfaction, happiness, and general health.

Discussion

The study findings reinforce the inequality in subjective well-being linked to social exclusion across different societies. Both global and country-specific exclusion models in later life should be implemented in order to enhance comparable research and provide insight into EU and national guidelines for interventions to diminish social exclusion.

Health and Subjective Views on Aging: Longitudinal Findings From the ActiFE Ulm Study

Objectives

Previous research supports that subjective views on aging (VoA), such as older subjective age (SA) and negative attitudes toward own aging (ATOA), go along with negative outcomes. A differentiated treatment of health and disease as antecedents of VoA is largely lacking. Therefore, our objective was to estimate the relationship between generally framed physical, affective, and cognitive health as well as specific diseases and VoA, operationalized both as SA and ATOA.

Methods

Data were drawn from the ActiFE Ulm study for which a representative sample of community-dwelling older people (65–90 years) was recruited at baseline. Follow-ups were conducted 7.7 years (median) after recruitment (N = 526). Health- and disease-related data at baseline, based on established assessment procedures for epidemiological studies, were regressed on VoA (1-item SA indicator, 5-item ATOA scale) measures at follow-up.

Results

Reported severity of affective health problems such as depression was the strongest general risk factor for both older SA and negative ATOA. Also, some but not all major diseases considered were associated with VoA. Notably, back pain predicted negative ATOA, while cancer was associated with older SA. Rheumatism was linked with more negative ATOA along with higher SA. Throughout analyses, explained variance in ATOA was considerably higher than in SA.

Discussion

Affective health problems, such as depression, should be regarded as a major correlate of subjective aging views. Interestingly, diseases do not have to be life-threatening to be associated with older SA or negative ATOA.

Aging in Context: Incorporating Everyday Experiences Into the Study of Subjective Age

The age that a person feels is a strong predictor of their well-being and long-term health, beyond chronological age, showing that people have a self-awareness that provides insight into their aging process. It appears this insight has broad implications for a person's everyday life and functioning. One's subjective age is shaped by metacognitive beliefs about aging, including both expectations about typical changes but most notably the awareness and interpretation of personal experiences. Subjective age has been described as multidimensional, aligning with life domains such as cognitive, social, and physical functioning. This perspective, coupled with laboratory studies that manipulate subjective age, suggests that situational context has an important role in determining the age a person feels. Here we review literature on subjective age with a focus on how research and theoretical perspectives should be adapted to integrate momentary experiences. We propose a contextual model that will help discriminate the links between situational influences and subjective age, as well as resulting behaviors that impact health and well-being. While most research has considered subjective age to be a relatively stable variable, we provide a novel account of how daily life offers a variety of situational contexts and experiences that directly impact the age a person feels at a given moment. We propose that studying moment-to-moment context is a critical next step in understanding the associations between subjective age, lifestyle choices, and health outcomes.

Measurement Invariance and Developmental Trajectories of Multidimensional Self-Perceptions of Aging in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

This study examined the measurement invariance and longitudinal trajectories of multidimensional self-perceptions of aging (SPA) and factors that predict between-person variability in the level and change of SPA in middle-aged and older adults.

METHOD

Data were drawn from the German Ageing Survey spanning four waves, covering a 15-year period. Multidimensional SPA was assessed with the Personal Experience of Aging Scale, consisting of three dimensions, physical decline, social loss, and continuous growth.

RESULTS

The measurement invariance models across age groups (middle-aged versus older adults) and across time showed a good fit after allowing one item to vary at metric and/or scalar levels. Growth curve models showed only minor declining trajectories in two of the three dimensions of SPA, social loss and continuous growth dimensions, toward more negative views. Participants with poor resources in general were more likely to have negative SPA across all three dimensions. The protective effect of having a spouse was observed on only the social dimension of SPA, supporting a domain-specific effect of having a spouse.

DISCUSSION

The study demonstrates the usefulness of a multidimensional understanding of SPA and recognizes the need for identifying different factors that may promote positive perceptions on aging in different dimensions of life.

