Does Inside Equal Outside? Relations Between Older Adults' Implicit and Explicit Aging Attitudes and Self-Esteem

A brief version of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire for older Chinese adults: development and psychometric evaluation

BACKGROUND

Positive attitudes toward aging are considered essential for achieving psychological well-being in later life. However, there is currently a lack of a concise and comprehensive measurement tool specifically designed to assess attitudes toward aging among the elderly population in China. To address this gap, the present study aimed to develop a brief version of the Attitudes to Ageing Questionnaire tailored to older Chinese individuals and evaluate its psychometric properties.

METHODS

Initially, a sample of community-dwelling older adults (Sample 1: n = 442, aged 60-88) was utilized to establish a new scale format. Subsequently, two convenience samples (Sample 2: n = 311, aged 60-90; Sample 3: n = 164, aged 60-89) were employed to evaluate the psychometric properties of this scale, including factor structure, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity.

RESULTS

We selected 12 items from the original questionnaire to create the brief scale. The brief scale maintained the three-factor structure of the full-format version, encompassing psychosocial loss, physical change, and psychological growth, and demonstrated adequate psychometric properties.

CONCLUSIONS

This development process shortens the administration time of the questionnaire while avoiding excessive loss of information. The newly developed scale serves as a reliable and valid assessment tool for measuring attitudes toward aging among older Chinese individuals and is well-suited for implementation in large-scale surveys that utilize an extensive array of questionnaires. This tool can be applied to assessing the effectiveness of interventions aimed at eliminating ageism.

Effectiveness of multimodal intervention for depression, self-esteem, and quality of life among elderly people residing at selected old age homes in Jalandhar, Punjab

BACKGROUND

Depression is the most common mental disorder among old age people residing at old age homes. It is also associated with many physiological and psychological symptoms along with the impaired quality of life and self-esteem. The multimodal intervention, including physical activity, cognitive training, and social activities, has a positive effect on depression and self-esteem. However, only a few studies were conducted in India setup on the older population residing at old age homes. Hence, this study focused on finding the effectiveness of multimodal intervention for depression, quality of life, and self-esteem among elderly people residing at selected old age homes in Jalandhar, Punjab.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A randomized, controlled trial design was adopted with longitudinal measurement of outcomes for 6 months. An simple random sampling technique was used to recruit 50 subjects to the experimental group and 50 subjects to the control group. Elderly people who are residing at selected old age homes in Jalandhar were selected for the study. The multimodal intervention was administered to the experimental group once weekly eight sessions over eight weeks after the pre-interventional assessment. The data were collected pre-intervention, at one month, three months, and six months after the intervention. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in demographics between groups at baseline. The mean age of subjects was 64.35 ± 1.32 years in the experimental group and 64.12 ± 1.83 in the control group. The mean duration of stay in old age home was 3.64 ± 1.25 years in the experimental group and 4.05 ± 1.65 in the control group. There were significant multimodal intervention effects on decreasing depression (F = 20.15, P < 0.05, n_p²= 0.092) and increasing self-esteem (F = 84.65, P < 0.001, n_p²= 0.24) and quality of life (F = 62.32, P < 0.001, n_p²= 0.52) over the 6-month interval.

CONCLUSION

This study demonstrated that the multimodal intervention was effective in reducing depression among elderly people residing at selected old age homes. It also shows that self-esteem and quality of life improved significantly after intervention.

Biases in Retrospective Perceptions of Changes in Well-Being Associated With Aging Attitudes

OBJECTIVES

Aging attitudes have important consequences on functioning in later life. A critical question concerns whether such attitudes may bias perceptions of one's own aging, with potentially negative effects on important outcomes.

METHODS

Using data from adults aged 30-85 years in Germany (n = 623), Hong Kong (n = 317), and the United States (n = 313), we examined the impact of age and aging attitudes on accuracy of perceptions of change in well-being over 5 years in different domains of functioning.

RESULTS

Across contexts, comparisons revealed good correspondence between retrospective reports and actual change. However, older adults and those with negative attitudes retrospectively reported less positive change over this period. Inconsistent with expectations, attitudes did not consistently bias accuracy of retrospective reports over cultures and domains of functioning, nor did age have a consistent moderating effect on the impact of attitudes on accuracy.

DISCUSSION

The results highlight the complex relationship between various personal characteristics and perceptions of change in well-being, as well as the potentially insidious effects of attitudes on the accuracy of these perceptions.

