The importance of self-perceptions of aging in predicting late-life loneliness

Abstract. Background: Previous studies point to a potential relationship between self-perceptions of aging (SPA) and cognitive performance. However, most of these studies are limited by their experimental design. Previous longitudinal studies looked solely at memory as an outcome variable without examining the directionality of effects. The present study examines the direction of effects between two domains of SPA (personal growth and physical losses) and processing speed (PS). Methods: The sample consists of 8,198 participants of the German Ageing Survey (DEAS), aged between 40 and 93 years. A cross-lagged path model was estimated to examine directions of relationships across 3 years via chi-squared difference tests for each domain of SPA. Results: In the unconstrained models, the effect of SPA domain personal growth in 2008 on PS in 2011 and vice versa were marginally significant. For SPA domain physical losses, the effect of SPA on PS was significant, whereas the other direction of the effect did not reach significance. However, the cross-lagged paths of both domains of SPA on PS and vice versa could be set equal without a significant loss of model fit. The resulting associations indicate a significant bidirectional relationship between both domains of SPA and PS. Discussion and conclusion: This study provides initial evidence that SPA can influence trajectories of cognitive decline and vice versa. The results emphasize the detrimental and beneficial effects that stereotypes can have on individuals and add further evidence to the theory of stereotype embodiment.

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Neuroticism and poor health: Self-perceptions of aging as a mediator

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e578192014-584 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

J. Alex Evans ◽

Tara L. Stewart ◽

Ayla L. Washam ◽

Trent Boot ◽

Emily Rittenhouse

Keyword(s):

Poor Health ◽

Self Perceptions ◽

Perceptions Of Aging

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Historical Changes in Aging Trajectories of Two Aspects of Self-Perceptions of Aging

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.2028 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 602-602

Author(s):

Oliver Huxhold ◽

Svenja Spuling ◽

Susanne Wurm

Keyword(s):

Birth Cohort ◽

Large Scale ◽

Sequential Data ◽

Historical Changes ◽

Self Perceptions ◽

Cohort Differences ◽

Ongoing Development ◽

Perceptions Of Aging

Abstract In recent years many studies have shown that adults with more positive self-perceptions of aging (SPA) increase their likelihood of aging healthily. Other studies have documented historical changes in individual resources and contextual conditions associated with aging. We explored how these historical changes are reflected in birth-cohort differences in aging trajectories of two aspects of SPA – viewing aging as ongoing development or as increasing physical losses. Using large-scale cohort-sequential data assessed across 21 years (N ≈ 19,000), the analyses modeled birth-cohort differences in aging trajectories of SPA from 40 to 85 years of age. The results illustrated differential birth-cohort differences: Later-born cohorts may experience more potential for ongoing development with advancing age than earlier-born cohorts. However, later-born cohorts seem to view their own aging as more negative than earlier-born cohorts during their early forties but may associate their aging less with physical losses after the age of fifty.

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The Association Between Recent Family Death and Self-Perceptions of Aging Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1457 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 450-450

Author(s):

Shu Xu

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Child Death ◽

Parental Death ◽

Middle Aged ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Self Perceptions ◽

Perceptions Of Aging ◽

Nationally Representative ◽

And Gender ◽

Family Loss

Abstract The loss of a family member may have a significant influence on one’s aging experience in life. Self-perceptions of aging, which are an individual’s beliefs or evaluation of their experiences of aging, have been described as an important factor for one’s health and daily life. However, there is little research on the association between family death and self-perceptions of aging. This study examines the relationships between recent family death, self-perceptions of aging, and gender of the bereaved among middle-aged and older adults. Using nationally representative data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we conducted cross-sectional analysis on adults age 50 years and older (n=1,839). Self-perceptions of aging were accessed by 8 items derived from the Attitudes Toward Own Aging subscale of the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale and the Berlin Aging Study, and we considered recent family death (i.e., parental death, spousal death, sibling death and child death), as well as gender of the bereaved. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that respondents who experienced recent family death report less positive self-perceptions of aging compared to those who did not experience recent family death (t = 12.40, p < .01). Recent parental death was more negatively related with self-perceptions of aging for bereaved women than for bereaved men (χ2 = 4.28, p < .05). Findings suggest that middle-aged and older adults experiencing recent family loss have less positive self-perceptions of aging, and gender of the bereaved plays an important role in the relationship between parental death and self-perceptions of aging.

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Longitudinal Correlates of Loneliness and Psychological Distress During the Lockdown Situation due to COVID-19. Effects of Age and Self-Perceptions of Aging

The Journals of Gerontology Series B ◽

10.1093/geronb/gbab012 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrés Losada-Baltar ◽

José Ángel Martínez-Huertas ◽

Lucía Jiménez-Gonzalo ◽

María del Sequeros Pedroso-Chaparro ◽

Laura Gallego-Alberto ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Psychological Distress ◽

Health Outcomes ◽

Mental Health Outcomes ◽

Stressful Situation ◽

Self Perceptions ◽

Personal Variables ◽

Dependent Variables ◽

Perceptions Of Aging

Abstract Objectives To longitudinally analyze the correlates of loneliness and psychological distress in people exposed to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown, exploring the effects of age and self-perceptions of aging (SPA). Methods A longitudinal follow-up of 1,549 participants was carried out at four different time points during the lockdown in Spain. Questions about the risk of COVID-19, age, SPA, family and personal resources, loneliness, and psychological distress were measured. Results Changes in loneliness showed a linear longitudinal trajectory through time, but changes in psychological distress showed a U-shaped relationship with time. Age was a relevant predictor of differences in distress, with older people reporting less psychological distress. Change in both dependent variables was related to change in different predictors like family and personal variables and also to negative SPA. Discussion In a stressful situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults may be more resilient to adverse mental health outcomes by using more adaptive resources that strengthen their resilience. Support is provided for the importance of stereotyped views of the aging process that, independently of chronological age, may put people at risk of suffering adverse mental health outcomes such as loneliness and psychological distress in times of crisis.

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The Role of Self-Perceptions of Aging for Recovery of Older Adults After a Hospital Stay

Innovation in Aging ◽

10.1093/geroni/igaa057.1970 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. 588-588

Author(s):

Anne Blawert ◽

Ellen Freiberger ◽

Susanne Wurm

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Hospital Stay ◽

Physical Function ◽

Fear Of Falling ◽

Health Events ◽

Self Perceptions ◽

Perceptions Of Aging ◽

One Year ◽

Psychological Pathway

Abstract For older adults, a hospital stay can lead to loss of physical function and frailty. It is therefore important to investigate factors for recovery after hospitalization. Recent studies suggest negative self-perceptions of aging (SPA) as a potential risk factor in the context of serious health events. This ongoing longitudinal study investigates how negative SPA might contribute to worse physical recovery (assessed with the Short Physical Performance Battery) after hospital stay in a sample of 244 German adults aged 75 to 96. Preliminary mediation analysis based on available data of the first 50 participants indicate that negative SPA is related to increased fear of falling after 6 months, which predicts worse physical function one year after hospitalization (indirect effect: B = -0.70, SE = 0.41, p = .09). The results stress the importance of SPA for health recovery in old age and introduce fear of falling as a psychological pathway.

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