Relationship between self-perceptions of aging and 'living well' among people with mild-to-moderate dementia: Findings from the ideal programme

OBJECTIVE

A primary goal for dementia research is to understand how to best support people to live well with dementia. Among cognitively healthy older individuals, more positive attitudes toward their own aging (ATOA) and/or feeling younger than their chronological age (i.e. having a younger subjective age: SA) are associated with better quality of life (QoL), satisfaction with life (SwL), and well-being (which are indicators of capability to live well), and fewer depressive symptoms. We tested whether people with dementia (PwD) with more positive ATOA and/or with a younger SA report better QoL, SwL, and well-being, and are less likely to experience depression.

METHODS

We used cross-sectional data from the IDEAL cohort baseline assessment (conducted between 2014 and 2016), comprising 1541 PwD residing in Great Britain [mean (range) age= 76.3 (43 to 98); 43.6% women].

RESULTS

More positive ATOA was associated with better QoL, SwL, well-being, and less likelihood of depression. Younger SA was associated with better QoL, SwL, well-being, and less likelihood of depression.

CONCLUSIONS

More positive ATOA and younger SA may be beneficial psychological resources that enhance capability to live well with dementia. Promoting more positive perceptions of aging at the societal level may help to equip people with the resilience needed to cope well after a diagnosis of dementia, and enhance the support available to people with dementia. Focusing on retained abilities and achievable goals may help to counteract the impact of negative age-related stereotypes on people with dementia, and enhance person-centered care.

Erratum: Publisher Correction to: An exploration of subjective age, actual age, age awareness, and engagement in everyday

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s10433-019-00534-w.].

Psychological aging, depression, and well-being

Aging is a multifactorial process, which affects the human body on every level and results in both biological and psychological changes. Multiple studies have demonstrated that a lower subjective age is associated with better mental and physical health, cognitive functions, well-being and satisfaction with life. In this work we propose a list of non-modifiable and modifiable factors that may possibly be influenced by subjective age and its changes across an individual's lifespan. These factors can be used for a future development of individual psychological aging clocks, which may be utilized as a sensitive measure for health status and overall life satisfaction. Furthermore, recent progress in artificial intelligence and biomarkers of biological aging have enabled scientists to discover and evaluate the efficacy of potential aging- and disease-modifying drugs and interventions. We propose that biomarkers of psychological age, which are just as important as those for biological age, may likewise be used for these purposes. Indeed, these two types of markers complement one another. We foresee the development of a broad range of parametric and deep psychological and biopsychological aging clocks, which may have implications for drug development and therapeutic interventions, and thus healthcare and other industries.

An exploration of subjective age, actual age, age awareness, and engagement in everyday behaviors

Considerable research has documented relationships between subjective age and consequential outcomes such as life satisfaction, daily stress, health, and even mortality. Less is known about associations between the age people perceive themselves to be and everyday behaviors that may serve as the paths to broader life outcomes. To begin to fill this gap, this study explored the frequency with which 196 US adults aged 55-87 years engaged in behaviors reflecting nine behavioral domains. Respondents also answered questions about their subjective age, age awareness, and actual age. Results showed that whereas actual age predicted engagement in some behaviors (e.g., retirement activities), subjective age predicted engagement in most others (e.g., personal, social, grooming, body-focused, trend activities), and age awareness predicted participation in yet others (e.g., medical activities). The present findings provide insights both about age-related everyday behaviors, and the ways that several perceptions of age are differentially linked to their occurrence.

Differential associations between subjective age and depressive symptoms among urban and rural Chinese older adults

Objectives: Little research has investigated the prospective association between subjective-aging-perception and depressive symptoms in Chinese older adults. The aim of this study is to evaluate the differential associations of feeling old with depressive symptoms among urban and rural community-dwelling Chinese older adults using panel data drawn from two waves of nationally representative surveys.Method: We conducted secondary data analysis and utilized the data of 5,685 urban and 5,612 rural community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years and above who participated in both the 2006 and the 2010 Sample Survey on the Aged Population in Urban/Rural China (SSAPUR). A single-item measure of subjective age was used to distinguish between feeling old and feeling not old.Results: Ordinary least regression analyses indicated that the longitudinal effect of subjective age on depressive symptoms existed only in the urban sample (p<.001) but not in the rural sample and that feeling not old was related to less depressive symptoms in the urban sample, after controlling for baseline measures of depressive symptoms and sociodemographic and health factors.Conclusion: This study provides new longitudinal evidence of the impact of subjective age on depression among Chinese older individuals. The findings provide useful information for depression interventions among urban older Chinese individuals.