American Older Adults in COVID-19 Times: Vulnerability Types, Aging Attitudes, and Emotional Responses

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID) pandemic has aroused challenges to emotional well-being of the individuals. With 1,582 respondents from the Health and Retirement Survey (HRS), this study investigates the heterogeneity in older adults' vulnerability and examines the relationship between vulnerability types, aging attitudes, and emotional responses. International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short-form (I-PANAS-SF) and Attitudes toward own aging (ATOT) were used to assess the emotional experiences and aging attitudes, and 14 kinds of pandemic-related deprivations evaluated vulnerability of individuals. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to explore the vulnerability types, and weighted linear regressions examined the relationship between vulnerability, aging attitudes, and emotional responses. The results showed that the proportion for individuals with mild vulnerability (MV), healthcare use vulnerability (HV), and dual vulnerability in healthcare use and financial sustainment (DVs) was 67, 22, and 11%, respectively. Older adults aged below 65, Hispanics and non-Hispanic Blacks, and those not eligible for Medicaid were more likely to have HV or DVs. The relationship between vulnerability and positive emotions (PAs) was non-significant, yet individuals with HV (beta = 0.10, standard error [SE] = 0.16) or DVs (beta = 0.09, SE = 0.28) were likely to have more negative emotions (NAs) than their mildly vulnerable counterparts. Furthermore, aging attitudes moderated the relationship between vulnerability and emotions. The salutary effect of positive aging attitudes on emotional well-being was more significant among people with DVs than those with MV (beta = 0.20, SE = 0.04 for positive responses; beta = −0.15, SE = 0.04 for negative responses). Thus, we urge more attention for vulnerable older adults in a pandemic context. Meanwhile, encouraging positive aging attitudes might be helpful for older adults to have better emotional well-being, especially for those with DVs.

The Association of Self-Esteem with the Level of Independent Functioning and the Primary Demographic Factors in Persons over 60 Years of Age

Self-esteem reflects the way we see ourselves. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship among self-esteem, bio-psycho-social functioning, and sociodemographic conditions in the elderly. The study included 300 individuals over 60 years of age living in their home environment. The employed research tools included the Abbreviated Mental Test Score, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and EASYCare Standard 2010 questionnaire involving the following scales: independence score, risk of breakdown in care, and risk of falls. Results: The average score achieved by the study group according to the RSES scale was 29.9 ± 5.6 points. In addition, the study group presented a low risk of independence loss (independence score 13.3 ± 18.1), risk of breakdown in care (4.4 ± 2.4), and risk of falls (1.8 ± 1.6). The conducted multivariate analysis demonstrated that a significant (p < 0.05) negative predictor of low self-esteem was education below the secondary level, a poor financial condition, and functional limitations in domain I (seeing, hearing, and communicating skills) of the EASYCare Standard 2010 questionnaire. A relationship was found between self-esteem and the level of bio-psycho-social functioning, as well as between education and the financial situation. The results demonstrate that even successfully ageing individuals require a regular assessment of their functional status and individually adapted support in order to maintain independence and to increase their self-esteem.

Self-Esteem, Anxiety, and Depression in Older People in Nursing Homes

Background: Social environment and type of care may influence mental health in late life. The aim of this study was to assess the associations between depression, anxiety, and self-esteem in older people. Methods: The study evaluated mental health in people older than 65 years of age in Zadar County, Croatia. The participants were interviewed using the Patient Health Questionnaire, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Multiple linear regressions were used to assess the correlations between depression, anxiety, and self-esteem. Results: Compared with elderly people living in their own homes, elderly people in nursing homes reported lower self-esteem, higher depression, and higher anxiety. The level of self-esteem decreased with increased levels of depression. Anxiety was significantly associated with depression, while depression strongly increased with an increase in anxiety. Older age was associated with depression, while widowhood was a negative predictor of self-esteem. Institutionalization was borderline significantly associated with anxiety, while gender was associated with anxiety. Conclusions: The study found associations between self-esteem, anxiety, and depression in the elderly. The strategy of humanization in nursing care for older people should be applied equally in nursing homes and in community-dwelling states. Public health programs aimed at maintaining the mental health of older people are needed.

Volunteer service and positive attitudes toward aging among Chinese older adults: The mediating role of health

OBJECTIVE

Attitude toward aging is an important indicator for measuring the wellbeing of older people, and a vital part of active and healthy aging. We aimed to assess the relationship between volunteer service and attitudes toward aging held by older people and to determine the mediating role of health.

METHOD

We analyzed the data of 10,792 Chinese people over age 60 from the 2014 Chinese Longitudinal Aging Social Survey. We used multiple linear regression models and the two-stage least-squares model to explore the correlation between volunteer service and attitudes toward aging. Furthermore, we applied structural equation modeling to test for mediation effects of different aspects of health.

RESULTS

We found that volunteer service was significantly associated with attitudes toward aging (β = 0.335, p < 0.001), while self-assessed health, physical health, and mental health played a mediating role between volunteer service and attitudes toward aging held by older adults.

CONCLUSIONS

In exploring ways to cope with the challenges brought about by the aging of the population, we found that participating in volunteer services not only improves older people's self-assessed physical, and mental health, but also improves their positive attitudes toward aging. Therefore, under the framework of active and healthy aging, volunteer service and participation in social activities can enhance social vitality and welfare, reduce social burden, and improve quality of life.