Altered Perception of Age in Pedophilia and Pedophilic Disorder

The article presents data from an empirical study of the features for age perception in pedophilia (ICD-10) / pedophilic disorder (ICD-11). We consider a phenomenon of individuals with pedophilia what often want to be like children or feel themselves like them. An analytical review of the literature on the subjective perception of age and age identity is provided. The question is discussed on how the chronological assessment of the live time is transformed into a subjective assessment of one's own age, as well as the mechanisms underlying such kind of transformation (in particular, successful or unsuccessful experience of socialization). Three groups of individuals are compared: persons accused of sexual crimes with diagnosis of pedophilia (21 examinees), without such a diagnosis (21 examinees) and 45 examinees of the control group. All of them completed the test on “Age Identity”, “Color Test of Affective Tones” and “Coding”. According to the results the actual and ideal self-image in pedophilia is more infantile and similar to the image of a child. Obtained data indicate the immaturity of sexual sphere in examinees with pedophilia, they perceive sexuality in communicative and playing context.

Subjective Age in Older Korean Americans: The Impact of Functional Disability Mediated by Attitudes Toward Aging

The present study aims to examine how subjective age of older Korean Americans would be affected by functional disability and attitudes toward aging. We hypothesized that (a) both functional disability and attitudes toward aging would have a direct effect on subjective age and (b) the effect of functional disability on subjective age would be mediated by attitudes toward aging. Our analyses of the survey data with 208 community-dwelling Korean Americans aged 60 and older (mean age = 69.6, SD = 7.51) showed that the indirect effect of functional disability on subjective age through attitudes toward aging [-.020 (.009)] was significant (bias-corrected 95% confidence interval [-.039, -.006]). The findings suggest that functional disability fosters negative attitudes toward aging, which in turn leads to the feelings of being older than actual age. Our study suggests ways to preserve and promote positive perceptions of age and aging.

Self-perception of aging among HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study

Self-perception of aging is an important predictor of quality of life. Therefore, we sought to examine self-perceptions of aging (age discrepancy and aging satisfaction) between HIV-positive and HIV-negative men in the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). We included 835 HIV-negative and 784 HIV-positive men aged 50 years and older who had completed a survey about age discrepancy and aging satisfaction from the "Attitude toward own aging" subscale of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale scale. Multinomial generalized logit models were generated to assess self-perception of aging by HIV-status. Most of the participants self-identified as white, former smokers, and had completed high school. HIV-positive individuals reported higher prevalence of comorbidities than HIV-negative individuals. After adjusting for covariates, positive age discrepancy (older subjective age) was positively associated with being HIV-positive and having less than a high school education, depressive symptoms, diabetes, and medium and low aging satisfaction. Low aging satisfaction was associated with being a current and former smoker and having depressive symptoms, diabetes, and no age and positive age discrepancy. Being black had decreased odds of low aging satisfaction. These findings should inform health care professionals to promote positive views of aging in the assessment and management of HIV, depression, and diabetes.

“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.

Aging perceptions matter for the well-being of elderly Turkish migrants, especially among the chronically ill

Background

Research on cultural ideology with respect to aging perceptions leading to poorer health and well-being is necessary to improve the quality and effectiveness of (preventive) healthcare delivery in reaching immigrant elderly people and delivering care tailored to their needs. Despite the potential benefits of positive aging perceptions on well-being, there is a lack of empirical quantitative research on aging perceptions among elderly Turkish migrants. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify the importance of aging perceptions for the well-being of Turkish elderly in Rotterdam.

Methods

The current research is a large-scale quantitative study aimed at investigating the contribution of aging perceptions to well-being among elderly Turkish migrants in Rotterdam. All Turkish people aged > 65 years were identified using the Rotterdam municipal register and invited to participate in the study. In total, 680 Turkish respondents returned completed questionnaires (32% response rate).

Results

The average respondent age was 72.90 (SD, 5.02) (range, 66–95) years and approximately half of the respondents (47.6%) were women. The majority of the respondents was of a low education (80.3%) and reported a low income level (83.4%). The mean number of chronic diseases among study participants was 2.68 (SD, 1.87) (range, 0–10). Being female (p ≤ 0.01), being single (p ≤ 0.01), having a low education level (p ≤ 0.01) and number of chronic diseases (p ≤ 0.001) were negatively associated with well-being. In addition, negative perceptions on aging were negatively associated with well-being while positive perceptions on aging were positively associated with well-being. Stepwise regression analyses showed a mediating effect of perceptions of aging on the relationship between the number of chronic diseases and the well-being of study participants.

Conclusions

Aging perceptions, especially perceived consequences of aging (both positive and negative), feelings of control (both positive and negative), and emotional representations are important to the well-being of Turkish elderly residing in the Netherlands. These results indicate the importance of the development of interventions in the perceptions on aging in the elderly Turkish population in Western Europe.

The Longitudinal Association Between Age Identity and Physical Functioning Among Urban Chinese Older Adults

The aim of this study is to determine the longitudinal association between age identity and physical functioning among urban Chinese older adults. We conducted secondary data analyses based on a sample of older adults aged 60 years and above who participated in both the 2006 and the 2010 Sample Survey on Aged Population in Urban/Rural China, which consisted of 5,788 urban community-dwelling older adults. A single-item measure of age identity was used to distinguish between old and youthful age identities (or the feeling of being old or not). Ordinary least regression analyses revealed that youthful age identity was significantly associated with better physical functioning, even when controlling for baseline sociodemographic and health variables as well as baseline physical functioning. This study provides new cross-cultural and longitudinal evidence of the protective function of youthful age identity in later life.

Context Influences on the Subjective Experience of Aging: The Impact of Culture and Domains of Functioning

Background and Objectives

Attitudes about aging influence how people feel about their aging and affect psychological and health outcomes in later life. Given cross-cultural variability in such attitudes, the subjective experience of aging (e.g., subjective age [SA]) may also vary, potentially accounting for culture-specific patterns of aging-related outcomes. Our study explored cultural variation in SA and its determinants.

Research Design and Methods

American (N = 569), Chinese (N = 492), and German (N = 827) adults aged 30-95 years completed a questionnaire that included instruments measuring basic demographic information, SA, beliefs about thresholds of old age, control over life changes, and age dependency of changes in eight different life domains (i.e., family, work).

Results

Analyses revealed consistency across cultures in the domain-specificity of SA, but differences in the amount of shared variance across domains (e.g., Chinese adults exhibited greater homogeneity across domains than did Americans and Germans). Cultural differences were also observed in levels of SA in some domains, which were attenuated by domain-specific beliefs (e.g., control). Interestingly, beliefs about aging accounted for more cultural variation in SA than did sociodemographic factors (e.g., education).

Discussion and Implications

Our results demonstrate that subjective perceptions of aging and everyday functioning may be best understood from a perspective focused on context (i.e., culture, life domain). Given its important relation to functioning, examination of cross-cultural differences in the subjective experience of aging may highlight factors that determine variations in aging-related outcomes that then could serve as targets of culture-specific interventions promoting well-being in later life.

Subjective Age and Its Correlates Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

The present study evaluates discrepancies in subjective age as reported by middle-age persons (aged 44-64 years) in comparison to older adults (aged 65 years and older), using a multidimensional definition of the concept. A convenience sample of 126 middle-aged and 126 older adults completed subjective age measures (felt age, desired age, and perceived old age), attitudes toward older adults, knowledge about aging, and sociodemographic questionnaires. Overall, participants reported feeling younger than they actually were and wanting to be younger than their chronological age. Perceived mean for old age was about 69 years. Discrepancies in felt age and desired age were significantly larger for the older group compared to the middle-aged group. Regarding perceived old age, compared to the younger group, older adults reported that old age begins at an older age. Findings suggest that middle-aged and older adults' perceptions regarding themselves and regarding old age in general are independent and need, therefore, separate research and practical attention.

How do views on aging affect health outcomes in adulthood and late life? Explanations for an established connection

Personal views on aging, such as age stereotypes and subjective aging, can affect various health outcomes in later life. For the past 20 years or so, a large body of experimental and longitudinal work has provided ample evidence for this connection. Thus, it seems timely to better understand the pathways of this linkage. The majority of existing studies has either focused on age stereotypes or subjective aging. This theoretical paper provides a systematic comparison of major theoretical approaches that offer explanations through which different views on aging may affect health. After a short review of findings on the short- and long-term effects of different views on aging, we describe theoretical approaches that provide explanations of underlying mechanisms for the effect of both uni- and multidimensional views on aging on health outcomes. We compare the specific characteristics of these approaches, provide a heuristic framework and outline recommendations for future research routes. A better understanding of the impact of different views on aging on health outcomes is not only relevant for basic research in life-span developmental psychology, geropsychology and health psychology, it has also implications for intervention research and public health practices.

Being slower, feeling older? Experimentally induced cognitive aging experiences have limited impact on subjective age

Initial experimental research has shown that subjective age may change in response to induced aging experiences, but replication and extension are needed. The present study investigates if age-related cognitive gain or loss experiences evoke decreases/increases in subjective age. A multidimensional subjective age measure was used to explore domain-specific internalization effects. 78 individuals aged 59-70 years were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions and a control group. Participants took a cognitive attention test and received gain-oriented feedback on their accuracy or loss-oriented feedback on their processing speed. A mixed factors analysis of covariance was used to examine changes in feel age, look age, do age, and interest age. After being primed with age-related losses, participants reported older do ages as compared to before the experimental priming. Priming age-related gains had only a marginally significant effect on do age. All other subjective age dimensions remained unaffected by the experimental priming. Although previous research has shown that subjective age can be manipulated experimentally, findings from the present study underscore that a comprehensive and cross-domain improvement of subjective age may require personally relevant and repeated experiences of age-related gains.

Felt Age, Desired, and Expected Lifetime in the Context of Health, Well-Being, and Successful Aging

This study examines the interrelations of three different aspects of the subjective age: felt, desired and expected, as well as their relations with the chronological age (CA), health, and psychological well-being variables. Four hundred and twenty-three community-dwelling Croatian adults, aged 60-95 years, participated in the study. All three subjective age measures significantly correlated with the CA. Self-rated health were better predictors of the subjective age compared to the psychological variables. Among psychological variables, successful aging was the only significant predictor of the felt and expected age, while optimism showed to be the only significant predictor of the desired age. Results indicate the importance of some sociodemographic, psychological, and health variables for understanding older persons' subjective age identity and their desires and expectations regarding length of life. Besides the CA, it is very useful to include subjective age measures in research with elderly people.

Do you feel younger enough to choose nostalgic products? Exploring the role of age identity in nostalgic purchasing behavior

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the links between consumer age identity, nostalgia and preferences for nostalgic products.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical framework is proposed based on integrating nostalgia and age identity as parts of an individual’s self-concept. Research results are obtained from the empirical study of a sample of 313 consumers in Lithuania and five interviews with experts in marketing industry.

Findings

Employing structural equation modeling analysis, the current study provides initial evidence that the bigger the discrepancy between one’s chronological and cognitive age, the more nostalgic products one buys. Furthermore, age identity acts as a better predictor for purchasing nostalgic products than nostalgia.

Originality/value

The current paper explores the impact of nostalgia and age identity on consumer purchasing behavior which is not addressed in literature before. By evaluating the role of nostalgia and age identity, the study offers a deeper understanding of consumer behavior in nostalgia contexts. Moreover, unlike in most previous studies on nostalgia and age identity, it is focused on actual rather than intended behavior. The present study is also relevant for current marketers as the findings provide additional information and recommendations for choosing appropriate marketing and communication strategies.

Subjective Age and Dementia

OBJECTIVE

Existing evidence indicates that a younger subjective age is a marker of successful aging, including better health and cognition. Building upon this evidence, it is likely that individuals with dementia might feel older. However, subjective evaluation of age might not be affected by dementia because these individuals tend to be anosognosic and report positive health-related quality of life.

METHODS

Data from two cross-sectional samples from France and the United States were used to compare the subjective age ratings of individuals with and without dementia.

RESULTS

Results from both samples revealed that individuals with dementia felt younger than their age but did not differ from the controls, even after controlling for sex, chronological age, education, and self-rated health.

CONCLUSION

The present study suggests that there are no large differences in the subjective experience of age between healthy individuals and those with dementia.

Validation of the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire Short on a sample of community-dwelling Turkish elderly migrants

Background

Aging perceptions have been found to be major contributors to health in old age. To quantitatively explore aging perceptions among elderly Turkish migrants, valid and reliable Turkish-language instruments are needed. The objective of the current study was to examine the construct validity and reliability of the Turkish-language version of the seven-dimension Aging Perceptions Questionnaire Short version (APQ-S) in a sample of community-dwelling elderly Turkish migrants in the Netherlands.

Methods

A questionnaire including the Turkish-language APQ-S was administered to 438 community-dwelling Turkish migrants aged 65–99 years who resided in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The APQ-S includes 21 items in seven dimensions (timeline chronic and cyclical, consequence positive and negative, control positive and negative, and emotional representations). The questionnaire also contained items measuring well-being, physical and mental health-related quality of life, and number of chronic conditions.

Results

The latent factor model of the Turkish APQ-S was found to have an acceptable fit (root mean square error of approximation = .06; standardized root mean square residual = .07; comparative fit index = .90). Each indicator loaded significantly on its corresponding latent factor, and standardized factor loadings > .40 supported the convergent validity of the Turkish APQ-S dimensions. The APQ-S was also found to have acceptable construct validity in terms of its inter-factor structure and its expected associations with various health measures and age, gender, educational level, and marital status. Contrary to expectations, income level was not associated with any APQ-S dimension. With the exception of timeline cyclical (α = .56), each APQ-S dimension had acceptable reliability, with Cronbach’s alpha values ranging from .75 (timeline chronic) to .88 (control positive). Most APQ-S dimension scores differed significantly between elderly Turkish migrants and a general population of elderly Rotterdam residents, with Turkish elders having more negative and less positive aging perceptions.

Conclusion

The Turkish-language version of the APQ-S is a psychometrically valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of aging perceptions among elderly Turkish migrants. Further research is needed to gain insight into aging perceptions and their health and sociodemographic correlates in this population.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12955-017-0619-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Stress and Subjective Age: Those With Greater Financial Stress Look Older

Subjective indicators of age add to our understanding of the aging process beyond the role of chronological age. We examined whether financial stress contributes to subjective age as rated by others and the self. The participants ( N = 228), aged 26-75, were from a Boston area satellite of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) longitudinal study. Participants reported how old they felt and how old they thought they looked, and observers assessed the participants' age based on photographs (other-look age), at two occasions, an average of 10 years apart. Financial stress was measured at Time 1. Controlling for income, general stress, health, and attractiveness, participants who reported higher levels of financial stress were perceived as older than their actual age to a greater extent and showed larger increases in other-look age over time. We consider the results on accelerated aging of appearance with regard to their implications for interpersonal interactions and in relation to health.

How could lay perspectives on successful aging complement scientific theory? Findings from a u.s. And a German life-span sample

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

This article investigates lay perspectives of the concept of successful aging in young, middle-aged, and older adults from 2 cultures, the United States and Germany, to potentially guide the development of scientific theories of successful aging. The empirical findings are embedded in a comprehensive overview of theories of successful aging and life-span development and offer implications for theory development.

DESIGN AND METHODS

Two samples of young, middle-aged, and older adults from the United States (N = 151) and Germany (N = 155) were asked about definitions and determinants of successful aging. Codes were developed to capture common themes among the answers, resulting in 16 categories.

RESULTS

Themes mentioned included resources (health, social), behaviors (activities), and psychological factors (strategies, attitudes/beliefs, well-being, meaning). There were striking similarities across countries, age, and gender. Health and Social Resources were mentioned most frequently, followed by Activities/Interests, Virtues/Attitudes/Beliefs, Well-being, and Life management/Coping. Age differences were limited to Growth/Maturation and Respect/Success, and gender differences were limited to Social Resources and Well-being. Educational and cultural effects were limited to psychological factors and Education/Knowledge, which were more often mentioned by U.S. participants and individuals with more education.

IMPLICATIONS

Young, middle-aged, and older lay persons from the United States and Germany have quite similar concepts of successful aging, which they view in far more multidimensional terms than do established scientific theories (Rowe & Kahn, 1998). Given evidence that factors mentioned by laypeople do promote successful aging, considering them in more comprehensive theoretical models may enhance our understanding.

Personality and subjective age among older adults: the mediating role of age-group identification

OBJECTIVE

A small body of research has highlighted the role of the five-factor model personality traits in subjective age. However, no study has yet focused on the mechanisms through which personality could be related to subjective age among older adults. The purpose of the present study was to examine the mediating role of age-group identification in relation between personality traits and subjective age. It was hypothesized that both extraversion and openness to experience are positively related to a younger subjective age through the mediation of their negative relationship with age-group identification.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 501 older individuals aged from 60 to 95 years who completed measures of sociodemographic variables, self-rated health, personality, subjective age, and age-group identification.

RESULTS

Multiple regression analysis revealed that openness to experience was positively related to subjective age through the complete mediation of age-group identification, whereas no support was found for the relationship between extraversion and subjective age.

CONCLUSION

This study fills a gap in the existing literature and reveals that openness to experience is related to a youthful subjective age, because older open individuals tend to distance themselves from their age group. Therefore, this study confirms that personality deserves attention as a predictor of subjective age, independently of sociodemographic and health-related variables.

Awareness of Aging: Theoretical Considerations on an Emerging Concept

Humans are able to reflect on and interpret their own aging. Thus, as individuals grow older, calendar age may become increasingly a subjective variable. This theoretical paper proposes the concept of Awareness of Aging (AoA) as a superordinate construct that can serve an integrative function in developmental research on subjective aging. It is argued that the AoA construct can incorporate the theoretical components of other existing concepts by acknowledging that judgments of subjective aging tend to be made on an awareness continuum ranging from pre-conscious/implicit to conscious/explicit. We also argue that processes of AoA are inherently self-related processes and that AoA is a particular aspect of self-awareness that results in specific aging-related self-knowledge. Over time, aging individuals incorporate this self-knowledge into their self-concept and personal identity. We provide theoretical evidence showing that although all major theories of adult development and aging draw on phenomena related to AoA, the explicit incorporation of aging-related awareness processes has been missing. We also provide an overarching framework to illustrate in a heuristic way how AoA in combination and interaction with other influences affects developmental outcomes. Finally, we argue that attention to AoA-related processes has a number of societal and applied implications and thereby addresses issues of applied developmental psychology.

The cross-domain correlates of subjective age in Chinese oldest-old

OBJECTIVES

This study examined subjective age and its cross-domain correlates in Chinese oldest-old.

METHOD

We conducted a secondary data analysis using cross-sectional data drawn from the 2006 Sample Survey on the Aged Population in Urban/Rural China, which consisted of a sample of 860 community-dwelling Chinese older adults aged 85 years and above.

RESULTS

A small percentage (8%) of the oldest-old participants reported that they did not feel old. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed that urban living, better physical and self-reported cognitive functioning and mental health were all related to not feeling old, whereas chronological age was found to have no association with subjective age when controlling for indicators of physical and self-reported cognitive functioning.

CONCLUSION

The findings revealed the key roles of functional limitations and mental health in the construction of subjective age in Chinese oldest-old. The possible cross-cultural similarity in the links of subjective age to mental health and physical functioning in later life suggests that maintaining a youthful subjective age may have adaptive value for the oldest-old and contribute to their successful aging.

National stereotypes of older people's competence are related to older adults' participation in paid and volunteer work

OBJECTIVES

Why are older people perceived as more competent in some countries relative to others? In the current study, we investigate the extent to which national variation in perceptions of older people's competence is systematically related to national variation in the extent to which older people participate in paid and volunteer work.

METHOD

We used multilevel regression to analyze data from the European Social Survey and test the relationship between perceptions of older people's competence and older people's participation in paid and volunteer work across 28 countries. We controlled for a number of potentially confounding variables, including life expectancy as well as the gender ratio and average education of the older population in each country. We controlled for the average objective cognitive abilities of the older population in a subsample of 11 countries.

RESULTS

Older people were perceived as more competent in countries in which more older people participated in paid or volunteer work, independent of life expectancy and the average education, gender makeup, and average cognitive abilities of the older population.

DISCUSSION

The results suggest that older people's participation in paid and volunteer work is related to perceptions of older people's competence independent of older people's actual competence.

Change in perceived age in middle and later life

Analyses examine change in the age people "feel" (felt age) and "would like to be" (ideal age) (relative to current age) in middle and later life. Data are from 1,815 respondents in two waves (1995-96, 2004-06) of the Midlife in the United States Survey (MIDUS) who were age 40+ at Wave 1. In aggregate, people feel about the same amount younger but become increasingly distant from preferred age. Favorable health trends between waves and better expected future health are related to younger felt age, cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Health is not related to ideal age, but education and (for respondents younger than 60) better financial expectations are associated with less youthful ideal age. Patterns for felt age appear to reflect images of later life as a time of physical decline, whereas ideal age appears to be shaped more by socioeconomic considerations.

"It's your badge of inclusion": the Red Hat Society as a gendered subculture of aging

Although studies document the health-enhancing effects of social engagement, they reveal little about the underlying mechanisms operating within specific organizational contexts. Limited attention is given to the role of inequality--particularly age and gender--in shaping either the organizations to which we belong or their consequences for our well-being. We address this issue by examining the Red Hat Society, a social organization for middle-aged and older women. Interviews with members (n=52) illustrate how age and gender inequality interact to shape the organization, which can be viewed as a gendered subculture of aging. Drawing on this framework, we discuss four processes through which participation generates benefits for older women involved in age- and gender-segregated organizations: enhancing social networks, countering invisibility, creating positive frames for aging experiences, and promoting youthful identities.

The experience of worry among young and older adults in the United States and Germany: a cross-national comparison

This study compared adult age-related differences in the experience of worry within two cultures. Data were collected from 173 Germans and 263 Americans (within the United States) on a general worry scale and two hypothesized correlates of worry (life events and locus of control). Results indicated that there were age differences on all of the hypothesized correlates of worry as well as the measure of worry, with younger adults reporting more worries than did older adults. Differences were found between the two countries on the hypothesized correlates (with the exception of internal locus of control) and one subscale of the worry measure. More importantly, structural equation modeling indicated that the hypothesized correlates of worry differentially contributed to the prediction of worry across the two cultures and across the two age groups. That is, with one minor exception, the hypothesized correlates did not predict worry within the German sample, but did predict worry within the American sample. Among the younger adult American sample, endorsement of external locus of control and life events predicted worry, but among the older American sample, positive endorsement of internal locus of control predicted worry.

Subjective age and social-cognitive determinants of physical activity in active older adults

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the current study was to examine the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between subjective age and intention to engage in physical activity (PA) among active older adults. It was expected that subjective age would be positively related to PA intention because it is positively associated with self-efficacy.

METHOD

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 170 older adults age 60-80 years (M = 66.10, SD = 4.78) who completed measures of subjective age, self-efficacy, behavioral intention, self-rated health, and past PA.

RESULTS

Bootstrap procedure revealed that self-efficacy partially mediated the positive relationship between feeling younger than one's age and PA intention, while chronological age, self-rated health, and past PA were controlled.

DISCUSSION

These results emphasize the need to consider both subjective and objective components of age as correlates of social-cognitive determinants of health behavior.

Chronological and subjective age differences in flourishing mental health and major depressive episode

Mental health is more than the absence of psychopathology, but few studies use positive mental health along with a measure of past year major depressive episode (MDE). This study addresses this gap by investigating the association of MDE and flourishing mental health (FMH) with chronological age and subjective (felt and ideal) age. Data are from the Midlife in the United States random digit dialing sample of adults ages 25 to 74, collected in 1995 (n = 3032). Rates of MDE were lowest, and FMH highest, among the three oldest age cohorts (45-54, 55-64, 65-74 years). Subjective age was linked with chronological age; with age, adults tend to feel younger, and want to be an age that is younger, than their actual age. As predicted by the model of subjective age as an adaptive strategy, feeling younger was related to a lower risk of MDE and a higher risk of FMH. However, wanting to be younger was related to a lower risk of FMH and unrelated to MDE.